Installation of the 'Saint Louis and Relics of the Sainte-Chapelle' exhibition has begun at the exhibition hall of the Patriarch's Palace. The experts of the Moscow Kremlin Museums and museums-participants have finished installing several fragments of the exposition such as stained glass from the Sainte-Chapelle and the Cluny Museum, sculptural portrait of Isabella of France (St Louis's daughter) from the collegiate church in Poissy, and at last, the main exhibit, a historical artifact of France — the reliquary for the Holy crown of thorns from the treasury of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.

The restorers of the Moscow Kremlin Museums have greatly contributed to the installation of the reliquary. They made a special mount to display this masterpiece. Being the heart of the exhibition, the reliquary attracts attention of visitors with its mysterious shimmer of crystal and silver-gilt.

The 'Saint Louis and Relics of the Sainte-Chapelle' exhibition will be held at the Moscow Kremlin Museums from 3 March to 4 June 2017. It will show true masterpieces of French Gothic art related to the epoch of St Louis IX (1214 - 1270). Most of them will be presented in Russia for the first time, including stained glass from the Sainte-Chapelle and unique items from the largest collections of France - Louvre Museum, Museum of the Middle Ages (Cluny), a number of provincial French museums, as well as manuscripts and documents from the National Library and the National Archives of France. The State Hermitage participates in the exhibition giving on loan magnificent Limoges enamels and ivory pieces dating back to the 13th – early 14th century.

This joint international project is organized by the Moscow Kremlin Museums and the Center for National Monuments of France supported by the French Embassy in Russia within the framework of the Russia-France Year of Cultural Tourism.