History and culture: The Western European weapon and armor of the late Renaissance period from the collection of the Historical Museum is presented at the exhibition in Moscow

The exhibition "The Royal Game. Western European weapon and armor of the late Renaissance period, from the collection of the Historical Museum" will be open in the State Historical Museum in Moscow on June 16, 2016.

The State Historical Museum for the first time presents the public samples of weapons of Western European art of the late Renaissance period. XVI century - the heyday of arms production, weapons when created objects which, by their artistic execution can be put on a par with the outstanding works of easel and monumental painting.

Many items that formed the basis of the exhibition - unique works of art created by customized court armourers of Habsburg imperial court, princely courts of Dresden and Braunschweig, masters of the largest art and craft centers - Augsburg and Nuremberg.

Some monuments, presented at the exhibition, came to the History Museum from the collection by A. A. Katuar de Bioncure, collection by G. A. Brocard, the Military Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineer and Signal Corps, the Museum of Antiquities at the Vilnius Public Library, the Stalin Military Academy of motorization and mechanization, the Central Museum of the Red Army, the Frunze Military Academy.

A large part of the Western European samples ceremonial weapons fell into the Historical Museum in 1946 from cultural institutions of Affairs Committee of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR, and comes from the Berlin armory. These items were received in 1946, as the objects of compensatory restitution after the end of the World War II. Only in 1957, an order was issued by the Russian Culture Ministry to include them in the main fund of the museum. Researchers of weapons department did a great research work on the identification of the origin of these monuments. They identified 1796 accessory exhibits taken from museums of Berlin, Schwerin and Zerbst. However, in 1958, a new order of the Ministry of Culture of the RSFSR, according to which these monuments were to be returned to the German Democratic Republic (GDR). August 27, 1959 a collection of weapons in the amount of 1 796 units was transferred to the ownership of the GDR. However, some items of the fund were remained in storage at the museum, as the source of their origin has not been established. Only in the late 1990s. It began the study of these monuments, and, since 2008, the staff of the Department of the Historical Museum of weapons began to attribution and restoration of objects of Western European arms. It was determined the origin of the 19 sets of knightly armor of the XVI - early XVII centuries, as well as prepared to be exhibited objects cold, spear, fire and throwing weapons.  

The exhibition is the first demonstration of Western European arms and armor from the collection of the Historical Museum, as well as showing weapons sites as an important element of the various court ceremonial practices of European courts.