Digest Collection-2022

25. DIDACTIC GOSPEL

Moscow Print Yard, September 1686

 “The Didactic Gospel, or Sunday Explanatory” is a collection of sermons for all Sundays of the year, as well as for the most important religious holidays and saints’ days. The book was compiled at the end of IX century by the translator and hymnographer Constantine of Bulgaria, Bishop of Preslav, on the basis of conversations of St. John Chrysostom, Cyril of Alexandria and other Christian writers. The book was first printed by Ivan Fedorov and Peter Mstislavets in 1569 in Zabludovo. It was intended for reading in church as well as for home reading. The book is opened at the sermon on the Nativity of Jesus Christ, which is celebrated on December 25 / January 7.

Book: paper, two-color printing, ornament: title page in a built-up patterned frame, 1 initial, 83 headpieces, 36 end-pieces. Binding of the XVIII-XIX centuries: boards in brown leather with gold embossing, 1 metal figured fastener. The edging is painted yellow.

The book has a note about its purchase in 1690 to the St. Nicholas Monastery of Ugresha under Hegumen Joseph (1688-1691). 

The book comes from the St. Nicholas Monastery of Ugresha

FIRST TIME ON DISPLAY

24. SCULPTURE. LION HOLDING A BALL. XVII C.

The sculpture of a lion may have been an element of the decor of a wooden carved kliros (choir-place for singers in the church). In the Christian tradition, the image of the lion is relevant to one of the symbols of Jesus Christ, namely the image of the Messiah as the Victorious King coming from the tribe of the sons of Judah. In the Bible, the genealogy of Christ comes from this tribe. The power of the lion and his uncontestable place as the king of beasts made him the emblem of the Savior. The ball in the lion’s paws symbolizes power, strength, vigilance and spiritual strength.

The sculpture was received in 1930 from the Central State Restoration Workshops of the People’s Commissariat of Education.

Wood, carving, painting, gilding.

23. 6-CANDLE STAND.Netherlands. Late XVII – early XVIII century

The heavy table candle stand of considerable size is decorated with an ornament of simplified human hands, birds’ heads and herbs. Such candle stands for a long time made part of rich European home interiors.

Things from the Netherlands were known in Russia as early as the reign of Ivan IV the Terrible. It is in the XVI century that Dutch merchants began to settle down in Moscow. From that time on, Russia’s trade and political relations with the Netherlands gained ground. The Dutch influence on Russia reached its peak during the reforms of Peter I. In 1697, after his visit to Western Europe with the Great Embassy, Tsar Peter I introduced, among other things, some innovations into our material culture that gradually became adapted in everyday life.

Copper alloy; casting, lathework.

22. ISAAC THE SYRIAN. THE LESSONS OF THE REVEREND FATHER ISAAC THE SYRIAN. TRANSLATED BY PAISIUS VELICHKOVSKY

On the pages one can see a handwritten note saying that the book was donated to the St. Nicholas Monastery of Ugresha by the abbot Archimandrite Pimen on May 10, 1870. There are reader’s margin notes in the text, and an enclosed page with extracts of the 49 sermons written down by the hand of hegumen Hilary, abbot of the St. Nicholas Monastery of Ugresha in 1834-1852 and the first owner of the book. After hegumen Hilary left the monastery, the book descended to Archimandrite Pimen, who was the abbot of the monastery from 1852 until his death on August 17, 1880. Later, he was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in 2004 and is venerated as Reverend.

This year marks 200 years since the manuscript was created. The work of St. Isaac the Syrian is of transcendent importance both for the religious people and the laity. The book ‘Lessons’, or ‘Sermons for Those Who Fast’, became known in Russia since XIV century. It was written by St. Isaac the Syrian, Bishop of Nineveh, one of the most authoritative ascetic writers in monasticism who lived in Assyria and Syria in VII century. One of the first centers of book circulation in the country was the Trinity-St. Sergius Monastery. In the second half of XVIII century, the ‘Sermons for Those Who Fast’ were translated and edited by elder Paisius Velichkovsky. His ascetic work in the Nyametsky Monastery (located in modern Romania) ended with the publication in 1812 translation of the 91 sermons of Isaac the Syrian. Because the import of books of the Russian and Slavic press into Russia was banned, the work of Isaac the Syrian was distributed in numerous handwritten copies. The Russian edition of the ‘Sermons for Those Who Fast’ with notes by the monks of the Monastery of Optina was published only in 1854. 

