Reports 70

LXX
REPORTS
OF
THE STATE HERMITAGE
MUSEUM
LXX
Saint Petersburg
Te State Hermitage Publishers
2013
-

2013
5
COLLECTION STUDIES
Te Tripolye culture was discovered over a century
ago. Since this time, vast amounts of archaeological
materials excavated at the beginning of the 20th cen-
tury have been added to museum collections. Just part
of this has been covered by published research works;
information about the rest is only available from feld
reports. Te interests of modern researchers gravitate
around more recent excavation fnds. However, despite
dramatic changes in feld exploration techniques and
inapproaches to material description and interpretation,
the revision of old collections presents avaluable oppor-
tunity to place the archaeological fnds in the context
of the numerous Tripolye sites discovered in the past
several decades in an extensive territory.
Among other ancient objects, the State Hermitage
holds acollection of materials retrieved from Krinichki,
a settlement dating back to the Tripolye period. Tis
small collection contains 365 items: whole vessels, pot-
tery fragments, fragments of female statues, fint chips
and plates. Tis study will focus exclusively on pottery
as anthropomorphic images from Krinichki were stud-
ied and documented in detail by A. Pogozheva (Pogo-
zheva 1983: 73, 76).
Krinichki is located in the Balta District, Odessa
Region (Balta District, Podolsk Province, at the time of
the excavations); exploration works on this site were un-
dertaken by V. Antonovich and Ch. Zborovsky
1
in the
late 19th century and by Sergey Gamchenko in the ear-
ly20th century (Gamchenko 1911: 176179). According
to the excavation reports and published data (Gamchen-
ko 1926), eleven surface adobe houses with stone stoves
covered in clay and foors lined with broken dishes were
found in Krinichki. Gamchenko also recorded a num-
ber of household pits, including waste pits and baked
clay-lined pits narrowing to the top (intended to accom-
modate lids?), possibly for grain storages. All the pits
were adjacent to the houses (Gamchenko 1911: 176).
Gamchenkos reports ofer little data on the strati-
graphic properties of the fnds apart from the fact that
the pottery retrieved from inside the houses was ofen
located near the stoves or walls and was sometimes
stacked in piles.
Tripolye pottery is traditionally classifed into table-
and kitchenware, although the division into painted and
stamped relief pottery seems more appropriate. Painted
pottery consists of bowls, beakers, amphorae, pear-
shaped vessels, lids and so-called binoculars
2
.
Te Krinichki fnds include 23 whole conical bowls
measuring 2.69cm in height, with rim diameters rang-
ing from 6.4 to 24cm. Unusual for Tripolye settlements,
a number of whole vessels were recovered, allowing
researchers to outline some common pottery making
and decoration techniques. Smaller bowls with rims
measuring 6.410.8cm in diameter difered in the types
ofbase ( ill.1, 911; see Table).
ELENA STARKOVA
THE KRINICHKI SETTLEMENT (TRIPOLYE PERIOD): OLD COLLECTIONS REVISITED
1
Te materials are held at the National Museum of Ukrainian His-
tory (Kiev).
2
Our description of the Krinichki materials is based on the com-
monly used terms beaker, bowl, amphora, biconical andpear-
shaped vessel and crater. One has to acknowledge that the names
are ofen applied quite arbitrarily. For example, some publications
donot distinguish between biconical vessels andamphorae although
it would be more correct to interpret amphorae as vessels with
twohandles.
Published by the decision of the State Hermitage Editorial Board
Editorial Committee:
Georgy Vilinbakhov (chairman), Mikhail Balan (secretary), Mariam Dandamaeva, Lydia Dobrovolskaya,
Anna Geyko, Alla Kamchatova, Elena Khodza, Elena Korolkova, Tatyana Kustodieva, Andrey Nikolaev, Dmitry Lubin,
Elena Petrukhina, Mikhail Piotrovsky, Alla Rodina, Nina Tarasova and Elena Zviagintseva
Translated from the Russian by Maria Artamonova
David Hicks, Natalia Magnes and Catherine Phillips
Editor of the English version: Julia Redkina
Te Reports of the State Hermitage Museum are published
in Russian and English.
Photography by
Natalia Antonova, Pavel Demidov, Leonard Kheifets, Alexander Koksharov, Alexander Lavrentyev,
Yury Molodkovets, Alexey Pakhomov, Inessa Regentova, Konstantin Siniavsky,
Svetlana Suetova, Andrey Terebenin and Vladimir Terebenin
On the cover: Hermes. Early 1st century BC. Marble. Detail. Te State Hermitage Museum
State Hermitage Museum, 2013 ISBN 978-5-93572-504-4
6 7
bowl may have been used as a lid for an amphora or
biconical vessel; the aperture served for attaching the
lid to the rim. Te conical bowls found in Tripolye set-
tlements ofen performed a double function, judging
by the large number of bowls which measure 1012cm
in diameter and match in size to the rims of most am-
phorae as well as by the presence of similar apertures
on amphorae (biconical vessels). Moreover, matching
apertures are ofen found on the opposite sides of the
rim; one example is the amphora from Nezvisko, Upper
Dniester Region (Ivano-Frankovsk Local History Mu-
seum). In addition, the angulation of the bowl walls is
normally the same as that of the defected rims in am-
phorae and biconical vessels. A similar observation was
made by S. Gusev about the Tripolye materials recov-
ered from the Middle Bug Region (Gusev 1995: 133).
Te Krinichki collection features twelve whole beak-
ers measuring 715 cm in height, with rim diameters
ranging from 4.7 to 10 cm. Most beakers have sharp
ribs and straight or slightly defected rims (ills.2, 6; 3).
In much the same way as the bowls, the beakers could
be round-bottomed and have their bases trimmed to
achieve better stability (traces of trimming are clearly
visible) or fat-bottomed, with bases carefully moulded.
Unlike for the bowls, however, the choice of method
probably depended on the craf of the artisan rather
than the proportions of the beaker. Te surface was
polished and/or angobed prior to painting. Te painted
designs are at varying states of preservation. Te best-
preserved patterns are found on beakers primed with
brown or bright orange angobe. Te designs are usu-
ally made up of broad and narrow vertical, oblique and
horizontal stripes in dark brown or black paint (ill.2,2,
5), sometimes with segments included in the composi-
tion. Four small beakers are decorated with somewhat
carelessly applied wide stripes and thin oblique lines. In
one case, belts made up of oblique lines alternate with
pecked lines. Four beakers were ornamented with hor-
izontal eights, replaced in one case with acontrawound
spiral (ills.2, 6; 3,1). A picture of the Krinichki beaker
decorated with acontrawound spiral (ill.3, 3) was pub-
lished by T. Passek (Passek 1935: tab. IX, 11); however,
the author describes this object as coming from Petre-
ny. Later, T. Movsha re-published the beaker quoting
Passeks study but provided conficting references to
the fnding site (Petreny in one of the tables and Nez-
visko in another) (Movsha 1984:, fg.5, 3; Movsha 1985:
214, fg. 55, 18). Beakers decorated with this pattern
were sometimes found at CI sites in North Moldavia:
two beakers were recovered by E. von Stern during ex-
cavations in Petreny (Stern 1907: table VII, 8, 16), one
item from the Brynzen IV collection was reported by
V. Markevich (Markevich 1981: fg. 9, 13). Counter-
wound spirals are also present on Cucuteni B1 beak-
ers found in the Siret-Prut interfuve (Cuco 1999:258,
fg.32, 5, p.260, fg.34, 2).
Te collection also includes two miniature beakers
with relatively thick walls (0.80.9 cm; ill. 2, 1, 3), one
measuring 4 cm, the other 4.5 cm in height. Both ves-
sels have oval rims (3.5 4.0 cm) and well-smoothed
unpainted surfaces.
Rim diameter,cm Height,cm Rim diameter-to-height ratio Base type
6.4 2.7 2.37
Flat, made fromapancake of clay
10.3 4 2.58
9.5 3.5 2.71
10.7 3.7 2.89 Trimmed at a later stage (?)
10 3.4 2.94 Small base
8.5 2.8 3.03 Small base
10.2 3.2 3.19 Small base
10.8 3.3 3.27 Small base
9.4 2.6 3.62 Round
10 2.6 3.85
Round
Vessels with the rim diameter-to-height ratio of less
than 2.71 have fairly large moulded bases. Two bowls
(rim diameter-to-height ratio 3.62 and 3.85)are round-
bottomed (ill. 1, 9); vessels with diameter-to-height ra-
tios from 2.94 to 3.27 ofen taper to a very small base.
Of special interest is a bowl (rim diameter-to-height
ratio 2.89) which was supposed to be round-bottomed
but later had its bottom neatly trimmed while the clay
was still wet. Naturally, ancient potters did not calcu-
late diameter-to-height ratios; quite simply, once the
dish reached a certain height, it lost steadiness and
required a base. Small and shallow bowls were shaped
from one layer of clay; the rim was added on later. Larg-
er bowls (>11cm at the rim) were produced using the
coiling method, with bases clearly outlined ( ill. 1, 10,
11). Tis technology is traditional for Tripolye pottery
(Chernish 1952: 180; Semenov, Korobkova 1983: 199;
Rizhov 2001: 1213; Palaguta 2006).
Only the internal surface of the bowls was orna-
mented. Smaller items (under 10cm in diameter) were
decorated with dark-brown paint applied on the natural
unprimed background. Medium and large bowls were
coarsely primed with low-concentrated brown (less of-
ten orange) paint. Two bowls were additionally polished
prior to painting as the design itself, unlike the back-
ground, is lacklustre.
In the vast majority of cases, the pottery is decorated
with diferent types of comets (ill. 1, 17), except for Ill.1. Settlement of Krinichki. Bowls
1
2 3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Table
Pottery items: dimensions and base types
two items embellished with negative circles apattern
common in the Dniester Region during BII and BIICI
(ill.1, 8).
Te comet design mainly occurs in Tripolye art-
works of the Bug Region and the Prut-Dniester inter-
fuve at the end of the Middle (II) beginning of the
Late Tripolye period (I).
In Krinichki, all comets are arranged in pairs
on the inside surface of the bowls. Several types of
comets can be identifed. Some of the comets have
tails made up of two, three or four arched lines end-
ing in circles, ofen connected with a curve (ill. 1, 3,
7). In one case, the tails have circles on both sides
(ill.1, 2). Tree bowls are decorated with tailless com-
ets that have no end-pieces (ill.1, 4); on one dish the
comet end segments are lef unshaded (ill.1, 6).
Te low concentration of paint on some bowls makes
it possible to reconstruct the ancient painting technique:
the comet tails were the frst to be painted, followed by
end-pieces (circles or segments), afer which some ar-
eas at the rim were shaded.
One small bowl (diameter: 11cm at the rim) has an
open-end aperture measuring 0.7 cm in diameter and
located 0.5 cm of the edge. Double apertures are usu-
ally interpreted as repair holes for fastening together
the fragments of broken vessels. In this particular case,
a single aperture was made in a whole unornamented
bowl with thick walls and acoarsely tooled surface. Te
8 9
Ill.4. Settlement of Krinichki: 1 biconical vessel;
2 amphorae: current state; b image published
by Sergey Gamchenko (Gamchenko 1926: fg.3, 3);
3 amphora fragment with aloop-shaped handle (handles?) Ill.2. Settlement of Krinichki. Beakers
Amphorae and biconical vessels are represented
by small fragments with poorly preserved decoration.
Te only complete biconical vessel had a markedly de-
fected rim, an infated body and rounded low-lying
shoulders (ill.4, 1). Te decoration, covering the whole
surface of the vessel with the exception of the bottom,
consists of festoons descending from the neck. A pat-
tern in dark-brown paint is applied on the natural
unprimed background.
Te amphorae also have markedly defected rims
and infated bodies narrowing at the bottom (ill. 4, 2).
Tey are similar in shape to biconical vessels, apart from
the handles. Te handles may have horizontal or ver-
tical apertures. One amphora fragment carried a large
loop-like handle between the edge of the rim and the
Ill.3. Settlement of Krinichki. Beakers
vessel shoulder (ill.4, 3). Judging by similar whole pot-
tery items retrieved from Cherkasov Sad II, each ves-
sel may have had one or two handles (Kosakivskii 2004:
608). Instead of handles, some of the amphorae have lit-
tle ears without apertures. Te painted ornaments were
generally poorly preserved. Te remnant decorations
suggest that the most common patterns were chevrons,
volutes and negative circles.
One of the amphorae stands out in size: this 14.5cm
tall vessel has a maximum body diameter of 20 cm.
Teamphora rim is extremely defected; the short neck
crowns the infated body which tapers markedly towards
the narrow bottom. A trace of asmall handle (originally
there may have been two of them) with ahorizontal ap-
erture is visible just below the neck (ill.4, 2). Nodcor
survived, but the published report (Gamchenko 1926:
fg. 3, 3) suggests that some ornamentation may have
been present originally. Te outside surface retains trac-
es of parallel wide and narrow stripes; the body was pos-
sibly decorated with amesh pattern.
Pear-shaped vessels survived as small fragments
with nearly indiscernible traces of paint (ill. 5, 1). Te
only conclusion one can make about this class of pot-
tery is that vessels of this shape had relatively low rims
measuring 1113 cm in diameter, with edges inclined
inward. Te shoulders had small grooves to ensure the
steadiness of helmet-shaped lids.
Te collection includes only three helmet-shaped
lids (ill.5, 24). Two of these have handles in the upper
part: one carries small handles with vertical apertures;
the other has aloop-shaped handle (fragment). Teori-
fce is 1518cm in diameter. One of the lids carries apat-
tern made up of parallel narrow and wide lines (ill.5, 2);
another has festoons along the rim and an S-shaped spi-
ral fnishing with around eye on the body (ill.5, 4). Te
uneven and low concentration of paint allowed us to
gain an understanding of the paint application process.
First, an eye was painted in high-concentrated paint;
next, the rest of the pattern was completed with lower
concentrated paint. It is clearly visible that the diameter
of the eye was enlarged afer the other elements of the
design had been painted. Te eye may have initially
served as a marking for the pattern. Te dark-brown
paint on all helmet-shaped lids was applied on the natu-
ral unprimed surface.
Tree pottery items from Krinichki are commonly
interpreted as lids (Chernysh 1982: 292). Tey have
thick walls andfat tops (ill.6). Te orifces (if the items
are indeed lids)measure 15.0, 18.5 and 20.5cm in diam-
eter. One of the items bore traces of monochrome paint-
ing (ill. 6, 1), namely dark-brown parallel lines against
abrown background. Another two were simply covered
with acoat of dark-brown paint inside and outside. Iso-
lated objects interpreted as lids ofen occur among pot-
tery fnds. Some of them were recovered in the Siret-
Prut interfuve settlements (Cuco 1999:253). Asimilar
ceramic object was reported to have been found in
Magala, Prut Area (Chernovtsy Region); however, the
object was represented upside down on the illustration
and interpreted by the author as abowl (Vinokur1966:
159, fg.3, 8). A picture of one such lid from Krinichki
was published by Sergey Gamchenko, who also clas-
sifed the object as a bowl (Gamchenko 1926: fg. 14).
Tese objects may have functioned as both lids and
bowls; however, the detailed examination of three lid-
bowls from Krinichki revealed anumber of important
issues. Te heavy thick-walled lid-bowls have a very
Ill.5. Settlement of Krinichki: 1 fragment of apear-shaped vessel;
24 helmet-shaped lids
1
2
3
4
5
6
7 8
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3
4
a
b
10 11
small inner diameter (68 cm) and, consequently, can-
not have been used as lids for the pear-shaped vessels
which measured at least 1113 cm in diameter at the
rim. In addition, the helmet-shaped lids from the col-
lection match the pear-shaped vessels in size. Judging
by the fattened edge of the pseudo-lids and the barrier
fxed to it, the lids were placed on fat surfaces. Te fat
top has abarrier along the rim made from an additional
band of clay. Tis suggests that the items were specifcal-
ly meant to withstand vertical loads, i.e. they may have
been used as trivets. Te distinct traces of thermal im-
pact on the fat top of one such item indicate that ahot
vessel was placed on it, although it is quite possible that
the object was burnt during afre (no traces of second
fring, however, were detected on the rest of the pottery).
