Britannia & Muscovy:
English Silver at the Court of the Tsars
21 October 2006 - 28 January 2007
Gilbert Collection, Somerset House, London
www.gilbert-collection.org.uk

fig.: Sakkos of Patriarch Philaret (1619-33). Italy, circa 1620. Brocaded velvet, embroidery, length: 134 cm

The exhibition is part of the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Armoury Museum by the decree of Emperor Alexander I in 1806 and presents 100 years (1550-1660) of intense diplomatic, trading and cultural relations between England and Muscovy. Silver pieces and richly adorned weapons were always prominent amongst diplomatic gifts sent to Tsars, from Ivan the Terrible (r.1547-84) to Alexey Mikhaylovich (r.1645-76), by Elizabeth I (r.1558-1603), James I (r.1603-1625), Charles I (r.1625-49) and Charles II (r.1660-85) and by English merchants keen to establish trade with Russia. more culture >>>