Christian relics

Icon of John Climacus (John of the Ladder), set in gold frame
Russia, Moscow, the Moscow Kremlin workshops, 1554, painted over in the XIXth century.
Wood, gesso ground, egg tempera, pearls, fabric, gold, embossing, precious stones, filigree, enamel, niello.
Derived from the Moscow Kremlin Archangel's Cathedral.
Icon of Theodore Stratelates
Russia, Moscow, 1555 (?).
Wood, gesso ground, tempera.
Derived from the Moscow Kremlin Archangel's Cathedral.
Icon of Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki, set in silver frame
Russia, Moscow, 1582.
Wood, gesso ground, tempera, silver, gilding, repoussé.
Derived from the Moscow Kremlin Archangel's Cathedral.
Icon of John Belogradsky, set in silver frame
Russia, Moscow, the Moscow Kremlin workshops, 1633.
Wood, gesso ground, tempera, fabric, silver, chiselling, embossing, gilding, carving.
Derived from the Moscow Kremlin Archangel's Cathedral.
Icon of priest-martyr Vasily of Ankyra Galatian, set in silver frame
Russia, Moscow, the Moscow Kremlin workshops, 1639.
Wood, gesso ground, tempera, fabric, silver, embossing, carving, engraving.
Derived from the Moscow Kremlin Archangel's Cathedral.
Pectoral cross with a carved image of the Crucifixion
Russia, Moscow, circa 1554.
West European goldsmith. Cameo - Byzantine Empire, Constantinople, the late XIIth – early XIIIth century.
Gold, sapphire, ruby, pearls, filigree, enamel, glyptography, granulation.
Sculptured lid for the shrine of Tsarevich Dmitry
Russia, Moscow, 1628-1630.
Crafted by a group of silversmiths headed by Gavrila Ovdokimov.
Gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, glass, wood, fabric, embossing, gilding, casting, chiselling, enamel.
Coffin cloth (pall) with image of Dmitry of Uglich
Russia, Moscow, workshops of the Tsarina’s Chamber, first third of the XVIIth century.
Damask cloth - Italy, the XVIIth century, satin - Russia, the XIXth century.
Damask cloth, satin, gold threads, silk threads, pearls, weaving, embroidery, threading.
Pall (coffin cloth) of tsarevitch Ivan Mikhailovich
Moscow, the Kremlin workshops, 1639.
Chief icon painter - Ivan Gomulin.
Lining damask cloth - Italy, end of XVIth - beginning of XVIIth century; velvet - Russia, XVIIIth - XIXth centuries.
From the Archangel cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

We would like to bring to your attention a collection of Christian relics relating to birth, christening and interment of the Tsar’s children.

The section starts with christening (measured) icons of Ivan the Terrible’s sons: Ivan (pic.1), Fyodor (pic.2), Dmitry (pic.3), and those of Mikhail Fyodorovich’s sons: Ivan (pic.4) and Vasily (pic.5). Such measured icons were executed on the occasion of the child’s birth and were sized in accordance with his height. They represented saints, who served as heavenly patrons of the newborn babies. Measured icons were designed within religious-philosophical concepts concerning the idea of a supernatural power of the royal family, successfully developed in the time of Ivan the Terrible. They were indented for private use in personal chambers and further preservation in the Archangel’s Cathedral after the owner is buried there.

The sacred objects, held in high esteem in Russia, were crosses. That is the reason why the prayer room in Tsar’s palace was called the Cross Chamber. The exposition presents a gold pectoral cross with a central sapphire inset with image of the Crucifixion in relief and Greek inscription (pic.6). Probably it was executed for christening ceremony of Tsarevich Ivan Ivanovich, the son of Ivan the Terrible.

An exhibit of great cultural and historical value is a lid for the shrine of the Ivan IV’s son, Tsarevich Dmitry, who died in mysterious circumstances in Uglich in 1591. It was executed on the orders of Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich. The shrine presents a full-length portrayal of Tsarevich in high relief. In 1606 Dmitry's remains were transferred to Moscow to be preserved in a special reliquary-shrine in the Archangel’s Cathedral. During festive days it was covered with embroidered palls (coffin cloths), one of which is displayed within the exposition (pic. 8).

Here you can also see a coffin cloth of Tsarevich Ivan Mikhailovich, the son of Mikhail Fyodorovich.