It is also important to note that practically all known
this pattern would be present on the inside surface of
conical bowls; in one case, it was found on the exte-
rior surface of the helmet-shaped lid (Gusev 1995: 108,
fg.29, 4). Te other zoomorphic vessel is aminiature
round bowl (6cm in diameter) with an edge curved in-
ward. Tere is atail-shaped protrusion on one side of
the rim; an animal head, which did not survive till the
present, may have been located on the opposite side
(ill. 7, 3). Tis unpainted bowl is made of yellowish
clay, with weak traces of ochre on the interior surface.
A similar zoomorphic bowl with an edge curved in-
ward was found in Cherkasov Sad II in the same region
(Kosakivskii 2004: 608).
On the whole, the ceramic tableware from Krinich-
ki is decorated in the style described by G. Schmidt
(Schmidt 1932: 39) and typical of the Tripolye-Cucuteni
sites during the BII and I Tripolye periods (Cucuteni
and B). Te painted pottery from Krinichki is made of
reddish-brown, light brown or orange clay. Most of the
vessels were decorated with dark-brown paint; the same
paint, applied in a lower concentration, served as the
primer. Te most important fnds include abowl deco-
rated with negative circles (ill. 1, 8), a beaker (ill. 2, 2)
and azoomorphic bowl (ill.7, 1). Te vessels are deco-
rated with brown paint applied on the evenly polished
(streak-free) shiny orange background. One may sug-
gest that the beaker and the two bowls form aset made
by the same artisan.
Ill.6. Settlement of Krinichki. Trivets
1
2
3
Ill.7. Settlement of Krinichki: 1, 3 zoomorphic bowls;
2, 4 binoculars
1
2
3
4
hole
1
Te Tripolye-Cucuteni pottery is roughly classifed into table-
ware (painted) or kitchenware (unpainted or carrying stamped relief
decoration), with zoomorphic vessels found at various sites falling
into either of these categories.
similar objects are unornamented. Te only exception
is the item from Krinichki which is decorated with two
parallel lines (ill.6, 1). At the same time, all trivets-lids
from Krinichki were covered in brown paint inside and
outside. A similar unornamented lid painted dark-
brown was found in the Glavan I settlement (Prut Area)
dating back to the Tripolye I period (Bikbayev 1992:
109, fg.4, 2, p.110) and in the BII settlement of Trosty-
anchik (Middle Bug Region) (Tcvek 2004: 552).
Te collection includes four fragmented binoculars
and one whole pair. Tree of the items had open-end
holes; two had none. All the binocular-like items are
somewhat carelessly executed. Tey have cylindrical
bodies and wide tubes. Te only whole pair of binoc-
ulars has tubes joined with two connection elements
(one upper, one lower) and no open-end apertures
(ill. 7, 4). Te painted pattern (poorly preserved) con-
sists of oblique parallel lines on the bodies and tubes.
Another fragmented pair of binoculars had oblique
lines on the body and concentric circles with eyes on
the tubes. Te body carried a trace of a connection el-
ement in the middle and had an open-end aperture
(ill. 7, 2). Te open-end apertures in all the three frag-
ments of binoculars-like objects are carelessly made and
relatively narrow (1.01.5 cm). Te absence of open-
end apertures and the central connection element (typi-
cal ofthe late Tripolye period) usually indicates the de-
graded functions of the binoculars, as in the samples
recovered from the Tomashev-Sushkovo local group of
sites in the Bug-Dnieper interfuve, Frumusica (Ruma-
nia) and Shipentsy (Dniester Region) (Palaguta 2007:
127). Tosum up, the Krinichki binoculars are typical
both of the Middle (BII) and Late (CI) Tripolye period.
Te collection includes just two zoomorphic vessels.
One of these is an oval-top bowl on four legs, with abo-
vine head on the rim
1
.
Te bowl is painted inside with brown paint on the
orange background (ill.7, 1). Te pattern is formed by
lines converging at the centre. Tis dcor is sometimes
found on BII and CI bowls retrieved from the Middle
Bug Region (Voroshilovka, Sosny) (Gusev 1995: 108,
fg. 29, 13, 16) and Bug-Dnieper interfuve (Vladimi-
rovka) (Passek 1949: 106, fg. 61, 3). Most commonly,
Ill.8. Settlement of Krinichki. Fragments of unpainted pottery
(kitchenware) with stamped relief decorations
1
2
3
4
d>20 cm
d>26 cm
d=22 cm
d=30 cm
12 13
Unpainted pottery includes fragments of round-sid-
ed pots with straight or slightly defected rims (ills.8; 9).
Tese were large vessels (neck diameter over 20cm) tra-
ditionally classifed as kitchenware. Te pots are made
of coarse paste with a large amount of additives. Te
most common additives used to produce unpainted pot-
tery were crushed shells (ills.8, 2, 4; 9) and rotted rocks
(ill.8, 1, 3). Shells and rotted rocks were never used to-
gether. Pottery produced with crushed shells could be
grey or brownish-orange in colour: the grey vessels had
been fred with reduced oxygen; the brownish-orange
pottery had undergone oxidised fring. Pottery with rot-
ted rocks was produced by oxidised fring, similarly to
traditional painted Tripolye pottery.
All unpainted pottery (kitchenware) had stamped
relief decoration.
Shell-based pots usually have vertical lines on the
neck applied with a comb stamp; the same stamp was
used for decorating the surface inside the neck with
horizontal lines. Te shoulders and sometimes the
upper part of the rim are decorated with round impres-
sions (ill. 9, 1). Double or single lumps of a rounded
or slightly elongated shape are visible on the shoulders
(ill. 9, 1). One pot has festoon-shaped combing on its
shoulders (ill.8, 4).
Vertical combing is barely visible on pots made with
rotted rock, suggesting that acomb stamp was used just
for preparing the surface, afer which the comb traces
were rubbed away. Tere are double rounded lumps on
the shoulders with a round pit between them, which,
judging by its size and shape, was made with a fnger
cushion (ill.8, 1, 3). Occasionally the vessels have small
loop-like ear-handles with horizontal apertures. Te
shoulders of two pots are decorated with impressions
made with a round-tipped tool which had been posi-
tioned vertically to leave round marks or at 40 45 to
obtain elongated marks. Te upper part of the body
was sometimes decorated with festoons. Similar pots
made of paste with a large amount of rotted rock are
ofen found in the Tripolye settlements of Nemirov and
Shcherbatovo (Middle Bug Region). Tis may be due to
the relative geographical proximity of these settlements
and, consequently, the similar composition of paste for
kitchenware production.
ompared to painted ceramics, unpainted pottery
was less subject to alterations over time and is less ofen
used for the dating of the Tripolye sites. It is generally
described along with other ceramic fnds, with chrono-
logical attributions normally determined by the chang-
ing shapes and dcor of painted dishes. Te Cucuteni
-type pottery with an admixture of crushed shells or
limestone (Schmidt 1932: 4245), which frst occurs
among the Tripolye fnds at the beginning of the Middle
Tripolye period, became an important part of Late Trip-
olye households along with the traditional local kitch-
enware. However, shell-based pottery does not seem to
show any clear linear transformation over the Tripolye
period (Dodd-Opriescu 1982; Starkova 2008).
To obtain more details on pottery production, apet-
rographic analysis of table- and kitchenware was per-
formed in the settlement studied. It was found that the
painted pottery (tableware) was made from low-grade
aleurolite clays containing chamotte and possibly
quartz-feldspathic sand used as non-plastic material.
Te painted vessels were produced by high-temperature
two-stage oxidised fring.
Krinichki presents an example of mixed pottery
making and decoration technique traditional for Trip-
olye kitchenware and shell-based pottery; all the pottery
was made using the coiling technique characteristic of
the Tripolye period; the stamped relief decoration and
forms of the vessels are also practically identical. Our
petrographic analysis showed that both types of pottery
had been made from the same soapy hydro-mica clay
(see Appendix). In both cases the pottery was quickly
fred at low temperatures (under 600). Te only dif-
ferences can be found in the composition of paste (rot-
ted rock or crushed shells) and fring techniques (oxidis-
ing or reducing). Similar results were obtained through
petrographic analysis of pottery from Nemirov (Middle
Bug Region). Te consistent fnds may be explained by
the continuity and duration of the Tripolye pottery tra-
ditions rather than the relative chronological and ter-
ritorial proximity of these two sites.
Te statistical analysis of the Krinichki materials has
shown that the most common shapes of painted pottery
were conical bowls, beakers, amphorae and biconical
vessels (combined), and pear-shaped vessels (ill. 10).
For the sake of comparison, we applied the same ana-
lytical methods to another two museum collections of
Tripolye pottery retrieved from Nemirov (State Hermit-
age, Department of the Archaeology of Eastern Europe
and Siberia, Inventory List No. 245) and Kudrintsy
(Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography named
afer Peter the Great, Collection No. 2631). Both col-
lections include small-sized specimens. Te Tripolye
materials recovered in Nemirov comprise pottery frag-
ments found in the layer destroyed by the later Scyth-
ian stratum (Artamonov 1998). Te Kudrintsy collec-
tion contains materials recovered during surveys in the
1920s. As we can see, the statistics were consistent with
the data for Krinichki and Nemirov. At the same time,
similar fnds were reported for the Bodaki settlement,
where systematic excavations had been conducted over
anumber of years (Skakun 1996; 1998; 2006) and nearly
all the material had been described in detail (Starko-
va1998: 7071).
Our data on the pottery forms recovered from the
three sites provide a clearer picture of the late Mid-
dle early Late Tripolye pottery. Te few diferences
in proportions across the study area may be location-
dependent. For example, no craters have been retrieved
from sites in the Bug Region (Krinichki and Nemirov);
however, this type of vessel is very common in the Up-
per Dniester settlements of Bodaki (Starkova 1998: 70
71) and Kudrintsy. Vessels referred to as craters, albeit Ill.9. Settlement of Krinichki. Unpainted pots (kitchenware)
1
2
Ill.10. Proportions of painted pottery forms in Krinichki,
Kudrintsy and Nemirov: 1 amphorae and biconical vessels;
2 beakers; 3 conical bowls; 4 semi-spherical bowls;
5 craters; 6 pear-shaped vessels; 7 lids; 8 binoculars;
9 zoomorphic vessels
Krinichki
Kudrintsy
Nemirov
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
of aslightly diferent shape (markedly defected rim and
rounded body), have been found in the eastern regions.
Nevertheless, one should not ignore the fact that
our fnds may be heavily biased by collection practices
whereby museums prefer to keep whole pottery items
with well-preserved dcor. Te absence of binoculars
or zoomorphic vessels among the Kudrintsy materials
is hardly conclusive as these pottery forms are known to
be present in small numbers at all BIICI Tripolye sites.
Teir absence may be explained by the types of pottery
selected for specifc museum collections. In other words,
the statistical analysis of small museum collections of
Tripolye pottery can only be used to confrm the avail-
able data on the pottery types prevalent during this his-
torical period.
14 15
Afer Gamchenkos excavations, archaeological ac-
tivities in the area resumed only in the 1970s 1990s.
V. Stanko and N. Zinkovskaya conducted surveys
intheKodyma and Balta districts (Odessa Region) and
identifed 34 Tripolye sites, 26 of which dated back to
the II period of the Middle Tripolye (Stanko, Zinko-
vskaya 1976: 130150). Unfortunately, our knowledge
ofmost of these sites is limited to survey data.
In the mid-1980s small-scale excavations were per-
formed on two settlements (Stanislavka and Nemirov-
skoye) (Videyko 1994). Based on the pottery analysis,
. Videyko interpreted Stanislavka as Stage 6 and Ne-
mirovskoye as Stage 7 of the Middle Tripolye period, ac-
cording to E. Chernyshs classifcation. In particular, the
author draws parallels between the Stanislavka materi-
als and those obtained from Rakovets (North Moldova),
identifed by E. Chernysh as Stage 7 (Chernysh 1982:
173). At the same time, judging by the published illus-
trations, the decorations on the painted pottery from
Nemirovskoye also display obvious similarities to the
Rakovets fnds. It means that all the above-mentioned
sites are chronologically close; however, due to consider-
able information gaps researchers may not always agree
as to the exact time reference for each Tripolye site in the
region. Excavations have shown that Nemirovskoye and
Stanislavka date back to an earlier period compared with
Krinichki. Tis is evidenced by the fact that some of the
pottery items recovered in Nemirovskoye and Stanislav-
ka were decorated with bichrome painted ornaments
(red and brown) absent from Krinichki and indicative
ofan earlier historical period (Videyko 1986: 1825).
Based on the available data, the Tripolye sites of the
Bug-Dnieper interfuve were divided into two consecu-
tive chronological groups. Te frst group corresponds
to Stage 6 of the Middle Tripolye period (Vladimirovka
type) and is recognised as pottery with impressed dec-
orations. Te second group of sites has yielded no im-
pressed ceramics and may be dated to the beginning of
the Late Tripolye I period (Stage 3) (Polishchuk 1989:
49). However, according to E. Chernyshs classifcation,
both Vladimirovka and Krinichki may be attributed to
the fnal stage of the Middle Tripolye period (Stage 7)
(Chernysh 1982: 173). At the same time, unlike in
Vladimirovka (Passek 1949: 9899), no pottery with im-
pressed decorations was found in Krinichki.
In point of fact, classifcations based on the pres-
ence of impressed pottery may be erroneous as most
of the sites require further investigation. And although
the small Krinichki collection did not contain any im-
pressed ceramics, no defnitive conclusions can be
drawn at this stage.
Another two Tripolye sites, Ivashkovo Garden and
Dyakova Khata (both in the Kodyma District) were dis-
covered in the 1990s by L. Polishchuk and S. Smolyani-
nova. Archaeologists date them to the Early Late Tripol-
ye period. Te materials recovered in Ivashkovo Garden
and Dyakova Khata were similar to those obtained from
Cherkasov Sad II and Kirillovka (Polishchuk, Smolya-
ninova 1999: 4751). Among the fnds were short bin-
oculars with hastily painted curved lines and just two
connection elements (one upper, one lower). Analo-
gous items were found in Krinichki, Cherkasov Sad II,
Dyakova Khata and Vladimirovka (Passek 1949: 9899;
Zinkovsky, Polishchuk 1980: 68, fg. 2, 3; Polishchuk,
Smolyaninova 1999: 4748).
It has yet to be decided now if Krinichki should be
categorised as aspecifc local group. . Movsha was con-
vinced that sites like Krinichki and Vladimirovka rep-
resented the early phase of the Tomashev local group
of the Bug-Dnieper interfuve, which existed simultane-
ously to the Petreny group of the Middle Dniester Re-
gion (Movsha 1985: 217). S. Rizhov suggests that this
site may classify as the Early Petreny type and points out
that Krinichki pottery has some elements typical for the
later Chechelnik group (Rizhov 2003: 144). Te Krin-
ichki and Chechelnik pottery also show some resem-
blance in ornamentation (Kosakivskii 1990: 200204),
with comets highly prevalent in bowl designs. Inci-
dentally, both sites share a characteristic feature: some
comets had fagella (or ladders
1
) covering part of
the tail (ill.1, 7) (Kosakivskii 1990: fg.2, 2, 5).
At the same time, numerous analogues to the Krin-
ichki bowls occur among the materials from Petreny,
North Moldova (Prut-Dniester interfuve), dating back
to the late BII early I stage (Polishchuk 1989: 97,
fg.2). Like in Krinichki, most pottery fnds in Petreny
are conical bowls. Te decoration is more diverse; how-
ever, this may be due to the fact that the Petreny collec-
tion itself is richer. Te most common decorative ele-
ments on the Petreny bowls are comets and concentric
circles with snakes. Te so-called ladders are found on
the Petreny bowls in various combinations.
Our brief analysis of the ceramic material from
Krinichki shows that the principal challenge lies not
so much in clarifying the chronology of the sites as
in identifying the key markers of the Tripolye pottery
in the study area. Te criteria for identifying local pot-
tery varieties are quite subjective. Due to the unclear
chronological boundaries between BII and I and the
existing knowledge gaps about the area, researchers are
ofen compelled to date the sites as the intermediate
BIICI stage.
At this point we may have to limit ourselves to classi-
fying Krinichki as an early CI Tripolye site of the South
Bug Region, similarly to Cherkasov Sad II, Kirillovka,
Dyakova Khata or Ivashkovo Sad. In turn, alink may be
traced between the sites dispersed across the Bug-Dnie-
per interfuve (such as Vladimirovka in the east of this
region) and the sites across the Prut-Dniester interfuve
(such as Petreny in the west). For example, one recur-
rent decorative motif on the Cherkasov Sad II vessels
is achain of triangles (Polishchuk 2004: 599), analogies
to which can only be found at the eastern sites includ-
ing Vladimirovka and the Kanev group of settlements
(Ovchinnikov 2007: fg.66, 2).
