13: The Western Reception (Dining) Room

In the early 18th century, the Great Hall, the Walnut Study and the state reception rooms were all used as dining-rooms. The upper part of the walls in this interior is decorated with painted Chinese silk wall-hangings in oak frames. They were created in the late 17th or early 18th century in the traditions of Chinese painting for sale on the European market. The subjects are taken from the celebrated early-14th-century play The Romance of the Western Chamber by Wang Shih-fu. The finishing of the lower part of the walls with tiles bearing the purple Stemmed Roses design was recreated in the 1990s from authentic tiles in Menshikov's bedroom. Notable among the items of Western European furniture is the Oriental-style red lacquer cabinet used to display pieces of Chinese and Japanese porcelain. The decoration of this room also includes a sculpture of Negro woman that consists of an ancient porphyry torso with coloured marble elements added (Italy, 17th century).