Between Orient and Occident. Treasures of the Kremlin from Ivan the Terrible to Peter the Great

Half-length portrait of Tsar Peter the Great
Russia, the XIXth century. Unknown painter. Canvas, oil painting.
Percussion flint-lock pistol with ramrod
Russia, Moscow. First half of the XVIIth century. The Armoury Chamber. Silver, iron, steel, wood. Forging, carving, engraving, damascening, gilding, niello.
Ambassadorial axes
Russia, Moscow, first half of the XVIIth century. Gold, silver, damask steel, turquoise, wood; forging, gold damascening, embossing,gilding, chiselling, filigree.
Drinking ladle
Russia, Moscow, 1698. Silver, embossing, carving, casting, chiselling, gilding.
Behterets (type of a plated chain mail)
Russia, Moscow, 1620. The Armoury Chamber. Craftsman: K. Mikhailov. Silver, iron; forging, embossing, damascening with gold.
Helmet - "Jericho cap"
Brought from Istanbul by ambassador A. Pronchishchev. Turkey, 1630s. Damask steel, silver, silk fabric; forging, embossing, damascening with gold, carving.
Saadak (bow case and quiver with belt) of the "Grand Attire"
Belonged to Tsar Alexis Mikhailovich; bought from the Constantinople merchant D. Konstantinov in 1656. Turkey, Istanbul, 1656. Gold, silver, precious stones, goatskin, brocade interwoven with threads of gold (altabas); carving, enamel, embossing, embroidery.
Sabre and scabbard of the "Grand Attire"
Belonged to Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich. Russia, Moscow, first half of the XVIIth century. The Armoury Chamber. The handle, scabbard and belt - the Moscow Kremlin workshops; the blade - Turkey. Gold, silver, damask steel, wood, precious stones, turquoise, nephrite, pearls; forging, carving, chiselling, enamel, inlay, damascening, gilding.
Ceremonial shestopyor (six-feathered flanged mace)
Was granted by the Constantinople merchant D. Astafiev to Tsar Alexis Mikhailovich in 1655. Turkey, Istanbul, mid XVIIth century. Gold, wood, fabric interwoven with threads of gold, almandine, emeralds, rubies; carving, embossing, enamel.
Pickle bowl
Germany, Augsburg. 1640-1645. Craftsman: Johann Baptist I Weinold. Silver, embossing, casting, engraving, pouncing, gilding.
Table decoration - mountain-shaped censer
Germany, Hamburg, first half of the XVIIth century. Silver, casting, embossing, engraving, gilding.
Dish
Nuremberg, mid XVIth century. Craftsman: Hans Braband. Silver, glass, nacre (abalone haliotis), precious stones, gold; embossing, casting, flat chasing, etching, cold enamel, engraving.
Lidded goblet
Nuremberg, before 1520. Silver, embossing, casting, engraving, gilding.
Kaftan of Tsar Peter Alexeevich
Russia, Moscow, the late XVIIth century. Cloth - Holland, the XVIIth century. Cloth, gold braid, gold threads, gold lace; braiding, weaving.
Pectoral cross of Tsar Peter Alexeevich
Russia, last quarter of the XVIIth century. Gold, precious stones; casting, embossing, carving, enamel.
Nalatnik (cloak, element of the suit of armour) of Tsar Mikhail Romanov
Satin, taffeta by the western makers - before 1633; satin, taffeta, gold thread, embroidery, weaving - the Eastern craftsmen, XVIth century. Satin, taffeta, gold treads; weaving, embroidery.
Domestic kaftan of Patriarch Nikon
Embroidery - Russia, 1652-1658; golden satin - Turkey, the first half of the XVIIth century. Satin interwoven with gold threads and embroidered with floral ornament; taffeta; weaving.

November, 30, 2012 - March, 04, 2013

Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (the Dresden art collections), Green Vault (Grünes Gewölbe), Royal Palace (Residenzschloss)

Organized by:: the Moscow Kremlin Museums, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (the Dresden art collections)

Half-length portrait of Tsar Peter the Great The exhibition covers the period from 1547, the time of Ivan the Terrible's accession to the throne, to 1712, when a new capital was established by Peter the Great in Saint-Petersburg. It is intended to reveal main features and peculiarities of the Russian XVIth and XVIIth century court life with its own ceremonials and etiquette. As the Russian state has been developed under the influence of West European and Eastern countries and due to expanding political and trade relations with foreign countries the Russian court was regarded as a crossroads between western and eastern cultures. Most part of the exposition is occupied by the production of the Kremlin workshops of the XVIth-XVIIth centuries, which represents a specific combination of European and Oriental tastes with ancient Russian artistic traditions. The group of masterpieces includes the behterets (a type of plated chain mail) of Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich.

The exposition incorporates arms, armor, ceremonial horse trappings, jewellery pieces crafted in Turkey and Iran in the XVth-XVIIth centuries and brought to Russia as diplomatic gifts to Tsars. Articles worthy of particular note are those from the set of "Grand Attire" – the saadak (bow case and quiver) and sabre.

A special place within the exhibition is occupied by the collection of West European silverware. Having been made of precious metals and finished with various techniques these artworks were used for interior decoration and representation of the Tsar's wealth and power at the court. Here you can observe the German silver vessels, brought to Russia as diplomatic gifts from the European monarchs. Placed in a special cupboard-dresser "postavets", the precious utensils served much the same purpose as did the state regalia of the Russian sovereigns. In a way, the German masterpieces have introduced European artistic tradition and styles of metal processing to the Russian craftsmen, which influenced the development of jewellery-making and arts-and-craft in the country.

Exhibits of great historical and artistic value are the implements intended for official state ceremonies, church utensils, sacral objects as well as memorial items, which had belonged to Tsars of the Romanov dynasty, and personal belongings and vestments of the clergy.

The exposition also includes two outstanding exhibits from Germany – a golden drinking laddle (dipper) of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, which nowadays is being preserved in Dresden, and an amusing sapphire in the form of a nose, which had been granted by Tsar Peter the Great to Augustus II the Strong, Elector of Saxony.

Such remarkable exhibits, represented together, illustrate one of the most interesting pages in the history of the relations and interactions between Russia, East and West.