The 'Treasures and Antiquities of the Moscow Kremlin' exposition comprises monuments and artefacts found during archeological excavations and scientific researches on the Moscow Kremlin territory as well as those related to the history of the development of the Russian Tsars' treasure houses or derived from the collections and treasures of Russian noble people, high ranking officials and ancient monasteries. The exhibition is of high historical and artistic value through the quantity of the presented masterpieces of the 12th-17th centuries. At that time Moscow developed into a stable and prosperous principality, known as Grand Principality of Moscow, which became the centre of the whole Russian state later on. The new museum is opened on the basement floor of the Annunciation Cathedral, where the Grand Princes' and Tsars' treasury was kept many centuries ago.
Over 1500 items of the 12th-17th centuries, displayed within the exposition in the Annunciation Cathedral, served as valuable material possessions in the past and nowadays they are to reveal the economic potential and level of prosperity of their owners and the Russian state as well. The collection includes masterpieces of decorative and applied art, pieces of jewellery, arms and armour, silver and gold bullions and coins.
The display is divided into several sections which incorporate artworks of various types of art. The section worthy of particular attention is the one dedicated to the art of jewellery making in the 12th-13th centuries. About 250 rare items derived from the treasures found during archaeological excavations and scientific researches in the Moscow Kremlin territory include precious pieces of jewellery, gems, remarkable sacred objects and domestic utensils of the Old Russian and pre-Mongolian period.
Learn more on our thematic site 'Treasures and Antiquities of the Moscow Kremlin'