Judging by the pottery features, the Krinichki settle-
ment lay at the east-bound migration route of the Trip-
olye population from the Prut-Dniester interfuve to the
Bug and Dnieper basin. Similarities to the forms and
ornamentation of the Krinichki painted pottery high-
light the connections between these regions and help to
bridge the information gap about the South Bug Region.
APPENDIX
Petrographic analysis of ceramic specimens
from Krinichki (Tripolye period)
1
S p e c i me n 1
Krinichki (painted pottery)
Fabric: high density, thin walls (47 mm), brick-red
colour.
Clay: low-grade aleurolite.
Composition: Ferruginised clays with a large amount
of clastic material (60%). Te clastic material is represent-
ed by non-rounded angular quartz, feldspath, muscovite
and hematite grains sized 0.10.2 mm. Larger inclusions
(0.52.0 mm) are represented by white sandstone grains
(10%) and more solid argillo-ferruginous rounded for-
mations (chamotte: dried clay lumps) (5%) measuring
0.52.0 mm, poorly rounded quartz and feldspath (or-
thoclase) grains (3%). Acicular wollastonite crystals (5%);
clay amorphisation. Non-plastic material: chamotte (5%),
quartz-feldspath sand (3%). Porosity: 10%, round pores
above of 0.10.2mm. Firing temperature: 1000 1100 ;
oxidising two-stage fring.
S p e c i me n 2
Krinichki (with rotted rock admixture)
Fabric: low density, thin walls (68 mm), dark grey
colour.
Soapy hydro-mica clay.
Composition: hydro-mica clay small amount of clastic
material (5%). Te clastic material includes 0.050.30mm
quartz, hematite and mica grains, with some carbon-bear-
ing inclusions (10%). Larger inclusions (13mm) are rep-
resented by sand grains: composition: quartz, plagioclase,
crushed rock (gneiss) (40%), angular grains; some grains
are well-rounded. A large amount of fne hematite grains
(0.05mm). Non-plastic material: river sand (40%). Poros-
ity: 15%; round pores sized 0.10.2 mm. Firing tempera-
ture: 600 700 ; quick fring; residual organic material.
S p e c i me n 3
Krinichki (shell-based)
Fabric: low density, thin walls (68 mm), dark grey
colour.
Soapy hydro-mica clays.
Composition: hydro-mica clays with asmall amount of
clastic material (5%). Te clastic material includes rounded
quartz and hematite grains (0.050.30 mm). Larger inclu-
sions (0.52.0mm) are represented by carbonate particles
(fnely crushed limestone) (70%) sized under 2mm. Non-
plastic material: crushed limestone (70%). Porosity: 15%,
round pores sized 0.10.2mm. Firing temperature: 500
700 ; quick fring, residual organic material.
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1
A ladder is aseries of parallel short dashes enclosed between
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Translated by Natalia Magnes
18 19
Te Hermitage Department of the Archaeology
ofEastern Europe and Siberia holds arich collection of
Finno-Ugric metal artworks from Prikamye (1st early
2nd millennium AD), or the so-called Chud amulets (or
sacrifcial objects) executed in the Perm animal style.
Tese religious artefacts provide an important source
of data for the reconstruction of the world outlook
of the ancient Finno-Ugric tribes. A large part of this
collection consists of accidental fnds retrieved from
sacred sites in Prikamye (Kama River area) including
bone beds, called so because of considerable amounts
of animal and burnt human bones found there. Like
all religious sites, bone beds were located on hills, of-
ten in river mouths, on banks with agood view of the
surroundings. Along with sacrifce areas, bone beds also
served as funerary monuments (Goldina 1985:105).
Te Hermitage owes its collection of Chud amu-
lets primarily to Count Sergey Stroganov. Afer tak-
ing charge of his entailed estate in Perm in 1846, he
displayed a keen interest in antiquities and ordered
that any curious and exquisite objects found during
ground works or ploughing on his Perm estates be col-
lected and sent to Saint Petersburg (Ignatyeva 2009:33).
In 1925, Count Stroganovs collection was transferred
to the Department of Pre-Class Society of the Hermit-
age (now the Department of the Archaeology of Eastern
Europe and Siberia).
Our study addresses one of the most remarkable ob-
jects in the Stroganov collection. Tis 23 mm thick fat
bronze fgure measuring 8.0 3.8 cm and known as the
Garevskoye idol (Inv. No. 563/19) was an acciden-
tal fnd made during the tilling of a vegetable garden
in Garevskoye Village, Perm Province, on the bank of
the Kama River (Teploukhov 1893:28). In all probabili-
ty, it came from theGarevskoye bone bed located 500m
west of Staro-Garevaya Village, Dobryansky District,
on the lef bank of the Garevaya River (right tributary
ofthe Kama) (Goldina 1985:192, No. 77).
Te Garevskoye bone bed was found to contain
areligious structure, namely a50 cm tall clay platform
measuring 1.01.5m, surrounded by aditch flled with
burnt bones; this site was responsible for the majority
ofthe objects retrieved (Goldina 1985:100).
Following the procedure introduced by Sergey Stro-
ganov, any archaeological objects were to be delivered
to estate managers who dispatched them to the Ilyin-
skoye administration of ce reporting the location and
circumstances of the fnding; objects of greatest inter-
est were transported to St. Petersburg; drawings of the
rest were sent to the Count until further notice (Spi-
tsyn 1902; Alekseyenko 1960). Te whereabouts of the
fnding were usually recorded by V. Volegov, manager
of Stroganovs estate in Perm; drawings were executed
by the serf artist G. Kuzmenykh.
Te frst drawing made of the Garevskoye idol by
G.Kuzmenykh was published in J. Aspelins atlas in 1877
(Aspelin 1877: 14, ill. 535). Te picture shows that the
fgurine was covered in oxide scale and mud (ill. 1, 1).
No detailed description of the Garevskoye idol was
available until 1893,when Fyodor Teploukhov pointed
that the drawing represents an image markedly difer-
ent from most Chud idols. It is a red copper plate de-
picting a human fgure with a disproportionately large
head. Te head looks even more enormous because of
an animal (possibly bear) skin draped over it, with the
paws hanging down on both sides of the face. Te fgure
is naked; however, there are three incisions (arranged
in atriangle) clearly visible on the neck and chest; these
may represent bear fangs ofen worn by Finns as amu-
lets. Te round eyes and frowning eyebrows give the
face astern expression (Teploukhov 1893:28). Te au-
thor concludes the description with the following com-
ment: Te idol difers from typical Chud holy images
in overall appearance and some details resembling the
Vogul idols described above. Tis especially concerns
the bear skin on the head as the bear cult is known to be
common among Ugric peoples (Teploukhov 1893:60).
Alexander Spitsyn published apicture of the Garevs-
koye idol among nineteen other objects from the Stro-
ganov collection, supplying a short description: An
excellent human fgure with a bear skin on the head.
Indentation around the neck and on the chest. Judging
by the likeness to Fig.65 from the Glyadenovskoye col-
lection, dates back to ancient times. Count Stroganovs
collection (Spitsyn 1906:33) (ill.1, 2).
Alexey Smirnov writes in his account of the Garevs-
koye idol: Dating back to the beginning of the 1stmil-
lennium AD, the Garevskoye bone bed has yielded
numerous archaic images. Among them is a male fg-
ure with a disproportionately large head, round eyes,
aprominent nose, two-fnger hands, slightly parted legs
and aphallus represented by atriangle. Abear skin with
the face turned lef is draped over the mans head, the
front paws of the skin hanging down onto the mans
shoulders. Te proportions as well as the rendition of
the head and limbs allow to date the image to a fairly
early period (Smirnov 1952: 94, Table XXI, Fig. 12)
(ill.1, 3).
Te Garevskoye idol was also mentioned by Lubov
Gribova, who wrote: Te earliest and simplest of the
hybrid images are those combining animal and human
components, e.g. elk-humans, bear-humans, bird-hu-
mans, etc (Gribova 1975:53) (ill.1, 4).
Historians have described the Garevskoye idol in
diferent, sometimes subjective ways and mentioned
details absent from the real image (i.e. eyebrows and
neck). However, they also failed to record or take
notice of some other features. It appears that the au-
thors probably worked with the frst drawing made by
G.Kuzmenykh rather than the authentic object.
Like all archaeological items, the Garevskoye idol
is a historical source encoding a signifcant message.
LENA OYATEVA
GAREVSKOYE IDOL FROM THE STROGANOV COLLECTION
Ill.1. Sketches of the Garevskoye idol:
1 drawing by G. Kuzmenykh in (Aspelin 1877:14, ill.535);
2 in (Spitsyn 1906:81, Fig.216);
3 in (Smirnov 1952:94, Table XXI, Fig.12);
4 in (Gribova 1975: Table IV, Fig.2)
1
2
3
4
20 21
Ancient images are regarded by some researchers as
atext to be read (Kuzmina 1983:96). Following this ap-
proach to the interpretation of ancient art objects, we
will attempt to read the Garevskoye idol by means of
text decoding techniques. Te available documentary
photos and the detailed description provide valuable
opportunities for the objective analysis and semantic
interpretation of the source (ill.2).
Found on the site of aruined bone bed, the bronze
idol was cast in atwo-sided mould; the mould gate on
top was carefully cut of and rubbed down. Te fgu-
rine has a smooth surface apart from small dentures
andscratches.
Te Garevskoye idol combines the features of a hu-
man and abear. Te front part of the bear skin (the head
facing lef and three-fnger paws) merges with adispro-
portionately large square anthropomorphic head. Te
latter has round eyes, a prominent pear-shaped nose
and a slit-like mouth and rests on the shoulders of
a slim male fgure. Te fgure stands on widely parted
legs looking like bear paws. Te two-fngered hands are
hanging down along the body; the right arm is sepa-
rated from the shoulder with a clear kinked line. Four
acute triangles arranged in two rows (three triangles
in the upper row, one in the middle below) are shown
on the chest.
Images of half-beasts, half-humans are a distinc-
tive feature of the Perm animal style and are commonly
found in complex multi-fgure Chud holy pictures. Tis
class of images includes elk-humans, bear-humans and
bird-humans difering both in the choice of animal spe-
cies and ways zoomorphic and anthropomorphic ele-
ments are combined.
Te Garevskoye idol is part animal, part human,
with each detail of the image sending an important
message about the person portrayed. Te most informa-
tive element is the bear skin placed on the anthropo-
morphic head. Other meaningful details are the missing
fngers on the bear paws and the human hands, the dra-
matic body disproportions (the head is too massive for
the thin fgure), and the right arm separated from the
shoulder and the triangular pattern on the breast.
Te bear head is presented in profle facing lef,
while the anthropomorphic head is depicted en face,
which has a symbolic meaning: the right side, which
faces the viewer, is associated with birth and life, the
lef symbolises death (Ivanov 1982: 4344; Adam-
chik2007:252253).
Te available ethnographical data suggest that each
digit on the human hand also carried acertain symbol-
ism (Oyateva 1998: 144146). G. Pelikh analyses the
Selkup vocabulary for fngers and draws some amazing
parallels with Selkup beliefs about the multiplicity of
human souls. Tis hand digit symbolism has survived
since the ancient times. Quoting the terms referred to
by A. Dulzon in his catalogues of West-Siberian place
names, G. Pelikh provides the following data:
1. Kagal-mun human soul; kagaol-muna thumb.
2. Kor male soul (kor-mip, according to M. Kast-
ren); shedgodet-mun middle fnger.
3. Sang life force present in any living being;
sengai-muna twin, tel kan-mun little fnger.
In summary, Selkup beliefs associate each digit with
one of the human souls (Pelikh 1980:33).
Te iconographic characteristics of the Garevskoye
idol can therefore be decoded as follows: the two digits
on the hands of the bear-man (thumbs and index fn-
gers)symbolise humanity. Te three digits on the front
paws of the bear (middle, ring and little fngers) indicate
that the creature only possesses life force and masculin-
ity when it exists in its zoomorphic form.
Te upper limbs with two digits (thumb and index
fnger) suggest anthropomorphism; however, the right
arm is separated from the shoulder while the lef is not.
One possible explanation is the direct link of the Garevs-
koye idol with the bear cult whereby the bear is invited
to festivities as a kinsman and is treated as a guest of
honour. Te bears fesh and blood are ofered to mem-
bers of the kin to confrm their fellowship. Te severed
right paw, regarded as sacred, is used for bringing oaths
known as koyubat (bear word, bear truth). Another
common use for the right paw was divination: the per-
son seeking the right answer to aquestion tosses the paw
upwards; the answer is positive if the paw falls palm up
and negative if the palm faces down. Te severed right
paw was kept in a sacred barn (Alekseyenko 1960: 95;
Oyateva 2009:7576).
Another noteworthy fact about the idol is that the
surface of its skin and the bear paws is smooth and de-
void of hair. Tis seemingly insignifcant detail, together
with the enormous head surmounting athin male body,
acquires deep meaning. Such proportions are common
in young animals that ofen have large heads, yet under-
developed bodies and hair. Te Garevskoye idol may
represent a young bear-man, who is completely peace-
ful and displays no threatening features expected in
a predator. Tis is consistent with the special symbolic
role played by the zoo-anthropomorphic being.
Te Garevskoye idol carries on his breast a trian-
gular composition of four upside-down acute triangles
arranged in two rows. Numerous studies suggest that
the triangle is a symbol for a gif or a sacrifce; this in-
terpretation is essential for understanding the semantic
content of the image.
Apparently, the Garevskoye idol represents a young
bear-man, avoluntary sacrifce, who possesses life force
and masculinity only in the animal form.
Given the accidental nature of the fnd and the ab-
sence of any precise dating evidence, it is impossible
to identify the exact period when the Garevskoye idol
was created. All researchers classify the image as an-
cient by using diferent supporting evidence. Fyodor
Teploukhov believed that the idol was cast in red cop-
per, which was typical of ancient objects: however, this
argument is invalidated by the fact that the fgurine,
like many other objects in the Perm animal style, is
actually made of bronze.
Alexey Smirnovs attempt to date the idol to the 2nd
or 3rd century AD is almost entirely built on intuition;
the author claims that the proportions and the rendi-
tion of the head and limbs allow the idol to be attribut-
ed to the period preceding the ffh ninth century Lo-
matovo culture. However, as mentioned above, the real
meaning of the proportions is symbolic, indicating the
creatures youth rather than the archaic period of origin.
Lubov Gribova treats all beast-humans (e.g. elk-
humans, bear-humans and bird-humans) as ancient
and, like all anthropologists, tends to focus on the hu-
man rather than animal features.
lexander Spitsyn attempts to prove the ancient ori-
gin of the Garevskoye idol by comparing it to asimilar
idol (Inv. No. -65) found in the Glyadenovs-
koye bone bed.
Te similarity between the Garevskoye and Glya-
denovskoye idols suggests that they share a common
source image of abear-human (ill.3). In both cases the
large square head with round eyes contrasts to the slen-
der male body of the creature; both idols have two-fnger
Ill.2. Garevskoye idol in photographs: 1 front side; 2 reverse side
(photos by Darya Bobrova, Ekaterina Shablavina)
1 2
22 23
hands and bear legs. However, the Glyadenovskoye idol
has no bear skin on his head or triangles on his chest;
nor is his right arm separated from the shoulder. Con-
sequently, the Glyadenovskoye idol is not a sacrifcial
bear-human. Te bracelets on the limbs indicate that
the creature is ringed, i.e. protected by people. Tere are
four discs arranged in asingle row (possibly anecklace)
on the chest of the idol.
According to ethnographical data, members of the
Bear kin ofen raised bear cubs at home as their own
children. When the animals matured, they were ringed
with copper collars and released. Whenever hunters met
such bears in the forest, they could identify the animals
by their collars and bracelets as the children of the kin
who should not be killed (Alekseyenko 1960:93).
Te fnds on the Glyadenovskoye bone bed span
across a wide time period from the 3rd century BC to
the 8th century AD. Te dating of the Glyadenovskoye
idol presents aserious dif culty as places of worship re-
mained in use over considerable periods of time.
