Hillwood Museum

 

Hillwood Museum is an estate, house and garden in the Rock Creek Park area of the outskirts of Washington DC.

 

The house, built in the 1920's, was home to the wealthy businesswoman, philanthropist and passionate collector of French and Russian decorative arts, Marjorie Merryweather Post.

 

As a young woman she inherited from her father the Post cereal company - makers of Grape Nuts, amongst many other successful products.  The company later bought Birds Eye Frozen Foods and went from strength to strength.

 

When she died in the 1970's she had amassed huge collections of furniture, porcelain and decorative arts  and created a museum within the fully renovated house and left her estate to the nation in Trust to be enjoyed by future generations.

 

There were Easter activities all over the estate - egg rolling, egg and spoon races, Russian dancing and music..

 

This is the back of the house where guests would arrive.

 

Inside the 'back' door the entrance hall and staircase is opulent to say the least..

 

This chandelier is French, made of rock crystal and must weigh a ton - literally!  It was the largest of probably 50 center and wall lights all cut from rock crystal and smoky quartz.

 

 

There are two Imperial  Faberge eggs in the collection.

 

There are many other Faberge items and countless Russian icons and church gold and silver items.  

 

 

Many of these were purchased in Russia in the 1930's when Marjorie Post's then husband was US Ambassador there..

 

Everywhere in the house there were beautiful objects - 

 

...probably a visit of one room at a time would have been enough.

 

Whole rooms were dedicated to the display of part of a huge collection of Russian decorative china as well as Sevres porcelain.

 

Outside, the azaleas were coming into bloom..

 

Finally I don't think I have ever seen quite such an impressive floral display in a restroom..