Paul first travelled to Russia in the 1970s, when his fascination with hardstone began. During a visit to the Cathedral of St Isaac in St Petersburg he was stunned by the beauty of the Iconostac (altar screen) which is made of malachite and lapis lazurite veneered fluted Corinthian columns some 6.8 metres in height. He was also overwhelmed by the vast and impressive range of objects, large and small, at the Winter Palace.

Since then, many trips to Russia have resulted in Paul’s expanded knowledge of this exclusively Russian form of applied arts. Visiting a wide range of buildings and archives has given him the opportunity to gather source material on all forms of coloured hardstones and their use in Tsarist Russia. In addition, during his extensive travels around the world Paul has sought to trace hardstone objects of interest and to trace their history.

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