Te attempt to date the Garevskoye idol by compar-
ing it to other Perm-style works depicting bears does
not provide any more certainty on this issue. Images of
Ill.3. Comparison of two images:
1 Garevskoye idol;
2 Glyadenovskoye idol in (Spitsyn 1906:62, Fig.65)
a bear head lying between the front paws, common in
the Perm animal style, are ofen referred to as sacrif-
cial bears and can be found on pendants, cover plates,
plaques, buckles, etc. However, the head of the sacrifcial
bear is normally depicted en face, not in profle like in
the Garevskoye idol(ill.4). In his detailed study of sac-
rifcial bear images, Yu. Chemyakin suggests the follow-
ing chronological attribution: Te fnds show that the
sacrifcial bear motif frst appeared in West Siberia at the
turn of the epoch (possibly at the end of the 1st millen-
nium BC) (Chemyakin 2008: 74, Fig.45).
In the absence of convincing evidence, the precise
dating of the Garevskoye idol remains an open issue.
Nevertheless, all researchers intuitively attribute it to
the former half of the 1st millennium AD. No ana-
logues to the Garevskoye idol have been found among
Perm-style artefacts; however, this does not mean that
sacrifcial fgurines were never used in the Chud reli-
gious practices.
Images of this type can be found in cultures quite
distant from the Perm Chudes, geographically and
chronologically. Te clay dogu fgurine from the To-
kyo National Museum may have performed similar
1 2
Ill.4. Later analogues to the Garevskoye idol depicting sacrifcial bears (4th 5th century):
1 medallion-badge retrieved near the Kyn River, Perm Province (Inv. No. 563/2);
2 cover plate found near Zarodiata Village, Perm Province (Inv. No. 563/54)
1 2
Ill.5. Sacrifcial clay fgurine (dogu), Northern Honshu (Japan):
1 front side;
2 reverse side (sketch by Yury Piotrovsky)
1
2
functions (Illustrated Catalogue of Tokyo National
Museum 1996: 263, No. 193) (ill. 5). Te head of the
fgurine with small horns, the animal ears shown at
the temple level, the narrow slit-like eyes under the
continuous line of the eyebrows with a spongy tex-
ture, the prominent nose and the slit-like mouth do
not look entirely human. Te stick-like arms stretched
perpendicularly to the body end in protrusions turned
downwards. A wide ornate belt covering the thighs
separates the animal limbs from the torso. Behind the
back, a feature looking like an animal skin (also of
spongy texture) falls in atriangular fold. Te upside-
down triangle on the chest suggests that the fgurine is
probably asacrifcial dogu.
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Adamchik 2007
Adamchik, V. [ .].
[Polnaja encyklopedija simvolov i znakov]. Minsk, 2007.
Alekseyenko 1960
Alekseyenko, . [ .]. [Kets
Bear Cult]. [Sovjetskaja etnografja].
1960. No. 4.
Aspelin 1877
Aspelin, J. R. Antiquites du Nord Finne-Ougrien. Helsingfors, 1877.
Chemyakin 2008
Chemyakin, Yu. [ .].
[On One Subject of Zoomorphic Style].
In: -
[Vzaimodejstvije narodov Jevrazii v epoxu
velikogo pereselenija narodov]. Izhevsk, 2008.
Goldina 1985
Goldina, Rimma [ ]. -
[Lomovatovskaja kultura v Verxnem
Prikamje]. Irkutsk, 1985.
Gribova 1975
Gribova, Lubov [ ].
[Permskij zverinyj stil]. oscow, 1975.
Illustrated Catalogue of Tokyo National Museum 1996
Illustrated Catalogue of Tokyo National Museum. Objects from
Jomon Sites: Dogu (Clay Figurine), Clay Objects. Tokyo, 1996.
Ivanov 1982
Ivanov, Vsevolod [ ]. [Lef
and Right]. In: [Mify narodov mira].
oscow, 1982. Vol. 2.
Ignatyeva 2009
Ignatyeva, lga [ ]. :
[Permskij zverinyj stil: isto-
rija kollekcyj i ix izdanija]. Perm, 2009.
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Kuzmina 1983
Kuzmina, Elena [ ].
-
.
[Onthe Reading of the Message of the Pictorial Art Works from
the Eurasian Steppes of the Scythian Period. Methods of the Art
Works Analysis]. [Vestnik drevnej
istorii]. 1983. No.1.
Oyateva 1998
Oyateva, lena [ ]. : ( -
I
II [Te Language of Art: (Based
on the Materials of the Artistic Metal Plastic Works from the
River Kama Area. 1st 2nd Millennium BC)].
[Soobenija Gosudarstvennogo
Ermitaa]. 1998. [Issue] XXXIII.
Oyateva 2009
Oyateva, lena [ ]. -
[Permskij zverinyj stil v sokrovinice
Ermitaa]. Perm, 2009.
Pelikh 1980
Pelikh, G. [ .]. .
[Materials on the Selkup Sha-
mans. Idols of Selkup Shamans]. In:
[Etnografja Severnoj Azii]. Novosibirsk, 1980.
Smirnov 1952
Smirnov, lexey [ ].

[Essays on the Ancient and Mediaeval History of the
Middle Volga and Kama Peoples].
[Materialy i issledovanija po arxeologii
Rossii]. 1952. Vol. 28.
Spitsyn 1902
Spitsyn, lexander [ ].
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[Antiquities of the Kama Chud People. Based on the
Teploukhovs Collection. Introduction to the Atlas of Drawings].
[Materialy po arxeologii
Rossii]. St.Petersburg, 1902. No. 26.
Spitsyn 1906
Spitsyn, lexander [ ]. -
[Shaman Pictures]. In:

[Zapiski otdelenija russkoj i slavjanskoj arxeologii Russkogo
arxeologieskogo obestva]. 1906.
Teploukhov 1893
Teploukhov, Fyodor [ ].
[Antiquities
ofthe Perm Chud in the Forms of Fantastic People and Animals].
[Permskij Kraj]. Perm, 1893. Vol. 2.
Among the earliest examples of Egyptian writing
are the extremely widespread cylindrical seals with in-
scriptions, as well as clay impressions taken from these
cylinders (there are many hundreds of them). Most
frequently a circular seal on a cord (the seals always
have an aperture for acord) was rolled across the damp
clay moulded on to the neck and the wooden stopper
of a vessel that contained some kind of food or drink
wine, for example. Te text that thus appeared on the
seal ofen indicated what was in the vessel and the name
of the establishment where the contents were produced,
as well as the name and position of the person respon-
sible for applying the seal (Kaplony 1977; Kaplony 1984;
Needler 1984: 375378; Shubert 2001: 252254). De-
spite the fact that half a century has passed since the
publication of Peter Kaplonys fundamental work on
early inscriptions (IF IIII) and new generalised works
have since appeared on the palaeography (Riley 1985;
Regulski 2010) and inscriptions (Kahl 1994; Kahl 2002)
of this archaic period, modern researchers continue to
read them approximately, omitting the incomprehensi-
ble places that cannot be interpreted satisfactorily.
Te State Hermitage collection contains several clay
impressions (Nikolayev 2009) and also four Early Dy-
nasty cylinders (i.e. from the 1st to 3rd Dynasties, 31st
27th centuries BC) with inscriptions, which are the sub-
ject of this article.
Inv. No. 15927 (haematite; height 18 mm, di-
ameter 18 mm; transferred on 18 August 1938 from
the USSR Academy of Sciences Institute of History as
part of Nikolay Likhachevs collection. Provenance un-
known. According to Likhachev, it was purchased from
Armenian antique dealers in Paris in the early 20th cen-
tury. Literature: (Perepelkin 1936: 10, No. I/1; Pismena
2012: 77, cat. No.1). Ill.1).
ANDREY NIKOLAEV
FOUR EARLY ANCIENT EGYPTIAN SEALS FROM THE STATE HERMITAGE COLLECTION
Transcription and transliteration of the inscription:
xtm(.w) Hr.tSnb.
tNxb-Nj.t (Nj.t-Nxb) nmtr (?)
Translation: (Te one who) seals everything that
relates to the lake, Neheb-neit. Precisely.
Concerning the title xtm(.w) Hr.t S nb.t, including all
known instances of its use, see: (Jones 2000: No. 2810,
p.773). Te translation of this title requires some expla-
nation. Te lake indicates the district inwhich works
are being undertaken. Concerning the meaning of the
Ill. 1. Cylindrical seal 15927 and impression from it
26 27
term S (pond, lake) and titles connected with it,
see (Bogdanov 2000); the diference between the title as
such and the sign of aspecifc functionary on Early Dy-
nasty seals is noted in: (Bogdanov 2009: 1920).
Hermann Ranke does not mention the name Nxb-
Nj.t (Ranke 1935: 181182, 209), and the known in-
stances of Nxb in this period were written with other
signs (Kahl 2003: 246). Nevertheless, the given name af-
ter the title is indicated by the component Nj.t, symmet-
rically surrounded by identical repeating signs n
and x on the right and on the lef (Tis peculiarity
is also characteristic of the inscription of the personal
name on the cylinder 15929, see below).
More dif culty is encountered in the interpreta-
tion of the group of two tall symbols, whose shape
is reminiscent of the double fnger (D50) or the
pestle (U33), under which t is written. In favour of
the former interpretation is the logic of the possible
translation of as mtr precisely (Wb. II: 173: 1).
However, in her Palaeographic Study Ilona Regulski
cites only one instance of double writing for (Regul-
ski 2010: 372), but numerous instances of (Regulski
2010: 662663). Te closest analogies to the group of
signs on the Hermitage cylinder are: (IF III, Abb. 15,
139, 167, 443, 448, 459, 468, 471, 480, 586, 598, 615;
Kaplony 1964, Abb. 896, 925, 935, 972, 983), in which
the writing is closer to . Ishould like to note, frstly,
that the number of t signs beneath the tall double
sign can vary from none to four (IF III, Abb. 15) and
secondly, that one gets the impression that the group
ofen serves as asort of divider between two titles, e.g.
(Kaplony 1964, Abb.896), orbetween the title and the
name, e.g. (IFIII, Abb.615).
Te main criteria for dating the cylinder are the time
of the existence of the title, which was not recorded afer
the 1st Dynasty (Jones 2000: 773, No. 2810) and the epi-
graphic characteristics of the signs, which are inscribed
diferently and with wrong proportions. Tis applies,
above all, to the very archaic form of the sign x kings
placenta

(Aa1) with one horizontal line inside
aclosed circle (Regulski 2010: 726727) (theclosest an-
alogue dates from the reign of Den) and the ideogram
of the goddess Neit (r4), in which there is no great
widening where two arrows intersect and the protrud-
ing part to the right of the standard signifcantly leans
over (IF III, Abb. 471, 510, 598, 615; Kaplony 1964,
Abb. 935, 972; Regulski 2010: 604605). Te form of the
sign seal is also very special: (S20) (Regulski 2010:
612613): the tab is considerably smaller than the main
body of the sign, there are two horizontal lines inside
arectangle drawn towards the edge and there is aprotu-
berance at the bottom. All these features coincide with
signs carved in stone in Dens reign.
Te cylinder can therefore be dated to the second
half of the 1st Dynasty (30th 29th centuries BC).
tury. Literature: (Perepelkin 1936: 10, No. I/2). Ill.2).
58, No. 135, fg. 86). As far as the palaeography of the
sign H is concerned, ones attention is drawn to the
painstaking working of all four of the easily visible loops.
Judging by Ilona Regulskis Palaeographic Study, the
closest forms relate to the late 2nd and 3rd Dynasties
(Regulski 2010: 683).
On the Hermitage cylinder the sign n (N35) has
eight scarcely protruding teeth, the general line of the
sign being almost perfectly even. Tese features are char-
acteristic of hieroglyphs from the time of Khasekhemwy
and Necherkhet (Djoser) (Regulski 2010: 522526).
Te signs afer the name convey the title of the man
(as indicated by the seal (S20)), but there is no
evidence of this form elsewhere. Te other title
xtm.w nbw is well known (Kahl, 1994: 692; Jones 2000:
766, No. 2786; Kahl 2004: 365366), as are the two
more detailed variants that derive from it, which are
based on xtm.w nb.w. (Before the sign for seal
(S20) on the Hermitage cylinder is a sign with a fab-
ric (S29), which could lead to the idea of reading the
title as cDAw.tj nb.w. However, an obligatory condition
forcDAw.tj is that the frst two signs are written pho-
netically (afer which the seal is extremely rarely con-
veyed by the sign ), otherwise the ideogram should
be read as xtm (Dreyer et al. 2000: 126127), cf.: (Fis-
cher 1996: 50).). On the other hand, the expression
ix.t nb.t nb.w all gold things is known from the im-
pressions of aseal from the auxiliary burial W 30 near
the tomb of Peribsen in the Umm-el-Qaab necropo-
lis ((IF III, Abb. 368) this is a corrected version of
(Petrie 1901, pl.22)). It can therefore be posited that the
cylinder bears the title xtm.w ix(.t) nb(.t) nb(wt) (the
one who) seals all gold objects.
Te palaeography of the seal (S20)
(Regulski 2010: 613) is typical of the last reigns of the
Early Dynasty and the beginning of the Old Dynasty:
Khasekhemwy and Necherkhet (primarily the latter).
Tese features are indicated, frstly, by the flled-in reg-
ular rectangular form, and secondly, by the elongated
cord-loop that tapers at both ends.
Te palaeography of the sign x (Aa1) (Regul-
ski2010: 726729) with its almost perfectly regular cir-
cumference and two parallel chords inside it tends to
suggest the reign of Khasekhemwy, though it cannot
be excluded that it is from the reign of Necherkhet or
Nynetjer. Te peculiarity of the palaeography of the sign
for necklace nb (S12) (Regulski 2010: 608610)
is that in the late period of the Early Kingdom the side
elements of the hieroglyph were pointed downwards
not at asharp angle, but smoothly. Tis is clearly visible
on the Hermitage cylinder, where the leaning ends of
the sign are widened, which speaks in favour of alater
time of manufacture. Te last indication is the fgures
that represent pendants in this case triangles, whereas
strokes are characteristic of earlier signs. Judging by
the examples compiled by Ilona Regulski, ahieroglyph
from the reign of Necherkhet exactly coincides with the
sign on the Hermitage cylinder (Regulski 2010: 610).
Te meaning of the inscription xtm.w ix(.t) nb(.t) nb(.
wt) afer the title remains a mystery, though the indi-
vidual signs are easily identifed. I know of no titles or
names of economic establishments that would have been
recorded in this way; an exception is complex personal
names, in which mAa.t is a fairly common element (for
example, in the names Nfr-qd-mAa.t (IF III, Abb. 340)
or inj-mAa.t-Hjp.w (IF III, Abb. 325, 326)). However,
that fact does not help much towards understanding the
meaning, because mAa.t is preceded by aseries ofsigns
that is too long for aname.
No other examples in seal impressions of the sign
kA (D28) (Regulski 2010: 352355) similar to that
on the Hermitage seal have been recorded. Te closest
analogues are on hard stone and date from the reign
of Khasekhemwy (Regulski 2010: 355).Te characteris-
tics of the writing are: the relatively great length of the
arms themselves, the fairly short space between the arms
and the lower part of the sign, the almost sharp bend in
the place where the arms close, and the absence of hands
(they are replaced by a gradual thickening towards
the ends). Te alternative interpretation of as a well
Hm (N42) is not possible for palaeographical reasons:
for the sign there have to be several horizontal lines
between the vertical side lines (Regulski 2010: 534).
On seals, the form of the sign for sickle mA (U1)
(Regulski 2010: 650651) remained virtually unchanged
from Den to Necherkhet, but the sign mAa.t (Aa11)
is encountered only during four reigns of the Early King-
dom (Regulski 2010: 730). Acharacteristic feature is the
elongation of the sign: the thinner and narrower it is, the
greater the probability that it is of alater date. Although
there are very few examples of such writing for com-
parison, those relating to the reign of Khasekhemwy are
most similar to the sign in question.
Based primarily on its palaeographical features, the
cylinder 15928 should be dated to the late 2nd or 3rd
Dynasties (28th 26th centuries BC).
Nj-cj-Hw xtm.w ix(.t) nb(.t) nb(.wt)
kA-mA.t cmAa.t (?)
Translation: Ni-si-khu, who seals all gold objects,
... (?).
Te name Ni-si-khuis apparently not encountered
earlier (cf: (Ranke 1935: 178; IF I: 530532)), though
there is evidence of that construction of a composite
name in the Early Dynastic period (e.g. (Saad 1957,
pl. XIV; IF I: 530532)). Te element (a17) is en-
countered twice in the composition of a name in the
2ndand 3rd Dynasties: (Newberry 1909: 130, pl. 24.15
(I did not have access to this work); Lacau, Lauer 1965:
28 29
tury. Literature: (Perepelkin 1936: 10, No. I/3). Ill.3).
able that the title on the cylinder is imA-a (generous
of hand), albeit in a shortened form (Jones 2000:10,
No.39; Kahl 2002: 32).
