Catherine The Great And Her Pornographic Furniture
Updated: Nov 6
Once upon a time, there was a lady named Catherine II, who ruled over Russia with sass and scandal for a whopping three decades. Originally known as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst, she underwent a magical transformation into Catherine back in 1745 when she decided to join the cool kids' club, also known as the Russian Orthodox Church.
Catherine got hitched to Grand Duke Peter, who was basically Russian royalty on steroids, being the grandchild of the legendary Peter the Great and all set to inherit the throne. Together, they had a son named Paul, who eventually snagged the title of Tsar Peter III in 1762. However, his reign was shorter than a toddler's attention span at a magic show, as he got booted out of power faster than you can say "Fabergé egg."
With Peter conveniently out of the picture (and some whispers of suspicion hanging in the air), Catherine was left to rule the roost. And rule she did, with a flair for the dramatic and a penchant for romance. She didn't just dabble in affairs; she dished out gifts and power to her paramours like candy on Halloween. One lucky dude even scored a mind-blowing 1,000 indentured servants.
But Catherine wasn't just about scandalous love affairs; she had a soft spot for the arts, too. The Hermitage Museum is practically bursting at the seams with her collection of fancy trinkets and treasures. However, don't expect to find any remnants from her infamous "salon of scandal," where the furniture was said to be adorned with, um, intimate body parts and steamy scenes. Or so the gossip goes!
Catherine is often portrayed as the women who could find sexual dalliance but not fulfilment – thus the lurid legend about her being killed shagging a horse. (Powerful women are always maligned by their obvious sex – see the pornographic attacks on Marie Antoinette.)
Legend has it that traces of Catherine's risqué hideaway may have been discovered at the Imperial Palaces of Tsarskoye Selo (now known as Pushkin), nestled near St. Petersburg. According to the tales whispered by German soldiers during World War II, they stumbled upon her clandestine chamber, complete with titillating artwork, cheeky wooden sculptures, and furniture straight out of an adult novelty shop.
Unfortunately, the plot thickens as the location was allegedly pillaged and plundered, leaving behind nothing but whispers and faded memories. Or so the story goes.
The haul is NSFW.
