The large four-seater body with slightly curved front and back walls is executed in the early 18th century in France and has a beautiful silhouette and perfect proportions. The upper section of the front and side walls and doors is covered with plate glass. It’s equipped with springs, a turning axle, a coachman’s seat, a servant’s seat and a footboard fastened inside the body.

Its décor was strongly influenced by the new aesthetic trends wchich crystalised in the Regency style characteristic of the French equipages of that time. A carved gilded low-relief pattern covers the cornice, wall-joints, window surrounds and door frames. The carriage is characterised by the realistic treatment of individual motifs combined with strange fantastic shapes, and also by the symmetry and strict arrangement of the ornament. However, the contrast of straight and curved lines and the free treatment of individual figures makes the décor seem light and mobile.

The ornament includes attributes of military arms, flower garlands, masks, shells and leafed branches. Trellises forming a lacy pattern are prominent among the decorative motifs. The painting on mythological subjects is also of considerable importance in the carriage décor. Images of putti with trumpets and kettle drums are depicted on the side walls. On the doors and front wall, there are muses Clio, Thalia and Euterpe, while nymphs are on the back wall. The painting is executed mainly in golden greens and reds and shows confident drawing and a feeling for colour, as well as great inventiveness in the accessories. The décor of the carriage is enhanced by gilded bronze. The roof is adorned with eight bronze vases framed. Its upholstery is kept in place with bronze nails, the round heads of which form a dense band and play an ornamental role.  The door handles, large buckles and clasps are also made of bronze. Each spring is covered with a fretted plate of gilded bronze, on which a graceful female figure is depicted among fancifully curved stems. The plates are cast in fairly high relief. All this testifies to the mature skill and fine workmanship of the master. The front section of the undercarriage is decorated with wooden sculpture in the form of allegoric female figures arranged in a restrained and leisurely rhythm. The interior upholstery bends with the overall décor, as does the crest of Italian figured velvet in a gentle pale blue with fine, elegant design.

Over its long history, the carriage had several owners. In 1721, Prince Carl Friedrich of Holstein came to St Petersburg as the fiancé of Peter the Great’s daughter Anne.  In specialist literature, this carriage was wrongly associated with him for a long time. Studies of Armoury archival documents have enabled us to establish that the carriage was commissioned in France by Peter the Great. Later it was the emperor’s wedding present to his daughter Anne, who drove away in it to Holstein with her husband Carl Friedrich. In 1742, Peter III, the carriage’s new owner, came to Russia in it. It was used for ceremonial processions in Holstein. In the 1740s, it was reacquired by the Stables Yard in St. Petersburg.