In 1925 a new exhibition of the Special Hermitage Store-room was opened for the public. The State Hermitage Museum today possesses one of the largest collections of jewelry art items in the world, part of which is the world's best collection of snuff-boxes. The basis for it was formed by the palace collection compiled of the best artistic items made for the Imperial Court and the nobility. It is for the first time that the State Hermitage Museum presented works of contemporary jewelers of Saint Petersburg at its exhibition. The items demonstrate different trends in the development of modern art.
Some artists tend to follow classical traditions and forms in their modern interpretations.
Such are the works of Vladimir Aliushin and Dmitry Pasynkov. Others, as, for example, Gennady and Natalia Bykov and Vladimir Shestakov, make confident steps in experimenting with avant-garde tendencies. Works of Gennady Bykov are notable for their philosophic contents and various allusions while Natalia Bykova creates emotional and in a feminine way delicate objects. Refined in architectonics and colour are the items designed by Vera Chernova. Problematic for classification are the compositions by Leonid Zviagin and Mikhail Brestkin, but they definitely attract attention with their pithyness and masterly execution.