It is also possible to try to see in the sign for chisel
mnx (U22), apparently found three times in monu-
ments of the Early Dynastic period: (Saad 1957, pl. 16;
IF III, Abb. 421 bis; Kaplony 1966: 267, Abb. 1097).
Te palaeography in the above instances difers con-
siderably from the Hermitage example (Regulski 2010:
656), but factors in favour of this interpretation are the
two personal names of the 2nd 3rd Dynasties, with
mnx among their elements: mnx: mnx.t-kA (Saad 1957: 11,
pl. 5; Kahl 2003: 183) and mnx-m-DfA=j (Saad 1957: 28, pl.
16; Kahl 2003: 183).
Several functionaries in the Early Dynastic period
had the name of the seals owner Meri-ka (IF I:
499505), cf. also: (Ranke 1935: 161). Prominent
among them was the owner of the large mastaba 3505
in Saqqara. It would be tempting to name this man as
the owner of the Hermitage cylinder, but his personal
name both on his funeral stele and on seals has adif-
ferent form: (Emery 1958, pls. 39, 37.7, 37.8). Tere
are three monuments of other people with the same or
a similar name, but none of the inscriptions coincide
entirely with the Hermitage cylinder, e.g.
(IF III, Abb. 456), and also (Petrie 1902, pl. 12.21;
Lacau, Lauer 1961, pl. 24, No.131). It is quite possible
that the Hermitage cylinder is amaterial evidence of the
existence of a ffh man with the name Meri-ka in the
Early Dynasty period.
Interestingly, the name is repeated twice on the
cylinder (symmetrically), though the sequence of
signs and their form are not identical. Te hieroglyph
for sickle (U6) has a broad partition resembling
a stepladder in the middle this is a clear sign of ar-
chaism (Regulski 2010: 652653): the closest analogues
date from the reigns of Meret-neit and Qaa. In addi-
tion, ahollow has been scratched on the cylinder in the
inner part of the hieroglyph for mouth (D21)
apractice for which there is no evidence afer the end
of the 2nd Dynasty (Regulski 2010: 348351). We can
defnitely speak about deliberate use of these slightly
diferent hieroglyphs, though no satisfactory explana-
tion for this has yet been found.
Based on the duration of the title Ax recorded in that
form, which was discontinued towards the end of the
2nd Dynasty, and also taking into account the palaeo-
graphic characteristics of the hieroglyphs, the cylinder
can be dated to the second half of the 1st Dynasty or to
the 2ndDynasty (30th 27th centuries BC).
Inv. No. 5560 (haematite; height 14 mm, diam-
eter 14 mm; transferred on 11 December 1930 from the
Moscow Museum of Fine Arts as part of Vladimir Golen-
ishchevs collection. Literature: (Flittner 1924: 252, fg. 12;
Kaplony 1964: 42, Abb. 985 bis; Kahl 1994: 749). Ill. 4).
zag. Te head of the other snake is also of an unusual
shape: (I10), of which apparently no analogues exist
(Regulski 2010: 464467), but the reading of the sign
as adze (U21) suggested by Natalia Flittner can
be excluded on palaeographic grounds (Regulski 2010:
656). For the characteristics of the writing of bolt
(O34), see: (Regulski 2010: 560561); the reading of the
sign as hobble (V16) (as suggested by Peter Ka-
plony) is not possible (Regulski 2010: 460463).
Te meaning of the expression afer the names of the
two goddesses Seshat and Neit remains amystery. (Te
use of the signs I10, O34 and I9 in any sequence has not
been recorded on any written monument from the Early
Kingdom (Database of Early Dynastic Inscriptions).)
Since the cylinder contains no hieroglyphs, the writ-
ing of which changed considerably from reign to reign,
it is currently not possible to date it more accurately
than to the period of the 1st to 3rd Dynasties (31st
27th centuries BC).
REFERENCES
Bogdanov 2000
Bogdanov, Ivan [ ].
[Rannjaja istorija
instituta xenitue v Jegipte epoxi Starogo carstva]. Synopsis, dis.
for Candidate of History degree. St.Petersburg, 2000.
Bogdanov 2009
Bogdanov, Ivan [ ]. -
[Ancient Egyptian
Bureaucratic Terminology on Seals].
[Vestnik drevnej istorii]. 2009. No.3.
Chegodayev 2009
Chegodayev, Mikhail [ ].
[On the Ancient Egyptian Category Ax].
In: 20072008 [Pe-
terburgskije jegiptologieskije tenija 20072008]. St.Petersburg,
2009: 318330.
Database of Early Dynastic Inscriptions
Database of Early Dynastic Inscriptions. By Ilona Regulski. URL:
http://www2.ivv1.uni-muenster.de/litw3/Aegyptologie/index06.
htm (date of access: 01.03.2012).
Dreyer et al. 2000
Dreyer, Gnter et al. Ummel-Qaab. Nachuntersuchungen im
frhzeitlichen Knigsfriedhof. 11./12. Vorbericht. Mitteilungen
des Deutschen Archologischen Instituts, Abteilung Kairo. 2000.
Bd. 56.
Emery 1958
Emery, Walter Bryan. Great Tombs of the First Dynasty. London,
1958. Vol. 3.
Mrj-kA Ax imA-a (?) Mrj-kA
Translation: Meri-ka the enlightened, Meri-kagen-
erous of hand.
Te deceaseds title Ax (including all instances of
its use) conveyed by the crested heron sign (g10)
should evidently be translated as enlightened: see
(IF I: 3740; Seton-Williams 1967: 149; Freier 1980:
54; Kahl 1994: 536; Kahl 2002: 45). Concerning the
meaning of the term in a more general context, see:
(Chegodayev 2009). It is important to note that this title
of the deceased can be found with other titles on the
same monument, including on acylinder, e.g.: (IFIII,
Abb. 719). Tis is signifcant for the interpretation of
the following hieroglyph , which mostly resembles
the tree sign (M1). Te principal diference from
the standard writing of tree (M1) is the lower part
of the sign, which on the Hermitage cylinder is clearly
pointed, whereas the usual form becomes thicker to-
wards the base of the trunk (Regulski 2010: 480482,
509). Instances of the use of the tree sign and the
contexts are collected in the works of Jochem Kahl
(Kahl 1994: 558; Kahl 2002: 3233). It is most prob-
cSA.t Nj.t=f cDs=f (?)
Translation: Seshat, Neit-ef(?).
Tis cylinder has been published twice: by Natalia
Flittner in 1924 and by Peter Kaplony in 1964. However,
since in both cases very careless drawings by hand were
included (with no photographs of the cylinder itself),
it is necessary to defne the scratched inscription more
precisely.
Kaplony, based on Flittners drawing, saw:
, cTp-f(?)-sA-cSAt-Nt (Kaplony 1964: 42), but
this reading can now be considered partially incorrect
(as indirectly indicated by Jochem Kahl (Kahl 1994:
749, Anm. 2407)). Te corrected version is:
cSA.t Nj.t=f cDs=f. Te sign (R20/R21, cf.: (Kahl
1994: 682)) is encountered from the 1st Dynasty on-
wards (Emery 1958, pl. 106.8; Regulski 2010: 601). Be-
neath the group is faintly scratched one of the two
snake signs (I9) on the cylinder (Regulski 2010:
460463); it is interesting that the reptiles head and
horns in the second instance (beneath the group )
are carved out in an unusual way in the form of a zig-
31
Te transfer of the collection of Nikolay Petrovich
Likhachev to the Hermitage from the Academy of Scienc-
es of the USSR in 1938 was an event of particular impor-
tance, since anumber of objects carefully selected by this
outstanding expert in the history of the culture of writ-
ing (on him see, e.g., Klimanov 1991; Klimanov 1993),
flled many gaps in the Hermitage collection (which,
however, does not in any way justify the liquidation of
a specialised museum of palaeography and epigraphy).
Tis entirely applies to the Ancient Egyptian artefacts.
One could go as far as to say that it is only thanks to
Likhachev that nowadays we have a full-value display:
before 1938 there was virtually no material in the Her-
mitage from the Old Kingdom, one of the great eras in
Egyptian history. Afer the WWII Likhachevs objects
were given aplace of honour in the Egyptian rooms, al-
though many of them have not been studied suf ciently.
Te only description of the Egyptian part of Likh-
achevs collection is to be found in a small guidebook
to the respective room in the Institute of Books, Docu-
ments and Scripts (where the collection was previously
kept) published by Yury Yakovlevich Perepelkin (Pere-
pelkin 1936). It was, of necessity, brief and was such
abibliographical rarity that even the author did not have
acopy, but it is still of importance both because noth-
ing has ever replaced it and by virtue of its most accurate
descriptions and attributions (see Bolshakov 2006). In
subsequent decades these monuments have been largely
ignored the only ones that have been published in full
are the reliefs, ofering stones and sculptures from the
Old Kingdom (Bolshakov 2005). Te New Kingdom of-
fering stone that is the subject of this paper (Hermitage
Inv.No. 18114; ill.1) has never been published, the
only previous mention being inPerepelkins guidebook
(Perepelkin 1936: 14, No. XIII), and, for some reason,
it is not on display in the Egyptian gallery, although
it is undoubtedly of interest (if only for the fact that it
belonged to the celebrated Tutmose III) and unique
insome respects.
Te ofering stone is amassive block of reddish sand-
stone 46 cm wide, 35 cm deep and 18 cm high. Its prov-
enance remains obscure, although it is known that it
was purchased by Likhachev from the Parisian antique
dealer Mihran Sivadjian, probably in the late 19th cen-
tury ([Perepelkin, Yury]. Information on the Provenance,
Selection and Attribution of Objects from the Collection
of N.P. Likhachev (1935). In: Archive of the Russian
Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg Branch, Fund 246,
Register 2, Folder 136, f. 114).
On the upper surface is the sign used for writ-
ing the word Htp ofering and reproducing the appear-
ance of the earliest, still predynastic ofering place amat
with a tall loaf of bread standing on it. Tus, like most
Egyptian monuments did, the ofering stone functioned
on several levels: frstly, real food oferings were placed
on it in the course of temple services; secondly, it bears
the image of being an ofering place par excellence
and functioning eternally due to being loaded with aloaf;
thirdly, the word ofering is written by that sign and,
since the spelling is ideographic, it also refers to all the
words belonging to the root Htp satiety (probably the
original meaning of the root) of the gods, and, accord-
ingly, their contentment, calm, peacefulness, i.e. eve-
rything that was obtained from them by means of the cult.
Fischer 1996
Fischer, Henry George. Egyptian Studies III: Varia Nova. New
York, 1996.
Flittner 1924
Flittner, Natalia [ ].
.. [Jegipetskije cylindry sobranija
V.S. Golenieva]. Leningrad: Russian Academy for the History
of Material Culture, 1924. Vol. 3: 245246.
Freier 1980
Freier, Elke. Vier Siegel der Frhzeit im Leipziger Museum.
Zeitschrif fr gyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde. 1980.
Bd.107: 5256.
IF
Kaplony, Peter. Die Inschrifen der gyptischen Frhzeit. Wiesba-
den, 1964. Bd. IIII.
Jones 2000
Jones, Dilwyn. An Index of Ancient Egyptian Titles, Epithets
andPhrases of the Old Kingdom. Oxford, 2000.
Kahl 1994
Kahl, Jochem. Das System der gyptischen Hieroglyphenschrif
inder 0.3. Dynastie. Wiesbaden, 1994.
Kahl 2002; Kahl 2003; Kahl 2004
Kahl, Jochem. Frhgyptisches Wrterbuch. Erste Lieferung.
Wiesbaden, 2002; Zweite Lieferung. Wiesbaden, 2003; Dritte Lie-
ferung. Wiesbaden, 2004.
Kaplony 1964
Kaplony, Peter. Die Inschrifen der gyptischen Frhzeit. Supple-
ment. Wiesbaden, 1964.
Kaplony 1966
Kaplony, Peter. Kleine Beitrge zu den Inschrifen der gyptischen
Frhzeit. Wiesbaden, 1966.
Kaplony 1977
Kaplony, Peter. Die Rollsiegel des Alten Reichs. Allgemeiner Teil
mit Studien zum Knigtum des Alten Reichs. Bruxelles, 1977. Bd. 1.
Kaplony 1984
Kaplony, Peter. Rollsiegel. Lexicon der gyptologie. Wiesbaden,
1984. Bd. 5: 94300.
Lacau, Lauer 1961
Lacau, Pierre, Jean-Philippe Lauer. La pyramide degrs. T. 4:
Inscriptions graves sur les vases. 2e fascicule: texte. Le Caire, 1961.
Lacau, Lauer 1965
Lacau, Pierre, Jean-Philippe Lauer. La pyramide degrs. T. 5 :
Inscriptions lencre sur les vases. Le Caire, 1965.
Needler 1984
Needler, Winifred. Predynastic and Archaic Egypt in the Brooklyn
Museum. New York, 1984.
Newberry 1909
Newberry, Percy Edward. Impressions of Seals from Abydos.
Liverpool Annals of Archeology and Anthropology. 1909. Vol. 2: 130.
Nikolayev 2009
Nikolayev [Nikolaev], Andrey. New Witness for the Name of
King Peribsen. Reports of the State Hermitage Museum. St. Pe-
tersburg, 2009. [Issue] LXVII.
Perepelkin 1936
[Perepelkin, Yury/ ].
: -
[Opisanije vystavki Pismennost drevnego mira
i rannego srednevekovja: putevoditel]. Moscow; Leningrad:
USSR Academy of Sciences, Institute of Books, Documents
andTexts, 1936.
Petrie 1901
Petrie, William Matthew Flinders. Te Royal Tombs of the First
Dynasty. London, 1901. Part 2.
Petrie 1902
Petrie, William Matthew Flinders. Abydos. London, 1902. Part 1.
Pismena 2012
: 150-
[Zvuat li
pismena: K 150-letiju so dnja rodenija Nikolja Petrovia
Lixajova]. Exhibition catalogue. St. Petersburg: Te State Her-
mitage Publishers, 2012.
Ranke 1935
Ranke, Hermann. Die gyptischen Personennamen. Glckstadt,
1935. Bd. 1.
Regulski 2010
Regulski, Ilona. A Paleographic Study of Early Writing in Egypt.
Leuven; Paris; Walpole (), 2010. (Orientalia Lovaniensia
Analecta. [Vol.] 195). Te electronic database of the monuments
studied is available at: URL: http://www2.ivv1.uni-muenster.de/
litw3/Aegyptologie/index06.htm (date of access: 01.03.2012).
Riley 1985
Riley, Michele Germon. Paleographie des signes hierogliphiques
sous les deux premieres dynasties gyptiennes: thse soumise en vue
de lobtention du doctorat de 2me cycle. Universite de Paris IV
Sorbonne, 1985. (Unpublished doctoral thesis).
Saad 1957
Saad, Zaki Youssef. Ceiling Stelae in Second Dynasty Tombs from
the Excavations at Helwan. Cairo, 1957.
Seton-Williams 1967
Seton-Williams, Veronica. Te Tell el-Farn Expedition, 1967.
Te Journal of Egyptian Archaeology. London, 1967. Vol. 53: 146155.
Shubert 2001
Shubert, Steven Blake. Seals and Sealings. Te Oxford Encyclope-
dia of Ancient Egypt. Oxford, 2001. Vol. 3: 252257.
Wb.
Erman, Adolf, Hermann Grapow. Wrtebuch der Aegyptischen
Sprache. Leipzig, 19261931. Bd. IV.
Translated by David Hicks
ANDREY BOLSHAKOV
THE OFFERING STONE OF THUTMOSE III IN THE HERMITAGE
To mark the 150th anniversary of the birth
of Nikolay Petrovich Likhachev
33
innovation of this period (Bolshakov 2001: 275; Bolsha-
kov 2002: 292293); it was even necessary to create
drainage systems for the collection of liquids, such as
the one in the sanctuary of Heqaib on the island of El-
ephantine (Habachi 1985: pl. 12). It is obvious, therefore,
that the role of libations was not reduced, but increased.
In the New Kingdom the ofering stones with ashallow
basin and a gutter did not noticeably change, the Her-
mitage monument belonging to this very type.