In XIX century, the manuscripts of Isaac the Syrian were included in the libraries of many zealots of piety, in particular, in the libraries of Metropolitan Filaret (Drozdov) and Archimandrite Leonid (Kavelin). In the 1820s, the work of Isaac the Syrian was published in ‘Christian Reading’. It also had a great influence on the writer Feodor Dostoevsky while he was working on the novels Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov.

Book: paper, ink, ornament: title page in an ornamental frame, 1 headpiece with the image of Isaac the Syrian, initials, frames, ending. Binding of the 1820s: cardboard in brown leather with gold embossing, mottled (marble imitating) book edge. Fly-leaves made of green and white marble patterned paper. Made from paper produced in Russia in 1811-1820. The text of the manuscript belongs to the most popular 2nd edition.

The book originates from the St. Nicholas Monastery of Ugresha near Moscow

FIRST TIME ON THE DISPLAY

21. Folding mirror. Russia, late XVII century

This folding mirror decorated with tin and mica refers to the household items of a very wealthy Russian dwelling of the second half of XVII century. Here we can see a special decorative technique – wooden surfaces are upholstered with openwork casting strips from tin and lead ligatures placed on tinted mica. This technique gained popularity in Russia in the second half of XVII century, and was used until the middle of XVIII century. Most of the objects created in this technique, including entire iconostases, were found in the Russian North in Arkhangelsk, Kholmogory, Solvychegodsk, and in the Kirillo-Belozersky, Siysky monasteries. 

According to the descriptions of XVII century, similar folding mirrors were kept in the royal treasury in the Moscow Kremlin Armory, as well as in the Moscow houses of Princes Vasily Golitsyn and Alexey Vorotynsky, boyar Nikita Romanov.

The folding mirror embodies the artistic traditions and tastes of its time, which is characterized by the desire for patterns, colorfulness and elegance.

iron, tin, mirror glass, woodwork, casting, incuse, mounting, tinning

20. THREE GLASS BOTTLES IN HOT-GLASS GLASSBLOWING TECHNIQUE

Three glass bottles are made in the technique of hot-glass furnace glassblowing, or guta technique. The name of this technique originates from the Latin word ‘gutta’ meaning ‘a drop’. In Western Europe and Ukraine small glass factories were called gutas. Today, guta is a part of a glass factory, where glass furnaces are located and glass is melted, and glass products are molded. Guta technique is a method of molding products through a combination of several specific manual techniques for processing hot glass, including blowing into a mold, free blowing without molds, molding and melting various parts. The entire cycle of operations is performed near the glass furnace. Gut tools include a glass blowing tube, scissors for cutting hot glass, forceps, tweezers, rollers – with all these tools the product is blown out in a hot state in front of the glass furnace. The temperature of the glass mass during molding is about 1000 degrees Celsius. Guta technique is one of the oldest glass technologies. The color of the glass depends on the impurities of the oxides. Green and brownish glass was the most common, whereas white and transparent glass was most highly-prized. The shade of green glass produced in the XVII-XVIII centuries could vary from light green to emerald and brown-green. If you hold it to light, you can see air bubbles and grains of sand. It is attributable to the insufficiently high temperature in the furnace and the difficulty of maintaining a stable temperature for a long time.

The presented bottles have a common feature – the transition from the body to the neck is decorated with a strap. In those days, it was possible to buy balms, elixirs, ointments or pills, as well as perfumery products, in the glass packaging. During transportation, such bottles had to be tightly closed and sealed, so ground-in stoppers came in use. The bottles were corked, then the stoppers were flowed with wax, and only then the manufacturer or owner of the product put his seal on the wax.

Similar bottles could be found in the buffets of noble houses. In the noble culture, the tradition of feasts, make of homemade liqueurs, balms and tinctures flourished, so the glassware was always in demand.

Glass, hot-glass glassblowing technique.

1790-1810s. Russia.

