10: The Study between the Antechamber and Varvara's Chamber

The study is one of the four interiors of the palace that have retained the original décor with Dutch tiles, here featuring mainly architectural landscapes. The stove is faced with tiles made in St Petersburg factories in 1717-27. The arch with the wall behind it appeared as a result of the restoration in the 19th century. The room is embellished with articles reflecting the maritime interests of Alexander Menshikov, an admiral of the Russian Navy. These items include seascapes by Dutch painters of the late 17th or early 18th centuries on the walls, an engraved map of the Baltic Sea (Pieter Pickart, 1703) and a 17th-century planisphere - a device for determining the time of rising and setting of the planets - on the desk. On the table with an oval inlaid top (from the collection known as "The Cabinet of Peter the Great") we can see a goblet in the shape of a ship, an astrolabe and a unique silver globe (Augsburg, 17th century) that belonged to Peter I. The display also includes part of the numismatic collection of Alexander Menshikov that was recreated on the basis of surviving records.