Te basin and the sign are surrounded by sym-
metrical and almost identical inscriptions. Two of them
(1A and 1B) start from the gutter, spread out to the sides
and descend in vertical columns; the two others arranged
under the (2A and 2B) start from the middle of the
sign, spread out to the sides and end at the corners of the
ofering stone, so that the last three hieroglyphs belong
both to these lines and the vertical columns.
Translation
(1
1
) (May) live the true Younger God
, strong of
the arm, lord of the rituals
b
, (1
2
) king of Upper and
Lower Egypt, lord of the Two Lands Menkheperra, be-
loved of the pehu
c
Nechru (var. 1B
2
: of the pehu of the
Harpoon nome), like Ra, eternally. (2A) Son of Ra of his
body, Tutmose, beautiful of Truth
d
(var. 2B: true ruler),
given life eternally
e
.
Commentary
As the son of the Sun, the Elder God, the king is

designated as the Younger God. For a detailed exposi-
tion of this concept see (Berlev 2003).
b
A regular epithet of the Egyptian king describing
his principal function performing the cult of the gods.
c
Pehu is adesignation of some undefned sacred (?)
reservoir or locality rich in water. Personifcations of pe-
hus were depicted in temples as aquatic deities bringing
gifs to the king.
d
A rare epithet of Tutmose III used in the years
ofhis sole rule afer the death of Hatshepsut (von Beck-
erath 1999: 138139), in particular in inscriptions from
Semna (Urk. IV: 575:7) and on the London obelisk from
Heliopolis (Urk. IV: 591:13) dating to the last decade
ofhis reign. Tis provides the basis for the dating of the
ofering stone: no earlier than Year 22 of TutmoseIII,
preferably his late reign.
Te records of two pehus lend increasing importance
to the monument. Te meaning of the word pHw is rath-
er vague it is some kind of watery or marshy expanse
(Wb. I: 538); Egyptologists prefer not to translate it and
use the term pehu quite arbitrarily. Pehus are known to
us mainly from temples of the Ptolemaic and Roman
periods, where their personifcations are included in
processions of personifcations of nomes. In the most
elaborated scenes, each nome is represented by afgure
symbolising it as a whole, a fgure symbolising the no-
mes cultivated land (w), afgure symbolising the nomes
canals (mr) and a fgure symbolising the nomes pHw
(Brunner 1977: 418). Tere are only isolated records of
pehus in the pre-Ptolemaic time once from the reign
of Nectanebo I, once each on statues of RamsesII and
SetiI and once in the Red Chapel of Hatshepsut at Kar-
nak (Barguet 1962: 11; Burgos, Larch 2006: 2529).
Since the Red Chapel was completed during the sole
reign of Tutmose III, it is very tempting to link the
Hermitage ofering stone with it in some way, but this
assumption is un-provable and hardly correct. In any
case, however, the record of pehus on our ofering stone
is the second oldest according to current scholarship.
Te name of one of the pehus is written on the Her-
mitage monument by the rather inaccurately carved
sign ; however, its reading as an ideogram for the
name of the Lower Egyptian nome of Harpoon (to be
more precise, of two nomes: the Eastern and Western
nomes of Harpoon the Seventh and Eighth by tradi-
tional numeration), does not cause the slightest doubt
(cf., e.g., in the White Chapel of Senusret I (Mon-
tet 1957: 69). Until now the earliest mention of this pehu
was considered to be the one in the Abydos temple of
Ramses II, all the rest dating from no earlier than the
reign of Ptolemy IV (Barguet 1962: 12, 14). Te second
pehu bears the name , which is previously
known in only two inscriptions: on the carton-
nage mummy case of Paherd(en)iset (Louvre E.21611,
Saite period (Barguet 1962: 12, 18)) and in the
temple at Hibis, reign of Darius I (Barguet 1962: 12, 18).
Terefore, our ofering stone makes the pehu of the Har-
poon nome and especially the pehu Nechru substantial-
ly older than they are supposed to be.
Te question arises as to why these very pehus were
chosen for inclusion in the royal titulary. From the Old
Kingdom onwards we know of ofering stones with two
basins that were probably identifed with the sources
of the Nile, of which there were two in the Egyptians
ll. 1. Ofering stone of Tutmose III. Te State Hermitage Museum
32
Te surface of the stone over is deepened by
a couple of millimetres to form a basin with a narrow
gutter for draining. Originally, in the Old Kingdom,
these basins were deep, but in the Middle Kingdom they
became so shallow that sometimes they could not be
used as repositories for liquid. However, this does not
mean that the actual libation was replaced by a picto-
rial allusion to it in fact, in the Middle Kingdom there
spread ofering stones with a system of basins, albeit
shallow, arranged at various levels and interconnected,
so that the liquid fowed from one into another and
was fnally poured out through a gutter yet another
35
Little would be known about Islamic charity tradi-
tions in the Golden Horde if it were not for the writ-
ings of Evliya elebi (early 17th century), who quotes
two building inscriptions he saw in Solkhat
1
, amediae-
val city which has remained the focus of archaeologi-
cal work by the Golden Horde Expedition of the State
Hermitage for over three decades. Te frst inscription
said thatInci Hatun (died in 776 (1371 AD), wife of the
Solkhat ruler Kutlug-Timur, fnanced the construction
of a stone mosque with a grand portal in 13321333
(ill.1) (Grigoryev 1974:27). Te second inscription re-
ferred to the construction of adervish house (tekie) in
the north-eastern part of Solkhat in 1396 afer Timurs
1
Written sources dating from the mid-1260s refer to Solkhat as
asettlement (Arab. kariya). Later, when it had grown into acity (late
14th or early 15th century), the place came to be known as Krim
(Bartold 1965:467468). Te name Solkhat frst appears inthe Seljuk
chronicle by Ibn Bibi (13th century), where it occurs in fve forms:
Sulkhad, Sulgat (Solgat), Sulkhat (Solkhat). Te last spelling was found
on some local coins recovered by our expedition (Kramarovsky 1997:
103). Coins marked Solkhat are not dated; however, they may have
been minted in the second half of the 13th century atthe latest.
Solkhat-Krim was the capital of the eastern part of the Golden
Horde (Grigoryev, Frolova 2002: 265). At the same time it maintained
close military, political and commercial contacts with other Crimean
cities including Vosporo on the east coast, Soldaia and Cafa on the
south-east, Cembalo on the south and the mountainous Kyrk-Er as well
as a number of minor towns and fortresses in Gothia (Mangup, Eski-
Kermen, Baqlu, Tepe-Kermen, Lustu, Partenit). Solkhat also enjoyed
close relations with Kherson (west of the Crimean Peninsula), which
was falling in decline but still retained local importance. Lying between
the steppes and the Second Range of the Crimean Foothills, Solkhat
can hardly be considered a steppe city. Unlike many cities in Povolzhye,
Solkhat survived the 1395 catastrophe and continued to develop as
an Islamic area in the Middle Ages.
attack at the city in the preceding year. Te building was
commissioned by Kutlug-Timurs granddaughter Bai
Bugli Hatun. Te dervish house was later converted into
amosque named Kurun Camii (Leaden Mosque). Both
buildings, which we owe to the philanthropic activities
of women belonging to one of Solkhats most powerful
families, demonstrate the widely known Islamic prin-
ciple of charitable giving in the name of God. Indeed,
those who believe and do good works, they are the people
of the Paradise; in it they will abide (Quran. 2: 76 (82)).
Moreover, as distinctive architectural landmarks, the
portals of public facilities are both part of the accepted
system of references to the charity deeds of their found-
ers and clear indicators of the philanthropists elevated
social rank and their close connection with the ruling
structures. Professor Michael Rogers describes a prac-
tice common in Anatolia whereby inscriptions on por-
tals and other structures performed the same function
as legal documents in the absence of waqf. Te same
practice may have existed in the Crimea.
First, a brief comment on Kutlug-Timurs fam-
ily. Kutlug-Timur (Melik-Timur), son of Togluk-Timur,
ruler of Solkhat and the Crimea under Uzbeg Khan
in 712 (1312 AD) 742 (1341 AD), came from a no-
ble Mongol family and was related to Jochids. In 734
(1333AD) Kutlug-Timur, the Crimean governor under
Jani Beg (742 (1341 AD) 758 (1357 AD)) (Seleznev
2009: 116), together with his father, uncle and brother
accompanied Ibn Battuta on his trip to Azaq (SMIZO
2005, Vol. 1: 209, 210, 215). Te 1358 inscription on
the foundation mat of the well in Otuz (now Shchebe-
tovka) near Solkhat refers to Kutlug-Timur Bek as the
picture of the world: one for Upper and the other for
Lower Egypt (near the island of Bigga and in the vicin-
ity of Helio polis, respectively). Tis identifcation was so
important that even in the extremely simplifed ofering
stones of the Graeco-Roman period with no basins, the
idea of duality continued to be expressed by the depic-
tion of a pair of vessels with water fowing out of them
(see Bolshakov 2001: 574576; Bolshakov 2002: 293). It
is tempting to see the two symmetrically arranged re-
cords of reservoirs or damp places as arefection of this
duality, but there are no reliable arguments to support
that theory. Te nome of Harpoon was in the Delta; con-
sequently, the pehu Nechru in this instance must be in
Upper Egypt, even though it cannot be documentarily
confrmed. Tere are four or fve pehus represented in
processions as following the Lower Egyptian ones, but
not apparently belonging to them (at any rate, they are
not attributed to specifc nomes); one of the them is the
pehu Nechru. It may be supposed that these additional
pehus were included for the sake of symmetry: twenty-
two Upper Egyptian nomes against twenty in Lower
Egypt. Tis was actually done once each in the temples
at Edfu and Dendera (Barguet 1962: 1318, K, L), but
elsewhere, other depictions at both Edfu and Dendera
included, this equalization by means of additional pehus
did not occur, since not all ofthe nomes were represented.
It has to be admitted that the location of the pehu Nechru
remains a riddle, and consequently the criteria for the
choice of the two pehus for our ofering stone are unclear.
REFERENCES
Barguet 1962
Barguet, Paul.Une liste des pehou dgypte sur un sarcophage
du Muse du Louvre. Kmi. 1962. T.16:720.
von Beckerath 1999
von Beckerath, Jrgen. Handbuch der gyptischen Knigsnamen.
2. Auf. Mainz, 1999.
Berlev 2003
Berlev, Oleg. Two Kings Two Suns: On the World View of the
Ancient Egyptians. In: Quirke, Stephen (ed.). Discovering Egypt
from the Neva: the Egyptological Legacy of Oleg D. Berlev. Berlin,
2003: 1935.
Bolshakov 2001
Bolshakov, Andrey. Ofering Table. Oxford Encyclopedia of An-
cient Egypt. New York, 2001. Vol.2:572576.
Bolshakov 2002
Bolshakov,Andrey. Ofering Table. In: Redford, Donald B. (ed.).
Te Ancient Gods Speak. AGuide to Egyptian Religion. New York,
2002:290293.
Bolshakov 2005
Bolshakov,Andrey. Studies on Old Kingdom Reliefs and Sculp-
ture in the Hermitage. gyptologische Abhandlungen. Wiesbaden,
2005. Bd.67.
Bolshakov 2006
Bolshakov, Andrey [ ].

[Yury Yakovlevich Perepelkin and the Ancient
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Brunner 1977
Brunner, Hellmut. Gauprozession. Lexikon der gyptologie. Wies-
baden, 1977. Bd. 2: 417420.
Burgos, Larch 2006
Burgos, Franck, Franois Larch. La chapelle rouge. Le sanctuaire
de barque dHatshepsout. Paris, 2006. Vol. 1: Fac-simils et pho-
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Habachi, Labib. Elephantine IV. Te Sanctuary of Heqaib.
Archologische Verfentlichungen. Mainz, 1985. Bd. 33.
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Klimanov, Lev [ ]. ,
, [A Scholar and
Collector, Well Known in the Whole of Russia and Even More
in Europe]. In: [Repressirovannaja
nauka]. Leningrad, 1991: 424441.
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Klimanov, Lev [ ].
[Nikolay Petrovich Likh-
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[Perepelkin, Yury [ ]].
[Opi-
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Translated by David Hicks and Andrey Bolshakov
MARK KRAMAROVSKY
CHARITY IN THE GOLDEN HORDE:
KUTLUG-TIMURS FAMILY AND THE ARCHITECTURAL LANDMARKS OF SOLKHAT
36 37
Great Emir (Akchokrakly 1927:15). Te well, as follows
from the inscription, was an example of Islamic charity
1
,
built by Idris (died in 1361), son of the Iraqi sheikh Haji
Yahya (Akchokrakly 1927:15).
Te portal (4.016.03 m) of the Ozbek Han Mosque
built in Solkhat in 1314 (ill. 2) displays three recog-
nisable features of Seljuk portals: a massive rectangle
1
Te construction andmaintenance of wells andfountains was the
favourite avenue of Islamic charity as water is ofen associated with re-
ligion: Have those who rejected not seen that the heavens and the earth
were one piece, so We split them apart? And that We have made from
the water everything that lives. Will they not believe? (Quran, 21: 31
(30)). Charity fountains were built on the faades of at least 3 mosques
fnanced by Fahr-al-Din Ali (Kayseri, Gk Madrasa and Sahip Ata).
A self-standing fountain in the north-east part of the square in front
of the Solkhat madrasah portal is represented on both the albumand
easel drawings by Mikhail Ivanov. Te building of the fountain may
have been fnanced by the founder of the madrasah. Judging by the
1783 city plan, Solkhat had at least 12 mediaeval fountains with po-
table water in the late third of the 18th century. Some of fountains
were funded by non-Moslem religious communities. For details on
religious diversity in Solkhat see (Kramarovsky 2009: 395431).
protruding from the faade of the building, a pointed
stalactite niche (mugarnas) above the doorway andexu-
berant carved dcor. As a rule, inscriptions on Seljuk
portals are located in the rectangular feld between the
door and the stalactite niche. Te cartouche above the
doorway of the Ozbek Han Mosque contains the fol-
lowing message: Glory be to God for His kindness, and
may God bless Muhammad and his legates. Tis splendid
mosque was ordered to be built in the days of the great-
est Khan Muhammad Uzbeg may God extend the time
of his reign by (to) Abdul-Aziz, son of Ibraim al-Irbili,
afeeble slave desiring and hoping for Gods mercy and for-
giveness, in moon year 714 (Akchokrakly 1927:14).
Te message explains why the building was named
the Ozbek Han Mosque even though Khan Uzbeg him-
self had never been to Solkhat. In the 15th century the
mosque was transferred to anew site. However, its layout
and the portal with the mihrab were preserved as was
the imagery of the lamp symbolising God and religious
* Te State Russian Museum, 2012
Ill. 1. Portal of the Solkhat Madrasah and View of the Pre-portal Square. Watercolour* by Mikhail Ivanov. 1783.
Te State Russian Museum
Ill. 2. Portal of the Ozbek Han Mosque: present state;
b reconstruction (Archive of the Stary Krim Archaeological Expedition, State Hermitage)
enlightenment (cf. Chapter 24 of the Quran known as
the Sura of Light Quran. 24: 35). Te original win-
dows of the mosque, which may have been decorated
with panjars and have survived in their initial propor-
tions on the faade wall, were also meant to represent
divine light.
In 13321333 Injibek Hatun, following the Seljuk
charity tradition, donated money for the construc-
tion of a four-eyvan madrasah in Solkhat (Yakobson
1964: 106108; Kramarovsky 2005: 112116; Zilivin-
skaya 2011: 5153) (ill. 3). Oktay Aslanapa reports
that the madrasah acted both as a centre and as a mu-
vakkithane (a service determining the time for prayer)
(Aslanapa 1979:511).
Our exploratory works undertaken in 19801983
(total pit size >1095 m
2
) confrmed that construction
works on the madrasah started earlier than on the new
Ozbek Han Mosque.
Te madrasah was built on a rectangular layout,
with sides measuring about 28 m (eastern (portal) wall
28.7 m; southern and western walls 28.0 m; north-
ern wall 27.0 m; total area 837 m
2
). Te madrasah
had 14 hujras (bedrooms) lined along the perimeter of
the building. Alittle fountain with drinking water was
b
38 39
Ill. 3. Plan of the Solkhat madrasah and the 1314 mosque transferred to thenorthern wall of the madrasah
located at the eastern wall of Room 15 along the central
axis of the open yard surrounded with a light arcade;
the mouth of a drain well was found in the courtyard
on the slab pavement level. Te madrasah echoes the
layout of the Buruciye Madrasah in Sivas (1271; Central
Anatolia) (Kuran 1981: 96, fg. 34). Buruciye is among
the only three Anatolian madrasahs with portals built
in the Seljuk style; the other two are ife Minareli and
Gk Madrasa. Te Buruciye Madrasah and Gk Ma-
drasa were built under the patronage of Fahr Al-DinAli,
aprominent Seljuk philanthropist and head of the judi-
cial administration under Kay-Kause II and his brother
Kilij Arslan IV (648/1250/51657/1258/59), who re-
mained the sultans vizier until his death in 687/1288.
