History of Russia: Rarities of the Patriotic War of 1812 go on display in Moscow

The All-Russian Museum of Decorative-Applied and Folk Arts, Moscow has opened a pre-auction show of Russian antiquities from the time of the Patriotic War of 1812.

The exhibition gives a chance to see unique articles of the legendary epoch. Its curator, art historian Sergei Podstanitsky says that the collection is primarily made of prints and lithographs which portray people and battles of the Napoleonic era, autographs of contemporaries, commemorative medals and snuffboxes, and miniatures.

– One of the highlights is a portrait of Emperor Alexander I by an eminent English portrait-painter George Dawe. Visitors will also discover a diary of an anonymous participant of foreign campaigns of 1813–1814. Access to such documents is rather limited, and you can hardly find them in many archives. It describes the life of the Russian army during its stay in Europe, touches upon personalities of major political and diplomatic figures of that time, – Sergei Podstanitsky commented.

On show are paintings by a battle scenes painter Bogdan Willewalde, which present scenes from 1812–1814 campaigns, a rare collection of bronze figurines of Napoleon’s soldiers made by a famous sculptor Pyotr Turgenev. The exposition also showcases memorial belongings of heroes and participants of those battles: a glass, decorated with silver and precious stones, which belonged to Count Matvey Dmitriev-Mamonov, rare faience jugs, and medals.