19. FLAGON, VOLOGDA GOVERNORATE, RUSSIA LATE XVII - EARLY XIX CENTURY

 Copper flagons made in Northern Russia for gala tables had been known since ancient Russian times. Traditionally, they were used to serve alcoholic drinks such as beer or home brew. A flagon was not put on the table: after filling the guests’ cups and glasses the hostess would take it back away. Flagons had various volumes, from 3 to 12 liters. On holidays, smartly dressed hostesses would stand before their huts offering beer or home brew in flagons to passers-by. Before holidays, the flagons were polished up with cowberry or cranberry juice and sometimes with river sand. In the Arkhangelsk and Vologda region villages flagons were still in use in the early XX century.

Copper, tin;

Shaping, soldering, riveting, incuse

18. WILHELM STRATEMANN. THEATRON, OR HISTORICAL REVIEW. AUGUST 1724.

The book: paper, monochrome printing, copper engraving on the title page, ornament: some pages in line frames, 3 initials, 1 headpiece, 4 end-pieces, 1 built-up pattern. The engraving in the medallions depicts Christ in the form of a good shepherd at the top, the Mother of God at the bottom. On the sides there are Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, a young man with a sword and a cross, a young man with a sword and a book. In the lower part of the engraving there is the views of the Peter and Paul Fortress and the Alexander Nevski Monastery.

According to the note on the book, in 1859 it was given to the hospital library of the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery by the order of Archimandrite Pimen (1852-1880). The book has a run of 1,200 copies. Originates from the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery near Moscow

First time on display

The book ‘Theatrum historicum’was written by a German Protestant historian and theologian Wilhelm Stratemann (1629-1684). At the order of Emperor Peter I, it was translated from Latin into Russian under the guidance of hieromonach Gabriel Buzhinsky (1680-1731). He added to the ‘Theatron’ a preface to the reader and a dedication to Peter I and his wife Catherine. It includes the history of the Holy Scriptures and the history from the beginning of the world to the year 1680, as well as the enumeration and description of important historical personalities. The author divided the world history into 10 periods of 400 years each. In 1749, at the order of Empress Elizabeth, the ‘Theatron’ was withdrawn from circulation because it contained disrespectful reviews of the Church Fathers. Later, the books were allowed to be sold, but without the first few pages including the dedication and the translator's preface.

17. GOBLET WITH A PORTRAIT AND A MONOGRAM OF EMPEROR NICHOLAS I, SECOND QUARTER OF XIX CENTURY.

The goblet is made of colorless transparent glass with a cone-shaped bowl on a stem. The stem consists of a baluster, that is, a small figured column, and decorative apple and pillow-shaped knops. The cup itself is decorated with engravings: portrait of Emperor Nicholas I on one side and the Emperor’s monogram, H (N) I on the other side. The monogram is topped with a crown surrounded with laurel branches - the initial letter N and the roman number one. The Emperor’s monogram is topped with a crown surrounded by laurel branches. An identical branch decorates the goblet’s dome-like lid that has a smooth round grab handle.

The goblet was produced at the Imperial Glass Factory. It was founded in the early 1730s, on the Fontanka River in Saint Petersburg, by an Englishman William Elmsall who had previously leased the factory in Yamburg (after the death of its owner, Prince Menshikov). Elmzel transferred the equipment of the Yamburg factory to his own enterprise. Polishing and engraving workshops were set up in St. Petersburg, whereas glass production was located on the Lava River near St. Petersburg.

Such goblets are called ‘representational glass’. Representational or ‘granted’ glassware was made for a special gala occasion such as coronation, name day of the reigning emperor or the Russian army’s victories. The purity and brilliance of the glass (pearl ash crystal glass) are characteristic of the Imperial Glass Factory products.

Goblet with a portrait and a monogram of Emperor Nicholas I

Imperial Glass Factory 

White transparent glass; blowing, wrapping up, engraving, faceting

Height 10.1 cm, diameter 6.7 cm

16. MUG. MOSCOW, 1770S 

The mug, made by an unknown Moscow jeweler, is distinguished by magnificent elegance and high craftsmanship. It is created in the Baroque style notable for opulence and emphatic decorative effect. The mug is decorated with high embossed reliefs that create a beautiful play of light and shadow on the silver. The body of the mug is incused with ringlets and shells. A bird and a fish are also included in the pattern. The mug gives us an idea of the artistic tastes of Russia during the golden age of the noble monarchy. The reforms introduced by the first Russian emperor Peter the Great led to great changes in the lifestyle of the nobility. Mugs with a hinged flap lid came into fashion together with other everyday life items and European customs. The development of silver mines in the Urals at the beginning of XVIII century contributed to the growth of jewelry production in Russia. Although, it was centered in Moscow and Saint Petersburg – the largest cities attracting the best qualified masters.