To enter the Solkhat madrasah one had to walk up
the three steps of the monumental staircase leading to
the portal in theeastern wall and proceed to the closed
courtyard paved with limestone slabs. Te courtyard
with a fountain (shadirvan) had a well in the centre
(240 m
2
) and led to three roofed classrooms (Nos.14,
15, 16) where lessons for the talibs (students) were held
at wintertime. Adjacent to the central courtyard were all
the four large eyvans connected with revaks (arcades),
behind which the rooms of the madrasah were located.
In summer, lessons were taught in two open eyvans, one
in the south (No.7) and one in the north (No.23, both
up to 7 m in height), framed with the so-called Seljuk
chain. At night-time the eyvans were lit with Syrian
glass lamps hanging on chains (the iron ftting rings in
the ceilings of the northern and southern eyvans have
survived). A drbe with a crypt in the north-western
part of the madrasah contained a marble tomb (dated
776/1371) placed on awooden pedestal decorated with
gilded turquoise-glazed tiles (Borozdin 1926: 2430,
fg.13). Te tomb belonged to Inci Hatun, daughter of
Kilburun Bey and the founder of the madrasah. Te
drbe for Inci Hatuns tomb had been converted from
one of the rooms in the north-western sector. Explora-
tory works in the crypt, cleared of the burials in 1928,
yielded ared cornelian insert for aring.
As we have mentioned, the four-eyvan layout of the
madrasah is areference to Anatolian building traditions.
Oktay Aslanapa points out to the unusual layout of the
madrasah rooms (eyvans and hujras) but is wrong in
saying that the eastern and western sectors of the ma-
drasah were not connected (Aslanapa 1979: 511).
Te courtyard was surrounded with an arcade which
linked the two parts of the building; the only surviving
parts of the arcade are the stone bases of the columns.
Access to the hujras in the south-east wing (Nos. 25)
was through a narrow passage (No. 6), less than 1 m
wide, dimly lit by a small window in the south wall.
However, the inconvenience of the slit-like window
opening was compensated for by the absence of adoor
at the opposite end of the passage. Te doors in 3 out of
5 hujras in the southern sector (Nos. 810) open into
the yard. Access to the other two rooms (Nos. 11, 12)
was through the corridor (No. 13). Te layout of the
hujras in the northern wing mirrored that in the south-
ern part of the building. Access to two of the hujras
(No.18 and No.19) was through the corridor (No.17);
the other three (Nos.2022)could be entered from the
courtyard. Te hujras ranged from 5.5 to8.1m
2
in area.
Tree rooms in the north-east sector may have been in-
tended as teaching staf accommodation, with Room 27
and Room 24 measuring 12 m
2
and 10 m
2
, respective-
ly. Room No. 26 (7.5 m
2
) with a small semi-basement
may have been used for housekeeping purposes. Te
last two rooms could be entered only from the corridor
(No.25), lit through the doorway. In total, the madrasah
included 26 living rooms, classrooms and supporting
facilities, not including the courtyard. Rooms 710, 12,
14, 16, 22 and 23 had niches for writing materials and
books; thesouthern eyvan (Room 7)had amihrab niche.
Te square rooms in the western part of the madrasah
(Nos.14, 16) may have had hemispherical domes built
from Golden Horde bricks. Room No.15 may have had
afat-arched vault.
Stratigraphic data confrm the information con-
tained in the lost building inscription.
It is sometimes thought that the madrasah is eighteen
years younger than the mosque (Aslanapa 1979:511).
Te inspection of the wall masonry and junctions has
shown that this suggestion may have been true of the
initial Ozbek Han Mosque, but not the one transferred
to the northern wall of the madrasah in the late 15th
century.
Te madrasah was destroyed at the beginning of the
15th century (possibly, not later than the last quarter
ofthe 15th century). Tis can be evidenced by ahoard
of 608 silver coins found in one of the hujras which had
been converted into aguardroom at Inci Hatuns tomb.
Te earliest coin had been minted under Khan Tokty
in Sarai-al-Maqrus in 710 (1310 AD); the latest bears
the name of Muhammad Bulak (with the stamp of
the Horde, 778 (1378 AD)). Some coins were counter-
Legend:
surviving walls (afer the restoration in the 1980s 1990s)
wall niches and window apertures
prominent architectural elements; residual fooring and walls
surviving vault fragments
surviving elements of interior design (wall niches, door posts)
remnant portal bases in the northern and southern eyvans
surviving elements of exterior design of the portals and eyvans; doorsteps; column bases
surviving tiles on the faade, portals and eyvans
surviving pavement slabs in the courtyard
reconstructed tiles on the walls, portals and eyvans
section lines
a pit at the site of the gravity well
Te vault leveling marks are indicated in red.
40 41
ern wall of the madrasah. Te name of the khan and the
date when the frst mosque had been constructed were
obtained from the portal inscription (see above). Te
three-nave basilica mosque (sized 13.517.5m) has no
dome. Initially, the arcade of the central nave with three
pairs of columns (one pair with lavishly decorated bases
was located near the mihrab niche) had to support asys-
tem of wooden beams of the tall lantern under agabled
roof. Te remnant core of the minaret, rebuilt anumber
of times, has survived in the north-east corner of the
mosque. Te portal was placed by the northern wall of
the madrasah without any bonding and restored on the
re-deposited layer (ill. 5); no bonding was used to at-
tach the eastern and western walls of the mosque to the
northern wall of the madrasah. Te original portal and
mihrab, almost completely preserved, are a real adorn-
ment to the architectural complex.
Te date given in the inscription on the portal (714)
shows that the Moslem community of the city hastened
to support the pro-Islamic policy of the Sarai khan, who
came to power in 1312as aresult of acoup. Te name
of Ibraim al-Irbili, the hypothetical builder (architect?)
of the new Friday mosque, refers to the ancient land
of Irbil (Arbela). Quite possibly, the younger relative
of Ibraim al-Irbili also worked in Solkhat as a builder,
judging by akeystone with the name Mahmud ibn Osma
al-Irbili found by our expedition among the ffeenth-
century layer of debris (ill. 6). Te measurements and
graphic analysis of the portal, mihrab and their orna-
mentation are consistent with the art tradition exist-
ing in the northern part of Central Anatolia during
the Seljuk emirate period. Te mihrab of the mosque
(2.604.83 m) repeats the portal structure but is even
more ornate (ill.7).
According to Aslanapa, the Ozbek Han Mosque, with
its elongated three-nave layout, continues the tradition
of the Anatolian mosques of the Seljukid and Beylik pe-
riods; however, its octagonal columns and the inclined
roof supported by wooden beams distinguishes it from
the vaulted, domed buildings typical of Anatolian ar-
chitecture (Aslanapa 1979:511). Te portal of the Oz-
bek Han Mosque inherited the structure of the classical
Seljuk portal. Te low portal arch inside a deep niche
crowned with a tall stalactite triangle is fanked with
sturdy pylons supporting an U-shaped frame decorat-
ed with ornate friezes of varying width.
Te portal pylons stand on atall profled plinth, fol-
lowing the Anatolian tradition. Tis technique origi-
Ill. 5. Section: Lower stonework of the western extrados ofthe portal.
1314 (Archive of the Stary Krim Archaeological Expedition,
State Hermitage). Te portal is founded on the re-deposited layer
marked, including twelve copies with stamps represent-
ing the Genoa castle. Consequently, one may suggest
that the hoarded coins had been removed from circula-
tion by the end of the frst quarter of the 15th centu-
ry. At that time the madrasah lay in ruins (Kramarov-
sky1989:141159).
Te madrasah portal did not survive till the present.
An idea of what it may have looked like can be gained
from watercolours by the Russian landscape and battle
painter Mikhail Ivanov (17481823)
1
andJean-Balthaz-
ar de la Traverse (1752?), who was born in Paris but
spent most of his artistic life in Russia, where he worked
as apainter and acted in the French troupe of the Impe-
rial Teatres
2
(see ills. 1, 4). Unfortunately, the album
watercolour by Ivanov and its easel version (both in
the State Russian Museum)
3
represent the portal from
a very acute angle, so many structural details remain
1
For details on Ivanovs biography and career see (Kaparuli-
na2005:121).
2
For details on de la Traverses life and career see (Alexandro-
va2000:89 et al.).
3
Anatoly Yakobson was the frst archaeologist to analyse Ivanovs
drawing with the madrasah portal (album watercolour) (Yakob-
son1964, Table. XXVI, 1).
obscured. Te portal aperture, as seen from the court-
yard (southern eyvan of the madrasah), appears both in
Ivanovs album watercolour and in the drawing by de la
Traverse (see ill.4). It is quite possible that de la Traverse
copied his landscape from the earlier work by Ivanov.
Stone blocks with deep three-plane carvings found
in the re-deposited layer confrm our suggestion that
the building was constructed by workers from Anatolia.
Te square in front of the madrasah portal was paved
with fat sandstone slabs; about 70 m of the rain water
drainage (width 50 cm, height 50 cm) was found under
the pavement. Te drainage canal crossed the madra-
sah building under the foor from west to east along the
southern wall; on reaching the square it bended north
and ran along the portal wall before turning eastwards
in the direction of the nearest street. Te canal walls
and foor were lined with well-tooled limestone slabs.
Te architects decision to place the water drain 1.5 m
away from the foundation and the lower stonework of
the madrasahs southern wall rather than outside may
have been prompted by the need to build the madrasah
inaheavily built-up area.
At the turn of the 16th century the old Ozbek Han
Mosque (1314) was transferred to anew site by the north-
Ill. 4. Ruins of the Solkhat Madrasah (as Viewed from the Courtyard). Watercolour by Jean-Balthazar de la Traverse. Late 18th century
nated in antique (late Hellenistic) architecture and was
borrowed by Seljuk architects. Te stalactite niche of
the portal is surrounded by wide friezes with palmettos,
three-part leaves and entrelacs which interlace to form
the decorative composition.
Ill. 6. Keystone with the name of Mahmud ibn Osman Irbili.
Te State Hermitage Museum
42 43
Te mihrab dcor is dominated by a wide frieze
with a foral pattern and an elaborate carved inscrip-
tion in the epigraphic frieze: Tere is no god but God,
Muhammad is the messenger of God. God Himself testi-
fes that He is the only Lord. Te angels and the men of
knowledge and justice testify that God is the only Lord,
the Majestic, and All-wise. Tereligionwithgodis Islam
(Akchokrakly 1927: 14). Te epigraph above the Solkhat
mihrab is unique to the Crimea. Te nashom inscrip-
tion surrounded with a decorative branch with spiral
volutes and lush palmettos is ararity even for Anatolian
monuments, the only other case of such stone carvings
being the early thirteenth-century portal of Mama-
Hatuns tomb in Tercan, Anatolia (ney 1988, res. 13)
1
.
However, the carvings of the Solkhat mihrab bear some
resemblance to Seljuk majolica friezes (inscriptions
in mihrabs of the Alaaddin Mosque, Sirali Madrasah
(Mlayim 1982, Table. 67)

and Beyhekim Masjid; eyvans
in the Sirali Madrasah (Erdemir 2009a: 71, fg. 23, 24),
Karatay Medresesi in Konya (Erdemir 2009a: 116117,
fg. 49, 50) and Gk Madrasa in Tokat (Mlayim

1982,
Table 136, 137); on the dome-drum of Gk Madrasa
and inside the tomb in BuruciyeMadrasah, Sivas (Ml-
ayim1982, Table 129, 130)). Te closest analogue to this
frieze in Anatolia is the stucco carving of the mihrab
inthe Arslanhane Mosquein Ankara (1280s).
Unfortunately, the exact site of the initial Ozbek Han
Mosque has not been found. One might suggest that the
ruined basilica mosque located near the madrasah can
provide some clues as its arcade had the same column
spacing as that in the Ozbek Han Mosque. Moreover,
the excavation pit near the portal wall of the mosque did
not yield asingle decorative stone carving from the por-
tal. However, numismatic materials allow to date this
mosque to the early Tokhtamysh period (13761395).
It is unclear whether basilica mosques were pre-
dominant in Solkhat to the same extent as elsewhere in
the Golden Horde. Te ruined Kurun Camii (Leaden
Mosque) in the north-eastern sector of Solkhat was
adomed structure. Te name Leaden Mosque may be
related to the material covering the dome hemisphere
(Zasypkin 1927:132134; Kramarovsky 2005:116; Zili-
vinskaya 2011:53). No turquoise glazed tiles have been
recovered as a result of the excavations. Te rectangu-
lar building (12.517.7m) is constructed of mortared
1
My sincere gratitude to Lilia.I. Satarova for her consultation
anda reference to this title.
Ill. 7. Mihrab of the Ozbek Han Mosque. Reconstruction (Archive
ofthe Stary Krim Archaeological Expedition, State Hermitage)
(SMIZO 2005, Vol. 1:233, 237). None of the structures
have survived.
It is quite likely that the construction of one of the
earliest cathedral mosques in Solkhat was also motivat-
ed by philanthropic vision. Ibn Battuta, who met with
the imam of this mosque in 1333, reports that it had
been built by al-Malik an Nasir (SMIZO 2005, Vol. 1:
209). An Nasir (Victorious) was the nickname of
Baybarss son as-Said Nasir ad-din Baraka (Berke),
khan in 676 (1277 AD) 678 (1280 AD) and Mamluk
sultan an-Nasir ad-din Muhammad in 693 (1294 AD),
698 (1299 AD) 708 (1309 AD) and 709 (1309 AD)
741 (1340AD). Acontemporary of Khan Uzbeg (1312
1341), he was ason-in-law of the Golden Horde Khan
1

but could not have initiated the construction of the
Solkhat mosque. Ibn al-Furats chronicle mentions that
a2000 dinar worth of goods was sent for the new mosque
from Cairo to Solkhat in 1287. Te portal was supposed
to bear the inscriptions with surnames of sultan al-Ma-
lik al-Mansur, for which purpose the merchant caravan
included askilled mason and carried some paints for re-
touching(?) the inscription (SMIZO 2005, Vol. 1:266).
Te Egyptian caravan was sent following the request of
the Golden Horde embassy in 682 (1283/84AD) sent by
Khan Tuda Mengu (679 (1280 AD) 686 (1287 AD)),
who informed Cairo of the conversion to Islam. Te em-
bassy also asked Cairo to give the Khan of the Golden
Horde a Muslim name and send a khalif and a sultan
banner to Sarai so that they might be used in fghting
with infdels (SMIZO 2005, Vol. 1: 265). Te al-Malik
al-Mansur mentioned in Ibn al-Furats chronicle is
al-Mansur Saif al-din Kalaun al-Alf (678 (1280 AD)
689 (1290AD)). Tis indicates that the Mamluk sultan
Kalaun was among the philanthropists involved in the
building of the cathedral mosque in Solkhat in 1287.
Te mosque did not survive till today. However, from
the mid-18th century onwards the romantic version
ascribing the construction of the mosque to the Mam-
luk sultan-bahrit of Kipchak origin az-Zahir Rukn-ad-
Din Baybars I al-Bunduqdari (658 (1260 AD) 676
(1277 AD)), based on suggestions about his Solkhat
past, comes to be regarded as the historical truth
([eybulayev] 2001:55). Te legend is full of unverifa-
ble details such as the marble walls and porphyry vaults
1
Al-Malik an-Nasir was married to princess Tulunbai, great-
granddaughter of Genghis Khan (died 1364) (see (Kramarov-
sky2012: 117119)).
rubble stone. On the north, the entrance to the mosque
is framed with portal pylons. Te building is divided
into two unequal parts. Te rectangular northern hall
(10.54.5 m) was covered with three fat-arched vaults.
