MUSEUM OF TREASURES AND OBJECTS OF ART

The first room sets out the objects uncovered during the archaeological excavations undertaken in the vicinity: gold bracelets, rings and earrings, antique seals of precious metals from the th to the th centuries, from Scandinavian, Byzantine and Russian. The last piece discovered near the Kremlin weighed 3 kg and is now exposed to Moscow at the Historic museum. The second room brings together precious cameos of Byzantine origin from the th to th centuries, featuring precious stones non by Russian artisans. You can also see crosses and small icons carved in ivory, in seal and mammoth bones, as well as precious stone medallions worn by priests in the th and th centuries. The following large hall is devoted to the icons whose precious metal coatings, applied from the th century, are both a sign of veneration and a means of protecting them. All the icons gathered in this room were offered to the city by large families of boyars. The most impressive of them, dating from the th century, is located right opposite the museum entrance porch. Its coating, entirely in gold, is engraved according to the technique of the niellage and set of fresh water beads with irregular forms. More recently, the fund that protects the icon was realized in the th century. It is said to have been offered to the monastery by a noble Russian to whom she saved life during the war. In the centre of the room, opposite this icon, are gathered many religious objects: chalices, cuts, encensoirs… An icon and its coating are separated and exposed separately. In the two rooms, windows are home to very old Gospels wooden blankets covered with ciselé metal, authentic works of art adorned with emerald, sapphires and fresh water pearls. At the end of the th century, on order of Peter the Great, Russian jewellers went to Amsterdam to learn the technique of precious stones. We will see the difference between the raw stones and the carved stones from one room to another. On the left of the entrance, in the large icons hall, a small window houses earrings and other jewels that belonged to nuns of aristocratic origin, and even tsariste, who had been sentenced to the monastery prison for various reasons. Given their rank and the sad fate that struck them, they often attracted sympathy and allowed them to continue to stand up for jewelry. The last room is devoted to embroidery and weaving. Young women of aristocratic origin made books for the Church.