Mug

Moscow, 1770s 

Silver; forging, incuse, gilding

15. GILDED FRAGMENT FROM THE ICONOSTASIS “CURLS AND ROSES”. MID-XVIII C. 

The fragment “Curls and Roses” is part of the lost gilded iconostasis of the middle of XVIII century from the church of Alexey, metropolitan of Moscow, in Rogozhskaya Sloboda. The сhurch was built in 1748-1751 under Empress Elizabeth Petrovna by architect Prince Dmitry Ukhtomsky (1719-1774) in the style of Elizabethan Baroque. The iconostasis was decorated with gilded sculptures, framed with ornate frames called cartouche and magnificent Baroque carvings. It ended with a large-scale sculptural composition "The Ascension of Christ". In the carving of the iconostasis, one could notice the main motif with carved curls combined with flowers, among which the rose flower stood out. Not only the iconostasis was decorated with gilded carvings, but also fragments of the wall painting of the church were framed with it. In 1931, after the church of Alexey, metropolitan of Moscow, was closed, the iconostasis was dismantled. Some of its fragments were transferred to the collection of MGOMZ and the A.V. Shchusev Museum of Architecture.

Gilded fragment from the iconostasis

Mid-XVIII c. 

Wood, levkas; carving, gilding

14. STANDING RUSHLIGHT HOLDER. RUSSIA, XVII C.

A svetets or a rushlight holder is a metal lighting device with holders for a rushlight. A rushlight is a thin wooden splinter that was set on fire from one end to illuminate the dwelling. The rushlight holders became widespread in the end of XVIII century, when a special tax on wax and tallow candles was introduced, whereas the rushlights were exempt from tax. The portable rushlight holders were convenient in everyday life, because they could be freely moved around, but it was unsafe: the floor could catch fire from hot coals. In order to avoid a fire, a bowl with water was placed under the round stand, so that coals from a rushlight fell into it. At the same time, the water reflected the light of the burning rushlight, and the room became brighter. Wrought-iron holders not only illuminated, but also decorated the room. The blacksmiths decorated the forged constructions with spirals and curls. Rushlights were usually made of birch or pine. Children were usually engaged in the preparation of rushlights. To make the log of wood easier to disperse into splinters, it was soaked or steamed in a Russian stove. A dry rushlight 40 cm long could burn for about 10 minutes. To increase the time of burning, they were covered with tar, grease, wax or resin. Then they could burn up to half an hour. In the villages, such improvised lighting devices were used up until the early XX century.

Floor-stand rushlight holder (svetets)

Russia, XVII c. 

Iron; forging

13. ‘PEACOCK’ GINGERBREAD MOLD. NIZHNY NOVGOROD GOVERNORATE, RUSSIA, SECOND HALF OF XIX CENTURY

In Russia, gingerbread molds were first mentioned in the XVII century. Besides Tula, a well-known gingerbread production center, they were widely produced in other big Russian cities. There are various types of molds: figured, individual, set molds, as well as celebratory and city molds. The ‘peacock’ mold from our museum collection is a figured one.

This type of board was used for making individual gingerbreads. Their molding surface is determined by the visual outlines of the image. Gingerbread boards were made of well-seasoned birch, pear or linden wood. To decorate the board, the master created carvings with small incised patterns of varied depths, which determined the future outlines of the gingerbread. The main subjects of gingerbread molds were ornaments, architectural structures, ‘peacock’ birds with a fan-shaped tail, swans, Sirins – mythological birds, as well as animals and motifs borrowed from folk tales. Gingerbread was the most affordable and popular sweets. The production of gingerbread molds was developed in towns of Gorodets, Rybinsk, Moscow, Tula, Vyazma, Tver, Arkhangelsk and Vologda.

‘Peacock’ gingerbread mold

Second half of XIX c.

