Grand Duchess Maria Georgievna (1876-1940) was a daughter of King George I of Greece and his wife Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna. She was a sister of King Constantine I of Greece and a first cousin of Emperor Nicholas II. Born as a princess of Greece and Denmark, she married Grand Duke George Mikhailovich in 1900 in Corfu. The couple settled in St. Petersburg and they had two daughters. At the outbreak of World War I, she moved to England with her daughters. Being rather unhappy in her marriage, she chose not to return to Russia.

In 1919, Grand Duke George Mikhailovich was executed by the Bolsheviks. Facing financial difficulties, Grand Duchess Maria Georgievna returned to live in Greece with her daughters. After her second marriage to Admiral Perikles Ioannidis, she lived in England and then Italy until 1935 when she finally returned to her native Greece.

We are grateful to Dmitry Krivoshei for his assistance with the research of the present lot.