To the 250the anniversary of the State Hermitage Museum: the exhibition “Gifts of the East and the West to the Imperial Court for 300 years” in Saint-Petersburg

December 3, 2014 in the Eastern Wing of the General Staff (Saint-Petersburg) is opening the exhibition “Gifts of the East and the West to the Imperial Court for 300 years”.

It features about 400 works of art and applied art, weapons, books and numismatic value, given by Russian rulers from Peter I to Nicholas II.

The gifts were presented during diplomatic visits and meetings, with the successful conduct of hostilities and the establishment of the world, which took place especially solemnly. Sometimes the offerings were private, they were passed during travels. Often Emperors of the Court exchanged gifts for family and calendar holidays, such as Christmas or Easter. Sometimes the things embody the additional semantic overtone.

The exhibition features exhibits, most typical for art of countries-givers, which art merits are not inferior to their historical value. With the gifts foreign states demonstrated on the one hand a deep respect to Russia, and on the other hand - interest to the development of Russian history.

The Hermitage collection includes gifts of western and Eastern powers, relating to the period, when the capital of the state was moved to Petersburg. Many of these works exhibited at several exhibitions in the museum and abroad. Presented for the first time together, they are valuable evidence of the development between Russia and the West since XVIII until early XX century.

The ancient custom of gifts is perceived as the norm of good neighborly relations between the countries nowadays. And the silent witnesses of “fragile diplomacy” quite clearly characterize the importance of such kind of communication.