Nizhny Novgorod Governorate 

Wood; carving

12. DIMITRIE CANTEMIR. SYSTEM OF THE MOHAMMEDAN RELIGION. SAINT PETERSBURG, 1722

Printed 300 years ago, the book became the first Russian-language publication on Oriental Studies. This treatise on the Mohammedan religion was written by a Moldavian prince and scientist Dimitrie Cantemir (1673-1723) at the order of Peter I. It describes Mohammedan practices and gives a brief account of the Arabic science. The book was translated from Latin into Russian by Ivan Ilyinsky (?-1737), writer and tutor of Dimitrie Cantemir’s son, Antiochus (1708-1744), who was to become a satire poet. Dimitrie Cantemir was an exceptionally educated man: beside his native Moldavian, he spoke Turkish, Persian, Arabic, Greek, Latin, Italian, Russian and French languages. Till the end of his life, he remained a confidant of Peter I. As a counselor on Oriental issues he contributed to the establishment of Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences. His writings also include treatises on history, music and architecture.

The book includes a table of European, Indian and Arabic numbers engraved by Pieter Picart (Dutchman by origin) and an engraving by an outstanding Russian master of the Petrine epoch Alexey Zubov. The latter shows three women’s figures – personification of Asia, Africa and Europe, all standing under a tree with serpent-like roots and leaves. Under the tree there also lies a prostrate man. This symbol is an allusion to the Tree of Knowledge growing in the Garden of Eden. The early XIX century book cover: cardboard covered with mottled (marble imitating) leather, gold-tooled book title and ornament on the back. Mottled book edge. ‘Peacock feather’ ornamented fly-leaves.  

On the front page there is a note about the book owner (supposedly, counselor and senator Ivan Kushelev, 1751-1817). Besides, there are occasional reader’s notes inside. 

The book is a life edition, with a run of 1,050 copies.

Purchased into the museum collection in 1982 at the Moscow House of the Book No.200.

First time on display.

11. MOZHAYSK ICON OF ST. NICHOLAS THE WONDERWORKER. XVII-XIX CC.

The fretted icon case topped with an image of Lord of Sabaoth (Lord of the Hosts) frames a sculpture of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker known as ‘St. Nicholas of Mozhaysk’. An unknown master created this image in the late XVII century. 

St. Nicholas is the most revered Western Christian saint in the Orthodox Church. He lived in late III – first half of the IV century AD and served as Bishop of the Lycian city of Myra. In Ancient Russia, he was revered as patron of the Church and all the Orthodox Christians. The image that you can see has got its name after a well-known XIV century wooden sculpture coming from the town of Mozhaysk (now in Moscow Oblast). As a legend has it, when the town suffered an attack by the Tatars, St. Nicholas appeared to strengthen the defenders’ faith. Standing on a cloud, the saint was wearing a vestment decorated with an omophorion, a symbol of the bishop’s power, holding a sword in one hand and a church in the other. In gratitude, the saved townsmen created a sculpture of St. Nicholas and put it on the top of the town gates. 

The sculptured image of ‘St. Nicholas of Mozhaysk’ showing the saint as defender of Russian cities and towns were widespread all over the country. Framed in a wooden case, it could often be found in churches. Many of the sculptures worked miracles. The image is also greatly revered at St. Nicholas Monastery of Ugresha founded after another miraculous appearance: before the Battle of Kulikovo, Grand Duke Dmitry, later nicknamed Donskoy, saw the image of St. Nicholas on a pine tree.

Mozhaysk icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in a case. From the Saint Chapel, St. Nicholas Monastery of Ugresha, Moscow Oblast

Sculpture

Russia, late XVII c.

Wood, gesso; carving, painting, gilding

Icon case

Moscow, XIX c.

Wood, gesso, fabric, silver thread lace; carving, tempera painting, gilding.

10. APOSTLE. Moscow, 1597

The year 2022 marks 425 years since the book was published. To this day, less than 100 copies of the book have survived.

