collections of Russian gold, as well as of the other Armoury treasures,
changed radically. On January 5, 1918, ail the historical monuments
and art treasures within the grounds of the Kremlin were declared the
property of the state. Rare works of art, formerly preserved in the
vestries of the cathedrals and monasteries in the Kremlin, were trans-
ferred to the Armoury. Later, the Armoury received many priceless
objects from the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, the Solovetsky, Kirillo-
Belozersky, Ipatyevsky and other monasteries and churches. Most of
them had been fashioned by the craftsmen of the Kremlin workshops
in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. These entries have added a
new dimension to the Armoury and won it world-wide renown.
The collections of the Armoury continue to be replenished
today, with new items coming from both state institutions and private
persons.
At present the collection of Russian gold includes objects
dating from the early medieval period to the early twentieth century.
It offers a truly unique opportunity of looking at the consecutive stages
in the development of the goldsmith's craft in Russia over nearly a
thousand years — something that is of crucial importance to researchers.
A large part of the gold articles is on permanent display in the
Armoury and the Museum of Seventeenth-century Art and Life; the
latter is housed in the former Patriarch's Residence in the Kremlin's
Sobornaya (Cathedral) Square.
Nevertheless, a substantial part of the collection of Russian gold
has to be kept in the reserves of the museums in the Kremlin. There it
can be studied by museologists, jewellers and art historians. These gold
objects are sometimes displayed, together with other items, at exhibitions
held in the Soviet Union or abroad.
Presented in this volume for the first time is the finest Russian
gold from the reserves of the Museums in the Moscow Kremlin. The
authors have selected for publication the best-studies and most reliably
attributed articles. The older articles (from the fourteenth to the late
seventeenth centuries) reveal the imaginative artistry of the goldsmiths,
their predilections and their dreams of an ideally beautiful and happy
homeland. Works dating from the eighteenth to the early twentieth
centuries make it possible to discern the Russian national features in
spite of the consecutively changing styles — the Baroque, the Rococo
and Art Nouveau.
On the whole, this collection of rare and often unique gold
ware is graphic proof of the remarkable continuity, integrity and origi-
nality of Russian art throughout many centuries.
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