Oriental Department of the Hermitage comprises nowadays one of the world’s greatest collections representing culture and art of the peoples of the East. It was created in 1920, being formed of some 7 000 separate items distributed among different sections of the Museum, and has not ceased to grow since that time, numbering nowadays 136 000 exhibits. Of outstanding importance are its collections of Byzantine art and Sassanian silver, the Greco-Bactrian collection, ancient Chinese textiles, cultural memorials from Urartu, Dagestan bronzes and reliefs, Coptic textiles. The collection Continue Reading »
Archive for the 'THE DEPARTMENT OF THE HISTORY OF CULTUR' category
ART OF THE PEOPLES OF THE EAST
The Department of the History of Culture and Art of foreign Oriental countries
The Department of the History of Culture and Art of foreign Oriental countries starts with the exhibition devoted to EGYPTIAN ANTIQUITIES which covers the period from the 4th millennium Ð’. C. to the 4th century A. D. (ground floor, rooms 80 — 91). It is not representative of monumental sculpture though there are some good examples of it, the greater part of the collection being composed of objects used for funerary purposes and exhibiting the skill shown by Egyptian craftsmen in minor arts. Of outstanding interest is the collection of papyri, of which the one named “The Tale of a Shipwrecked” (20th century Ð’. C.) is of world renown. Hermitage, room â„– 81). Among the most notable exhibits special mention deserve the black granite statue of Amenemhat III (19th century Ð’. C, Middle Kingdom); the figure of the goddess Sekhmet, also in black granite (15th century Ð’. C, New Kingdom); a wooden statuette of a man (15th century Ð’ С ) two granite sarcophagi of queen Nakht-Bastot-ru and her son general Ahmose (6th century Ð’. C ) ; a bronze statuette of Takharka, the’last ruler of the Ethiopian dynasty in Egypt (7th century Ð’. C ) ; and some Fajum portraits. The collection is exceptionally rich in textiles of the Coptic Egypt (4th — 5th centuries A. D.). Hermitage, room 90).
Head of a woman. Palmyra. Late 2nd century A. D. Continue Reading »
CHINESE SECTION OF THE HERMITAGE
Portrait of an official. Painted on paper. China. About 1200 A. D.
Rich and varied are the collections of the CHINESE SECTION of the Hermitage. They take 18 rooms Hermitage, 2nd floor, rooms 351 — 367) and cover the period from the 2nd millennium Ð’. C. to the present day. Specimens of Chinese workmanship were constantly brought to Russia still in the 18th century. Many outstanding examples of Chinese stone – carvings porcelain, lacquer, enamels, etc., had been acquired by purchase or as gifts throughout the 19th century, and are acquired nowadays too. It is however the archaeological expeditions undertaken by the Russian scientists S. Oldenburg in 1914—1915 and P. Koslov in 1908—1909, 1924 and 1926 that gave the Oriental section of the Hermitage Continue Reading »
The INDIAN SECTION of the Hermitage
JAMINI ROY. Toilet. India, 20th century
The INDIAN SECTION of the Museum, though small, (Hermitage, 2nd floor, rooms 368 — 371) covers the period from the 15th century up to the present day, and includes some distinguished examples of Indian craftsmanship chiefly of the 17th and 18th centuries as well as paintings of the modern school. The Museum is fortunate in possessing one of the world’s richest collections of Indian steelwork, — arms and armour as well as pieces other than arms and armour. Continue Reading »