The first Russian printing house the Moscow Print Yard was destroyed in 1565-1566. The Moscow typographer Andronik Timofeev Nevezha followed the footsteps of the first printer Ivan Fedorov. In his edition, Nevezha followed the traditions established by the first printed ‘Apostle’ of 1564. The image of the apostle Luke distinguished by asceticism and chastity ascends to the unshaded trace drawing of icons. The printer Andronik Nevezha managed to create a classic type of the apostle, which was used many times in Moscow publications. The signature of the master is carved at the bottom, so this engraving is the first signed wood print in a Moscow publication. The signature on the frame at the bottom of the engraving says: “Andronik Timofeev Nevezha”, and on the top it says “MSRPCT”: “master pechatny (master of printing)”. The signature uses an ancient technique called ‘backswording’, so a part of the master's name should be read backwards. According to the medieval tradition, the masters usually did not sign their works, and for this reason Andronik Nevezha partially encrypted his signature. Only in the 1650s, during the reign of Tsar Alexey Mikhailovich, when the influence of West European book learning spread more and more across Russia, masters started to sign the engravings in Moscow publications.

Apostle
Printed by Andronik Timofeev Nevezha, July 4, 1597
Binding of the second half of XVIII century: wood, leather, embossing, two metal fasteners. 
Moscow Print Yard.

9. Jug with handle. St. Petersburg, 1880s

The jug is made in the technique of milk glass, or frosted glass. It is known that the technique of chemical delustering (or etching) was invented in France at the beginning of XIX century, but did not become widely used. In the early 1850s, it was patented at the English Richardson Factory (founded in 1829) and soon began to come into use in many European glass industries, including the Imperial Glass Factory.

The jug is decorated with a polychrome ornament on a solid milky background with an opal shade. The high-quality painting beyond all doubt attests to the fact that the item was manufactured at the Imperial Factory.

After the first glass factory in St. Petersburg closed in 1774, a glass factory in the village of Nazya in the Shlisselburg district (1777) became a major glass supplier for the needs of the Imperial Court. It was granted by Empress Catherine II to Prince Grigory Potemkin in lifetime heritable tenure. In 1779, Potemkin moved the glass factory to his estate of Ozerki at St. Petersburg, south of the Alexander Nevski Monastery. After the death of the Prince, the factory was bought back to the treasury by Catherine II and named the Imperial Glass Factory. Later, it became part of the Imperial Porcelain Factory as an independent factory, which existed until 1917.

Jug with handle

1880s

Glass, etching

St. Petersburg, Imperial Glass Factory

8. Cabbage head-shaped bowl with a lid. Moscow, 1776 

This bowl created by an unknown silversmith is a unique example of late XVIII century Moscow jewelry art. It took more than 1.5 kilograms of 875 parts fine silver to make this festive table item. An incused relief cabbage leaf pattern goes all over the bowl surface. The lid is topped with a cast broccoli figure surrounded with a wreath of flowers. The entire composition looks very natural. 

The silver mining developed in the Urals in the early XVIII century boosted jewelry production in Russia. Many novelties were introduced with the change in the Russian nobility lifestyle: thus, the French cuisine came into fashion under Catherine II and radically changed the Russian table traditions. The changes in cuisine, in their turn, influenced the table setting style. New table sets included salad, soup and broth bowls. Empress Catherine II even issued a special decree that prescribed to use the finest silver to produce silver tableware. 

Cabbage head-shaped bowl with a lid

Moscow, Russia, 1776 

Silver. Forging, incuse, soldering, gilding

7. Door hinges. Kolomenskoe, Moscow Governorate, XVII century. 

These door hinges with floral ornaments originate from the Palace of Tsar Alexey Mikhailovich, which was built at Kolomenskoe in 1667-1668. In the 1920s, during restoration work, the hinges were found in the ground at the former site of the Palace at the territory of Tsar’s Courtyard. Unfortunately, though, they have been preserved to our days with significant losses. The hinges are similar in size, shape and ornament. They are the remains of a once-famous blacksmith attire of the Tsar’s Palace at Kolomenskoe. The similarity of all three hinges let us suggest that they were forged by the same master. The best craftsmen of that time, in particular, the blacksmiths of the Moscow Kremlin Armory, worked on the decoration of the royal palace. We know the name of one of the masters – Boris Mikhailov. He was known as “the master of iron and carving”, who worked for many years “every iron work in the village of Kolomenskoe”. 

Door hinge (a strap hinge – zhikovina)

Village of Kolomenskoe, Moscow uyezd, Moscow Governorate

XVII century

Iron, tin; forging, notching, tinning

Door hinge (fragment)

Village of Kolomenskoe, Moscow uyezd, Moscow Governorate

XVII century

Iron, tin; hot forging, notching, tinning

Door hinge (fragment)

Village of Kolomenskoe, Moscow uyezd, Moscow Governorate

XVII century

Iron, tin; forging, notching, tinning

Found in the ground on the site of the Chancellery during restoration in 1926.

