On 23 May 2014, the exhibition “Ancient Weaponry from the State Hermitage Collection” opened at the “Hermitage-Vyborg” Exhibition Centre, featuring roughly 250 unique artifacts of weapon-making and paintings from four different departments of the State Hermitage.
Late 17th Century
India
Iron; hammering, carving, gilding
17th – 18th Centuries
Japan
Steel, iron, lacquer, leather, textiles, fur, horsehair;
hammering, carving, encrustation, engraving, lacquering
1824
Master-Smith Ivan Bushuev
Zlatoust, Russia
Steel, bronze, silver, ivory; hammering, casting, embossing, carving, etching, engraving, burnishing, gold-plating
1500–1510
Germany
Steel, leather, copper; hammering, embossing
Most of the exhibits on display at the exhibition are kept in the State Hermitage Arsenal, whose collection was initiated by Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich, the future Nicholas I, a passionate aficionado and collector of ancient weaponry. The collection was supplemented by trophies acquired at Western European auctions and sales of historical and artistic private collections, as well as by gifts – from heads of state, diplomats, gunsmiths and collectors.
The “Ancient Weaponry from the State Hermitage Collection” exhibition consists of three sections, the first of which explores European weaponry of the 10th – 19th Centuries, the second of which is devoted to the weaponry of the East, beginning in the 16th Century, and the third of which showcases Russian pieces from the 17th – 19th Century school of weaponry.
The exposition demonstrates the evolution of weaponry and gun-smithing: from weapons in the Viking Era to the Smith & Wesson revolver of the 19th Century. The exhibition encompasses the entire typological range of weaponry: battle and hunting, ceremonial and sporting, duel and tournament, experimental and forming an established part of weaponry for many decades. These items were created in the leading arms centres of Europe (Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Holland, England, Denmark), Asia (Persia, India, Turkey, Caucasus, Japan) and Russia (Moscow, Tula, Zlatoust, St. Petersburg).
The exhibition features various engineering solutions for all types of weaponry: defensive, sidearm, firearm. Standing out from the other exhibits are the Persian and Indian sword-blades. Forged from the finest damask steel, they are distinct in terms of their uncommon simplicity and flexibility. Worthy of special attention are the Indian woven chain-mail and chain-mail of the Japanese wave.
Aside from their technical parameters, the weapons on display are also interesting in terms of the mastery and elegance of their artistic execution. Certain pieces of ceremonial weaponry are even fascinating from the commemorative standpoint. The “Slava” (Glory) sabre, for instance, was fabricated by the renowned master-smith from Zlatoust I.N. Bushuev for Alexander I and presented to him at the time of his visit to the town in 1824. Its blade is engraved with many-figured battle scenes of the Great Patriotic War of 1812, its gilded hilt is adorned at the tip with a depiction of the Goddess of Glory with a trumpet and crown in her hands, and the scabbard is decorated with plant ornamentation using the gold-plating technique.
The “Ancient Weaponry from the State Hermitage Collection” exhibition provides a unique opportunity to appraise the contribution made by master weaponry craftsmen to the development of the applied decorative arts, as well as to display the best specimens of their technical mastery and rich decorative finery.
Exhibition curator – Yuri Georgievich Efimov, Head of the Weaponry Sector of the Arsenal Department at the State Hermitage.
