Mother of pearl was one of the most popular materials in arts and crafts of the 20th century. It was used to decorate brooches, hat pins, clothes, furniture, and stationery. Each object made of mother of pearl required manual work and therefore was unique.

The mother-of-pearl pendant from the museum’s collection belonged to Lydia Petrovna Andreyeva, the academician Ivan Petrovich Pavlov’s sister. The pendant, stored in a small leather and velvet box, shows the scene of the Nativity of Christ. The Pavlov family liked this holiday very much: they prepared for it and celebrated it with special joy. The academician’s parents came from families of clergymen; Ivan Petrovich’s father, Pyotr Dmitriyevich Pavlov, was an archpriest in Ryazan.

Ivan Pavlov kept the tradition of celebrating Christmas with his own family as well. The Christmas tree in the Pavlov’s apartment in Saint Petersburg was always large and reached the ceiling. There were many decorations, but every year the academician’s four children made toys themselves from colored and gilded paper — boxes, pitchers, and stars. They showered their beautiful Christmas tree with artificial snow, decorated it with golden and silver tinsel strands, and wrapped the candles with powder train.

The parents hid bags of sweets and dozens of gifts for their children, as well as for their young guests, under the Christmas tree. On the celebration day, the children gathered with their parents, and the Christmas tree was lit. Everyone started making noise and running around, those who knew how to dance had fun doing just that. Then everyone received their gifts and was invited to drink lemonade and tea. Ivan Petrovich also liked participating in the Christmas parties. Each time he recalled his own childhood, when his mother, Varvara Ivanovna, arranged Christmas parties for the children.