Last spring, record crowds lined up outside Sotheby’s for a glimpse of some of the world’s glitziest baubles. Several Faberge eggs, from the Forbes Collection, were exhibited at Sotheby’s before being packed off to Russia. In February, a Russian oil baron had made Sotheby’s and the Forbes family an offer they couldn’t refuse – reported to be in the neighborhood of $100 million – and the eggs were pulled from the April auction calendar. No matter. Some 15,000 people lined up at Sotheby’s just to give the eggs a star’s send-off.

This week another trove of Russian artistry and wealth has made the reverse commute. On view at Sotheby’s are 10 treasures from the St. Petersburg State Hermitage Museum – but hold your paddles. These are not for sale. Rather the exhibit, which continues through Monday, is part of a weeklong series of events and exhibits coordinated between the museum and the auction house. For the Hermitage, it’s a chance to win American friends and supporters. For Sotheby’s, it’s a chance to solidify their position as a leader in the Russian art field, building on the Faberge sale and the recent success with their Russian art auctions in London and New York.

The exhibition of objects from the Hermitage, free and open to the public, anchors a weeklong celebration of all things Russian. On Monday, some 250 people attended a black-tie dinner at Sotheby’s, benefiting the gallery restoration at the Hermitage. Carol Petrie, Lily Safra, and Rosamund Bernier were among those who enjoyed cold borscht and Brahms (courtesy of the Hermitage Quartet, who flew in from St. Petersburg to perform).

There is also a related exhibit of Russian jewels and decorative objects from private American collections at A La Vieille Russie, the Fifth Avenue gallery that sold Malcolm Forbes many of his Faberge eggs. An exhibition of books and engravings connected to the Hermitage is on view at the New York Public Library, and concerts and lectures are being held all week at Sotheby’s.

The exhibit currently on view at Sotheby’s is in every way as spectacular as the Faberge show. The 10 objects were selected from among the jeweled and archeological masterpieces on permanent view in St. Petersburg. Judging by the lavish clocks, snuff boxes, and ornate jewels on view, the Russian nobility would make the Hilton sisters look positively deprived.

The exhibit includes a giant photograph of the interior of the part of the museum located in the Winter Palace. It is over the top, like many of the objects here – even the minute jewel-encrusted snuffbox made in 1770 in Germany for the King of Prussia and given as a gift to Tsar Nicholas I (1825-1855).The lid of the box, constructed from milky white agate, is edged in colored pink diamonds. This most lavish of containers had pride of place in the palace. It sat on a pillow, held by a servant who stood behind the tsar, awaiting the moment the royal nose wanted a whiff.

It’s hard to get more decadent than that, but Empress Elizabeth (1741-1761) came close. The exhibit includes a gold-and-gem-encrusted bouquet of flowers, once worn as a brooch, made by an 18th-century crown jeweler who was a favorite of Empress Elizabeth. For her part the empress loved fashion so much that she reputedly owned more than 15,000 gowns and never wore the same one twice.

Tonight, the director of the Hermitage, Dr. Mikhail Piotrovsky, is scheduled to speak at Sotheby’s about the fate of large, encyclopedic museums. The Hermitage started in the 18th century as the tsar’s private collections, but in the mid-19th century, the galleries were opened to the public. The palace was transformed into a national museum after the 1917 revolution.

The Hermitage has more than 3 million objects and 1,200 rooms. But for much of the century, the Soviet government had no compunctions about selling off works from the walls when it needed cash. Smart collectors in the West skimmed treasures. Paul Mellon bought eight paintings that are now in the National Gallery in Washington, D.C.; the New York Public Library was the first library to come knocking on the museum’s door, and those purchases form an important nucleus in their impressive Slavic and Baltic Division.

Now the museum seems to be ready for a growth kick. Under Mr. Piotrovky, new wings and galleries have been added, along with the annexing of important cultural treasures such as the Imperial Porcelain Factory. Mr. Piotrovsky, consulting with Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, has spearheaded a master plan for the museum on how to update and upgrade the massive museum facilities. Outreach such as “Hermitage Week” and satellite exhibitions in Las Vegas, London, and Amsterdam, are meant to spread the word about the collection and hopefully lure visitors to come and see them.

And while the museum has historically been dependant on foreign private donors, such as groups like the American Friends of the Hermitage, the development of a new class of rich Russians has had the effect of increasing local support. In fact, Dr. Piotrovsky said, the museum will soon be in acquisition mode, ready to round out the collection.