6. Disc-shaped Kvassnik (a vessel for kvass) with the image of a lion and a rooster 

In the history of pottery and majolica art products development in Russia, XVIII century was a time of intense technical and artistic searches, inventions and findings. During this period, the masters of Gzhel ceramics grasped the production technology of majolica with multicolored painting. Disc-shaped kumgans (narrow-necked vessels with spout) and kvassniks were the most popular vessels to produce. 

The vessel surface was painted in a realistic manner, mostly with images of animals and birds: lions and deer, squirrels and hares, roosters, turkeys, cranes and other birds. Most of these images are redesigned plots common to XVII century relief polychrome and XVIII century painted glazed tiles. The diverse flora in the paintings, although generalized, looks so natural that it is even possible to perform its botanical analysis. In addition to birch and other trees, Gzhel masters painted on their products many plants peculiar to marshland, for example, water arum, globeflower, horsetail, wild leek and others. The paintings emphasize the shapes of the vessels, making them more expressive.

The uncommonly shaped kvassniks were a must-have in hot summer days. Two or three centuries ago most houses or farmsteads had deep ice-cellars where the ice and snow stayed as long as the autumn. In summer, the hostess would go down to the cellar and pick up some snow to fill in the central hole of the kvassnik. As clay is a porous substance, the icy moisture could penetrate inside the vessel and cool the drink. 

the village of Gzhel, Moscow Governorate, Russia

Last third of XVIII century

Majolica, colored enamels; molding, modeling, painting, firing

5. Christ in the Dungeon

The wooden ‘Christ in the Dungeon’ sculptures have been known in Russia since the XVII century and became widespread all over the country in the two following centuries. The numerous synonymous names include ‘Midnight Christ’, ‘Christ Sitting’, ‘Savior in Sorrow’, ‘Christ in Passion’, ‘Christ Flagellated’, ‘Savior in the Crown of Thorns’, ‘Christ in Distress’, ‘The Sorrowed’, and ‘Christ in Chains’. 

This iconographic image originated from Western Europe where a similar ‘Man of Sorrows’ plot was popular. The latter depicts a half-naked Christ wearing only the Crown of Thorns and a waistcloth and sitting in front of the cross, with his right or left hand supporting the head or sometimes holding a tree branch or a cane symbolizing the royal scepter. This image had a West European literary source – ‘Passions of Christ’ that was translated into Church Slavonic in Ukraine and got widespread in Russia in the reign of Tsar Alexey Romanov. 

The sculptures were usually placed in small ‘dungeons’ and put by the church iconostasis, at the northern wall of the church. The composition was lit with an icon lamp and Christ was clothed in brocade. The sculpture on display, coming from the museum collection, was apparently placed in a church wall niche.

Late XVIII – first third of the XIX century

Russia

Wood; carving, painting. 33×10×12 cm

4. FR. LEONID (KAVELIN) HISTORICAL ESSAY ON THE RESURRECTION STAUROPEGIAL MONASTERY, ALSO KNOWN AS THE NEW JERUSALEM. MOSCOW, 1876

In 2022, it is the 200th anniversary of archimandrite Leonid (born Lev Alexandrovich Kavelin) – theologian, historian, archeographer, translator and bibliographer. In 1869, he became Superior of the Resurrection Monastery (a.k.a. New Jerusalem), and in 1877 he was appointed Abbot of the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius. Fr. Leonid was author of many historical essays on Russian Monasteries, hagiographies, digests of Slavic and Russian manuscript archives. The present work describes the Resurrection stauropegial Monastery founded in 1656 by Patriarch Nikon who wished to create in the vicinity of Moscow a reconstruction of the holy shrines of Palestine.

Issued by Mihail Katkov at Moscow University Printing House in 1876
Book: paper, printing, the lithograph: ‘His Holiness Nikon Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, copied from the 1650 portrait by Johann Deters, master of parsuna portraits working for the Tsar’s court and at that time staying at the Resurrection Monastery’.  
The inscription under the frame reads: ‘Shelkovnikov’s tipo-lithography, Shvivaya Gorka, Moscow’. 
The half-binding of late XIX century: consists of cardboard glued over with brown-colored paper, leather backbone, corners made of fabric and ‘stained’ blue and red book edge. 
The book has an inscription confirming that it was purchased at the New Jerusalem Monastery on 20 May, 1897 by Iosif Filippovich Ulemsky.
Lifetime edition
Comes from the Moscow State Integrated Museum-Reserve scientific library
First time on display.

