The Art of Magnificent Porte in the Kremlin

An exclusive exhibition “The Art of Magnificent Porte” is being held in Moscow. The first known in the history of the Moscow Kremlin Museum show is dedicated to a unique Kremlin collection of Turkish art. Needles to say that Porte is the name Europeans used in XVII century to call the Ottoman Empire government.

The core of the shown collection is made of exhibits of the XVI—XVII centuries; it is the time when the Russian State and the Ottoman Empire enjoyed permanent diplomatic and trade relations. It was the period of the peak of the Turkish art golden age. The artful skills of unknown craftsmen who worked in the famous court shops of the armory palace are simply amazing. They make an impression that it is not metal that the item is made of, you see a woven golden or silver pattern with interspersed precious stones.

The show displays wonderful samples of Turkish protective and battle arming: various helmets, armor, swords, sabers, broadswords, long and short spears, clubs, such clubs as shestoper and pernaty, hatchets, stamps and battle axes. A variety of items is being displayed at the exhibition. Besides armor you can see other exhibits made by the Ottoman Empire craftsmen: horse decoration goods, zapons (universally used jewelry in old Russia), magnificent drapery (brocade and velvet fragments), crystal aroma bottles (to keep floral oil), jade looking glass, and even royal regalia. The show also includes an exquisite wash-stand set encrusted with diamonds, rubies and emeralds. It belonged to Natalya Kirillovna (the wife of Alexei Mikhailovich). In a word, the exhibition displays everything that was necessary in the court live of the Russian state, everything that was used as a decoration of the main official ceremonies. Most of the exhibits have been shown for the first time.

The exhibition is likely to be organized more than once. Very few people know that the armor for Russian soldiers and royalty was made in Istanbul. The craftsmen stamped Arabian inscriptions on the armor. Those very craftsmen, being Moslem, could engrave Christian icons on the steel (sabers and swords). The Royal regalia for Alexei Mikhailovich (the orb and the scepter) were also brought from Istanbul. It is very symbolic. For Russia Istanbul, previously Constantinople is the cradle of Orthodoxy.

The jewelry displayed at the exhibition belong to rare works of art, there are no similar samples in other museum collections. Casting, engraving, carving, enamel, niello, punching, gilding, encrustation, all these decorations were often used in making one object.

Some exhibits in the show capture every visitor’s attention: these are a large fan made of black ostrich feathers which belonged to Tsarina Evdokia Lukyanovna, a gold-mounted mirror decorated with rubies and emeralds which charms you with its unusually large size to be a woman’ looking glass, a pocket watch the mechanism of which was made in Geneva and the frame was manufactured in Istanbul; besides the hour scale it has the scales of dates, days of the week, months and moon phases. And finally, one of the greatest attractions is the orb of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.

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