WWI Sweetheart Beaded Heart Pin Cushion with Portrait of Tsar Nicholas II

An exceptional First World War sweetheart pin cushion in a dramatic heart form, richly decorated with hand-applied glass beadwork, metallic thread embroidery and period trims. The centre features a photographic portrait of Tsar Nicholas II, Emperor of Russia and one of Britain’s principal Allies during the early years of WWI. His image was widely used in British patriotic items between 1914 and 1917, symbolising Allied unity and loyalty. The beadwork is dense and finely executed in cream, green, blue and brown glass beads with radiating stitched motifs. The reverse is finished in plain fabric with original bobble edging. A large, visually striking example that captures a very specific and short-lived moment in wartime sentiment prior to the Russian Revolution, making it particularly appealing to military, textile and social-history collectors.