Museums of Russia: The exhibition, dedicated to the centenary of the opening of the Archives of monuments of church antiquities opens in the State Russian Museum

December 3, 2014 in the Benois Wing (the State Russian Museum, Saint-Petersburg) is opening the exhibition, dedicated to the centenary of the opening of Archives of monuments of iconography and church antiquities of Emperor Nicholas II in the Russian Museum, which presents about 600 works.

To the opening of the Archives, the State Russian Museum has the largest collection of monuments of church antiquity and domestic objects, which have been reported since the museum organization. The largest one was the collection of the Museum of Christian Antiquities of Imperia Academy of Arts, fully brought to the State Russian Museum in 1897. In future deposited significant private collections of V. A. Prokhorov, V. V. Vereshchagin, A. A. Vasilchikov, P. V. Sinitsyn and others were taken for keeping. In 1909, with the advent of the post of guardian of the Art Department P. I. Neradovsky started trips to the monasteries and churches for the collection of antiquities, and in 1912 was held a presentation to Nicholas II of icons and objects of applied art, sent by Moscow restorers and antiquarians.  

The exhibition aims to acquaint visitors with the basic stages of formation of the Church Assembly of the Russian Museum of Antiquities (1897-1914). The exhibition includes masterpieces from the collections received in 1897 and acquired for public funds in 1914. Materials are exhibited in coherent groups representing specific collection, and blocks to recreate the atmosphere in the exhibition halls of the first museum exhibitions in 1898 and 1914. For the first time in many years in a single exhibition space are shown together unique monuments of the exposition 1898: ancient carved wooden pulpit, carved King's Gate and Copper "Korsun" lamp of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod, chapel-icon-case of the Resurrection Cathedral in Romanov-Borisoglebsk (XVII century), as well as the figure of the "elders" of the oldest monasteries of Novgorod. Another hall reproduces the appearance of Antiquities at the time of 1914, which displays the iconostasis, suspended Horos, lecterns and so-called skinny candles, as well as archival photos of the rooms of Antiquities.