In 1725, a period of great change, laborious efforts, and glorious achievements – the Petrine era – came to an end as the Russian Empire bid farewell to its founder, the tsar-reformer Peter the Great. Three centuries later, an exhibition project by the Moscow Kremlin Museums aims to illuminate the key stages of the emperor's "last triumph", recount his immortalisation in the memory of posterity, and showcase the formation of one of the most important collections of memorial items – the wardrobe of Peter I.
A wide range of leading national museums, archives, and libraries are participating in the exhibition. In two halls – the One-Pillar Chamber of the Patriarch's Palace and the Assumption Belfry – more than two hundred unique exhibits are on display, including a letter to the Prussian king Frederick William I – the last document personally signed by Peter the Great – as well as a drawing in the form of a scroll almost ten metres long, capturing the grandiose funeral procession of the "Father of the Fatherland".
Despite the efforts of doctors, Emperor Peter I passed away on the morning of 28 January 1725. The preparation of the monarch's burial was undertaken for the first time in Russian history by a specially created Mourning Commission, headed by General-Feldzeugmeister Count Ya.V. Bruce. He was tasked with conducting the funeral "in the manner of other European States", continuing the reforms to the court burial rite that Peter I himself had once begun. The sovereign personally participated in the development of programmes for the solemn funerals of members of the royal house and his closest associates: F. Lefort, P. Gordon, F.A. Golovin, and Ya.F. Dolgorukov. Their portraits, as well as rarest images of mourning cortèges, and commemorative items distributed to honoured guests at burial ceremonies from the late 17th to the first quarter of the 18th century (such as memorial rings and spoons), can be seen in the exhibition hall of the Patriarch's Palace.
A special place in the exhibition hall is devoted to richly illustrated editions dedicated to the "mourning ceremonies" of European rulers: the "Great Elector" Frederick William I of Brandenburg and Queen Sophia Charlotte of Prussia. Also, for the first time, on display is a unified collection of items related to the farewell ceremony for Peter the Great in the Mourning Hall of the Winter Palace and the solemn procession to the emperor's final resting place in the Peter and Paul Cathedral – the new burial vault of the Romanov dynasty. Specifically for these events, by order of Empress Catherine I, the state regalia, luxurious horse trappings, and armour for the Mourning and Joyful Knights were brought from the Moscow Armoury Chamber to Saint Petersburg. According to European tradition, these knights symbolised the enduring glory of the monarch through the ages. Thus, although Peter the Great was the first Russian monarch to be buried in the Northern capital, the Moscow Kremlin played a significant role in preparing his "last triumph".
Two weeks after the death of Peter I, an announcement was printed regarding the wearing of mourning in honour of the late emperor. Unique garments belonging to Peter I and his grandson, Grand Prince Peter Alexeyevich (the future Emperor Peter II), help to form an understanding of the features of the court mourning costume of that era, including its colour scheme, decoration, and accessories.
The theme of memorial costume is developed in the exhibition hall of the Assumption Belfry, where items from three of the most significant historically and artistically important components of Peter the Great's wardrobe, held in the State Hermitage, the Moscow Kremlin Museums, and the State Historical Museum, are exhibited together for the first time. This represents the world's finest collection of men's costume from the late 17th to the first quarter of the 18th century, which has survived to our day thanks to the care of members of the imperial family and the efforts of several generations of curators and restorers.
Visitors to the exhibition can see both the traditional tsarist garments of Peter I (including a robe of Italian brocade), the so-called "Hungarian" and "Polish" caftans, as well as military uniforms, parade sets in the Western style, work and home clothing, shoes, and headgear. At the same time, pieces from the sovereign's personal wardrobe vividly demonstrate how attentively Peter I treated fashion and how he strove to match his appearance to the status of a European monarch. Costumes and graphic portraits of Peter the Great allow us to see him outside the framework of the habitual, replicated image over the centuries – enabling us to imagine the tsar-reformer not only in the clothes of a carpenter or warrior, but also in exquisite attire in the style of Louis XIV.
The items in the exhibition hall of the Assumption Belfry testify to both the dynamic changes in the clothing of the Russian nobility and service class of the Petrine era, and to the influence of the monarch's personal preferences on the radical shift in the history of costume and fashion in Russia at the turn of the 17th–18th centuries.