3. SMALL TOWER-SHAPED CHEST (‘TEREMOK’). VELIKY USTYUG, SECOND HALF OF XVII CENTURY

Small chests with metal decoration have been well known since XIII century. Most of small chests were of northern origin — in the XVI–XVII centuries, imported European metal was sold in the markets of the towns of Kholmogory, Arkhangelsk and Veliky Ustyug, mica was mined on the White Sea coast, and these facts predetermined their popularity. Well-set and richly decorated with metal, they were popular both in Moscow and in distant towns and monasteries. They were used for keeping business correspondence, money, sealing wax for seals or expensive wax candles. A widespread type of small chests in XVII century was the tower-shaped one, also called the ‘teremok’.

Tower-shaped chests had two tiers. Inside the lower tier, a box with a secret compartment was often installed. A ring fixed in the center was used to lift the lid of the ‘teremok’. The side walls were decorated with mica with underlay and perforated metal.

Wood, brass, mica. Carpentry, perforation

Small tower-shaped chest (‘teremok’)

Second half of XVII century 

Veliky Ustyug

2. GILDED COLUMN FROM THE ICONOSTASIS. MOSCOW, the 1680S

The column is decorated with gilded carvings in baroque style, called ‘flemskaya’ or ‘Belarusian carving’. This new type of carving came from the word ‘der Flame’ (the Flemish) or flamisch (Flemish). A third of the column is decorated with grapes, leaves, large curls with perls (Old Russian for ‘pearls’). Such three-dimensional carvings appeared in the decoration of Russian iconostasis in the second half of XVII century due to the Belarusian carvers who had arrived to Russia from the western parts of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The craftsmen brought new carpenter’s tools that made it possible to cut three-dimensional carvings, as well as Western European illustrated books and albums with engravings designed to help architects, decorators and carvers.

Gilded column (a third with the base) from the iconostasis

The 1680s

Wood, levkas; carving, gilding

Height - 75 cm, diameter - 30 cm

Moscow. Carvings and Carpentry Chamber of the Armory Chamber

Origin: the Assumption Cathedral of the Simonov Monastery

1. MENAION (MONTHLY LITURGICAL BOOK) FOR JANUARY. MOSCOW, 1622

The book was published 400 years ago, in the reign of Tsar Mikhail Romanov and during the patriarchate of his father Filaret, at the Moscow Print Yard reconstructed after the Times of Trouble. It is open on the page dedicated to the Theophany of Christ, one of the 12 main Christian holidays celebrated on 6 (19) January. 

A menaion (Greek for ‘monthly’) is an almanac of liturgical texts, either commemorating a saint or celebrating a holiday, arranged for each day of one month. The full set of menaions for the year thus makes 12 books. Unlike hagiographical menologies that contain the lives of saints and are intended for private reading at home or in a monastic cell, menaions are used for carrying service in Orthodox churches. The Moscow Print Yard was the first to publish menaions: in 1606-1610, it issued the books from September to December and in 1619-1630, when it had resumed its work after the Times of Trouble, the almanacs from January to August saw light. There were several more menaion editions in the XVII century.

The headlines are highlighted in red (with cinnabar) and printed in ligature - a decorative script where the letters are connected into an integral ornament. The headpieces are stylized as a white herbal ornament against a black background. The book was printed on a hand-made paper with a ‘One-handle jug’ watermark - such paper was made in the French provinces of Champenoise, Auvergne, Dauphiné, Piémont, Touraine, Normandy, Campagne, Angoulême and others. In Old Russia, paper marked with such a watermark was called ‘undertin’ as the ‘jug’-type watermarks used from XV to XVII centuries copy the shape of tin jugs of that time. The book cover dates back to the 1620s, with a wooden plate restored in the XIX century, Other materials and techniques used: leather, tooling, metal (2 cover lock loops). The copy is complete.

Origin: St. Nicholas Monastery of Ugresha (Moscow Region). First time on display.