Remains of the minaret were found in the north-eastern
corner. Te southern hall (10.510.6 m) with amihr-
ab in the southern wall had pendant vaulting. Te base
of aminaret was preserved in the north-western corner
of the northern compartment. Two pairs of buttresses
at the western andeastern walls resists the substantial
thrust of the large dome. Another buttress on the side
of the mihrab niche in the southern wall was located
along the long axis of the building. Te two-part layout
of Kurun Camii is identical to that of the Hoca Hasan
Mosque in Konye (13th century) (Kuran 1981: 89,
fg.25,c); however, the Solkhat architect, possibly in re-
sponse to local climate considerations, chose to replace
three open eyvans in the northern part of the build-
ing with three closed rooms, the central of which was
located along the long axis, adjusted for the entrance
opening of the portal. Another diference is the loca-
tion of the minaret in the north-eastern corner of the
northern compartment, while the minaret of the Konye
mosque extrudes beyond the building line on the east-
ern side of the complex.
As we mentioned above, KurunCamii was built in
1396 as a dervish house or tekie under the patronage
of Bai Bugli Hatun (Grigoryev 1974: 27). In the wake
of Timurs attack in 1395, this philanthropic gesture
was of great social importance to the Muslim commu-
nity ofSolkhat. In1398the tekie was converted into the
community mosque and, possibly, the mihrab niche
in the southern wall of the building was also refaced
around this time.
To sum up, our observations confrm the long-
standing claim about the links between Solkhat and the
cultural tradition of Seljuk Anatolia and may be supple-
mented by data on the Islamic charity tradition which
developed in Solkhat over the whole of the 14th cen-
tury. Apparently, this picture was typical of other cities
across the Golden Horde; however, the absence of reli-
able sources makes it impossible to verify our hypoth-
esis. Te only exception is Khoresm, where Ibn Battuta
mentioned amadrasah built with the money of the ulus
governor Kutlug-Timur, namesake of the Solkhat ruler
and beklyarbek during the last year of Tokty Khans rule
(1312) (Seleznev 2009:116117), as well as atekie and
adervish house fnanced by his wife Tyura-bek Hatun
44
of the mosque
1
. Paradoxically, this version was support-
ed by Alexander Garkavetc (Kazakhstan), author of are-
cent essay about Baybars I (Garkavetc 2010:104), which
conveniently mentions restoration works on az-Zahirie
built by Baybars in Cairo
2
. Supporters of the legend are
not baf ed by the fact that in this case the construction
of the Solkhat mosque extends by at least adecade (giv-
en that the Egyptian caravan was sent in 1287), which is
unlikely. Tey also ignore the fact that Baybarss inten-
tion to build amosque in Solkhat was never mentioned
in the diplomatic exchanges between Rukn-ad-Din Bay-
bars I and Mengu-Timur (12671280). Te claim that
the mosque was built by the will (italics added ..)
of the Egyptian sultan Baybars I remains unsubstan-
tiated ([eybulayev] 2001: 55)
3
. Another unsubstanti-
ated claim is the identifcation of the so-called Baybars
Mosque with the ruins of the basilica mosque near the
madrasah and Ozbek Han Mosque
4
which can be dated
at the last third of the 14th century by the coins found
below the original foor (Kramarovsky 1991: 69, 70,
fg.2 on p.128; Kramarovsky 2012:171, 172).
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Alexandrova, Natalia [ ].
. [an
1
In the mid-18th century Baybars I was believed to have been
born in Solkhat, which had hardly existed in the 1220s. Te legend
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Te restoration was undertaken at the initiative of President
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For an encyclopaedia published by the Russian Academy of
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Tis claim was regarded as doubtful by Ilya Borozdin (see
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46 47
Iron was frst used in China at least as early as the
4th century BC. Tis was also the time when the tech-
nique of bronze inlay with gold, silver and bronze, as
well as semi-precious stones, frst started to evolve. Te
tradition of bronze inlay survives to this day. Howev-
er, the decoration of iron objects with precious metals
(gold or silver, and occasionally copper), which is under
consideration, is adiferent technique best referred to as
parcel-gilt or parcel-silvered or as damascening: athin
outline of the pattern is scored on the surface of the
metal, then overlapping notches are made within these
outlines, and thin layers of gold or silver are punched
into the uneven surfaces of the patterns. Relatively few
objects were made in China using this technique, which
is probably explained by the fact that bronze was prized
higher than other metals in traditional Chinese culture.
Precious objects made of iron are so few in number that
any extant piece merits aspecial study.
Te earliest item in this group is apaiza or apass of
identifcation (Inv.No.MP-3061; height 15.5cm, diam-
eter 12 cm), which dates back to the late 13th early
14th century, the reign of the Yuan Dynasty in China
(12791368). It is made using an alloy with high iron
content, and a fne pattern is embossed on both sides:
acircle inlaid with silver. Te Mongolian square script
inscriptions also use silver in a parcel-silvered tech-
nique over arelatively large surface.
It is possible that the importance and value of pure
iron and its use, as well as the use of silver decoration, was
frst appreciated in China in the 13th century, when the
Mongols arrived from the North-West. It is noteworthy
that an iron staf was astate symbol in the Tangut state of
Western Xia (9th 14th centuries). A similar staf from
this period, found during excavations on the territory
ofthe Tangut state, is now in amuseum in Yinchuan.
An incredibly interesting object is a small spoon
which looks like a round cylindrical bowl on a long
round handle with an image of a makara (or dragon)
head and asnake curled around the handle, both shown
in relief, and with a loop at the end. Te bowl is deco-
rated with apattern of vajra and lotus, and the handle
is decorated with aspiralling two-coloured pattern em-
phasised by the silver and gold damascening (ill.1, a, b).
Along the border of the bowl on the outside, an
embossed mark of six characters can be seen, which
reads: Da Ming Yongle nian zhi [Made / in the / Yongle
years/ of the / Great Ming], i.e. in the frst quarter of the
15thcentury, in 14021424 (ill.1, c).
Yongle is the title of the reign period of Emperor
Zhu Di (13601424), the fourth son of Zhu Yuanzhang,
founder of the Ming Dynasty (13681644). At the age
of sixteen, Zhu Di was sent from Nanjing to his fathers
birth place in Dadu (the principality of Yan), and afer
the death of his mother the Empress he returned to the
Southern capital to attend her funeral. Afer that, he re-
turned to Dadu as his father made him the Prince of
Yan. He was accompanied by a Buddhist monk called
Dao Yan (Yao Guangxiao). He became Zhu Dis coun-
cillor and his confdant. Although the Yan city of Dadu
had been captured by the Ming troops, many Buddhist
temples survived, and lamas and monks continued to
live in them. Metal-workers also continued to work in
the city, which means that we can surmise that their
traditions were not broken.
MARIA MENSHIKOVA
SOME PRECIOUS FIFTEENTH-CENTURY CHINESE IRON OBJECTS
IN THE HERMITAGE COLLECTION
Ill.1. Spoon for ofering oil to the fre. Te State Hermitage Museum.
a general view; b fragment: bottom; c fragment: mark
China, Beijing (?), Imperial workshops. Ming Dynasty (13681644). Mark and period of Yongle (14021424).
Engraved iron with silver and gold inlay. Length: 29cm.
Inv.No.-1297. Acquired through the Purchasing Commission in 2011
a
b c
48 49
Afer his accession to the throne in 1402, Zhu Di
adopted the reign title of Yongle. He had been brought
up in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and followed all
the rules and rites practised at the court. Te Emper-
or was especially reverential towards his parents, the
founders of the Ming Dynasty. In 14061407, he invited
the Fifh Karmapa, Deshin Shekpa (named Halima by
the Chinese) (13841415), to hold aceremony of their
commemoration in Nanjing. We know from the History
of Ming (Ming Shi) that Halima returned home bearing
gifs from Yongle, among which the chronicle names
some ritual Lamaist objects made of iron and decorated
with silver and gold. Tese included spoons for bringing
oil to the fre, as well as symbols of power: khatvanga
stafs, hooks, and hatchets. Te current head of the Kar-
mapa school confrms this legend about the gifs. Some
of them are presumably still kept in Lhasa, while some
objects have fgured in auctions, and some others are
in museums outside Tibet (we have been able to count
around twenty objects).
In the 15th century, especially in its frst quarter,
other Lamas also visited Nanjing and Beijing (the capi-
tal of China since 1421) and returned bearing diplo-
matic presents, among which there were always iron
objects (this practice was discontinued at the end of
the century). For some reason, it was iron which was
the most revered material in the practices of Tantric
Tibetan Buddhism, and so ritual objects were made
ofpure iron. Te utensils were moreover adorned with
gold and silver, which were believed to symbolise the
female and the male respectively. Since such objects
were precious symbols of power, only a small number
of them were made in the 15th century for the most
high-ranking Lamas of Tibet.
Te ritual of Homa, which involves an ofering of oil
to the fre, was performed by the head Lama with the
use of two spoons: one with asquare bowl and the other
with around one. Te ritual and the use of these objects
was described by the prominent Tibet scholar Robert
Turman. Te Lama would hold the square spoon in
his lef hand and the round one in his right hand. First
the oil was scooped with the round spoon, then it was
poured into the square spoon over the fre; afer which
the ofering was performed by pouring the oil in the fre
(Turman 1999: 125146).
Te Yongle Emperors dedication to Tibetan Bud-
dhism is confrmed by many facts and surviving arte-
facts: sculptures, fabrics, embroideries, paintings, lac-
quer objects etc. Metal pieces are especially noteworthy.
Many pieces have marks of the Yongle reign. Tis fact
also proves that these objects were produced in the
Emperors workshops or commissioned by the Emper-
or and under his patronage. Tis is also true of dama-
scened iron pieces.
Te Tibetan masters were traditionally the most
skilled in the use of this technique. One of the produc-
tion centres was the town of Derge in the South of what
is now the province of Sichuan. At the same time, the
famous Nepalese master Anige, who had come to China
during the Yuan reign, was still working at the court. In
1278, he was appointed the head of the Imperial work-
shops, which put him in charge of the metal workshop
as well as others. His sons and pupils continued to work
in China, so that the tradition remained unbroken, as
we have already ascertained above.
Objects like the spoon discussed above are witnesses
to a strong Sino-Tibetan tradition: they were made in
the workshops of Beijing by Chinese crafsmen, but they
are shaped like Tibetan ritual objects; they were meant
to be used in Tibetan rituals as tokens of recognition and
symbols of power.
Over the last ffeen years, some of these ritual ob-
jects made of iron inlaid with gold and silver have been
displayed at exhibitions and published in catalogues:
there are two spoons and a staf in the Metropolitan
Museum, two hatchets in the Boston Museum of Fine
Arts, two hatchets and astaf in the Cleveland Museum,
and one staf in the British Museum. Both spoons from
the Metropolitan Museum have long handles, and the
round spoon has the same design and dcor in its core
part as the artefact from the Hermitage collection (Watt,
Leidy 2005: 7677). All these objects are very similar,
they have analogous parts and elements of and orna-
mentation. Some of them still bear the Yongle mark.
Tere is asquare spoon with ashort handle, probably
one of apair with the Hermitage item, in the Ethnogra-
phy Museum of Milan.
Another object made in the same technique is asmall
incense-burner with alid (Menshikova 2003: 155, 289)
(ill.2, a, b). Te shape of the burner goes back to the an-
cient bronze vessels of the fang ding type: it has arectan-
gular body with vertical walls, four legs, and two han-
dles. Te lid is perforated on top, near the handle. Te
whole surface is covered with fne engravings and gold
inlays. Te dcor of the larger sides represents pairs of
phoenixes next to the tree-peony, and that of the smaller
sides depicts asoaring phoenix and an animal (a qilin or
a tiger) sitting next to a tree-peony. Peony fowers are
also engraved on the lid and legs. Each side has a pat-
terned frame or border which looks like aspiral, awave,
or ameander strip. Te bottom bears amark consisting
of six parcel-gilt characters: Da Ming Xuande nian zhi
([Made / in the / Xuande years / of the / Great Ming]
(ill.2, c).
Te similarities between the patterns on the incense-
burner, the spoon and the other early ffeenth-century
objects confrm its dating to the 15th century.
Te phoenix was a symbol of the Chinese Em-
presses; the peony can be read as awish for love, so we
can suggest that this fne object was intended for the
female quarters of the Imperial palace. Tis does not
contradict Robert Turmans view that silver was used
in the Tibetan tradition of the time to decorate objects
intended for men, while gold was reserved for women
(Turman1999: 125146). During the reign of the Xu-
ande Emperor (14261435), the dedication to Tibetan
Buddhism was still strong at court, so it is possible that
objects made in the expensive technique of iron inlay
were used for Buddhist rituals and room decoration.
Te practice of incense burning was widespread. Te
a b
Ill.2. Incense-burner with lid. Te State Hermitage Museum.
a front view; b side view; c fragment: mark
China, Beijing (?), Imperial workshops. Ming Dynasty (13681644).
Mark and period of Xuande (14261435).
Engraved iron with silver and gold inlay. 10.5 11 6.7cm.
Inv.No.-407.
Acquired from the Stroganov collection in 1928
c
50
shape of the object shows strong Chinese af liations. It
is acombination of diferent infuences.
Tere is asimilar incense-burner in the Ashmolean
Museum in Oxford, but it is inlaid with silver. Another
similar object has been acquired by the Metropolitan
Museum. Neither has yet been published.
One more precious item made of iron belonging to
the same group of objects is around bowl, which widens
to the mouth, on around foot (ill.3). It is made of iron
and decorated on the outside with athickly applied pat-
tern. Te main focus of the dcor is two pairs of small
winged fve-clawed dragons, which are shown soaring
in the clouds amongst rocks surrounded by fowers:
peonies, chrysanthemums, lotuses. Along the rim and
the foot there are borders of spiralling patterns similar
to those seen on the incense-burner. All the patterns are
delicately damascened, and the metal used is silver. Only
the dragons eyes are emphasised with gold. Tere are
no patterns on the inside of the bowl. Its typical shape
and design suggest that around plaque may have been
inserted in it, forming adouble bottom, which may have
borne a mark. But the plaque is not extant, so we can
only date this object on the basis of analogy with the
patterns on other similar items. Te same patterns ap-
Ill.3. Bowl. Te State Hermitage Museum.
a general view; b, c, d fragments of dcor.
China, Beijing (?), Imperial workshops. Ming Dynasty (13681644). 15th century.
Engraved iron with silver and gold inlay. Mouth diameter 21.5cm. Height 8.5cm.
Inv.No.-1121. Of unknown provenance
a b
c d
pear on woven depictions of Tibetan deities dating back
to the early years of the Ming Dynasty (14th 15th cen-
turies), e.g. on the silk woven icon of Yamantaka (Watt,
Leidy 2005: 60).
Such bowls were used in altars or served as alms-
bowls or patras; they were intended for those who
practised the Buddhist (Tibetan) faith. A delicate work-
manship, an expensive dcor, the picture of the dragon
(an Imperial symbol) suggest that this bowl was made
in the Emperors workshops and commissioned by the
Emperor. It could have been used at the court or pre-
sented to one of the high-ranking Lamas. We do not
know of any similar bowls as yet.
In conclusion, we can state that iron objects deco-
rated with gold and silver using the technique of dama-
scening were frst made in China during the Yuan Dy-
nasty by foreign crafsmen, including those from Tibet.
Tis technique became widely used in the Imperial
workshops at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. Te
Imperial patronage continued from the 13th to the early
16th centuries. Te objects were chiefy intended for La-
maist ceremonies and rituals and served as diplomatic
presents to Tibetan Lamas from the Chinese court.
It is still unclear when and how this technique came
to Tibet and spread there. Te infuence of the art of Sas-
sanid Iran may have played a part, as well as the con-
quest of anumber of Central Asian regions by Tibet in
the frst half of the 1st millennium AD. In any case, we
cant exclude the infuence of the Near East as the origin
of this technique. Its popularity was short-lived, and the
traditions of making iron objects decorated with silver
and gold using an expensive and labour-intensive tech-
nique can rather be linked to a school of Tibetan mas-
ters of toreutics who worked at the Chinese court. Later,
iron was mostly used for the making of weapons, but
ceremonial armour and weapons could sometimes be
damascened (La Rocca 2006:7374, 83, 138).
Tus, the Hermitage collection contains rare master-
pieces made by ffeenth-century jewellers of the Ming
Dynasty, who worked in Chinese Imperial workshops.
REFERENCES
Menshikova 2003
Menshikova, Maria [ ]. -
[Te Chinese Collections of the Stroganovs].
In: . : -
[Stroganovy. Mecenaty i kollekcionery: katalog vystavki].
St.Petersburg: Te State Hermitage Publishers, 2003.
La Rocca 2006
La Rocca, Donald. Warriors of the Himalayas: Rediscovering the
Arms and Armor of Tibet: exh. at. New York: Metropolitan Mu-
seum of Art, 2006.
Turman 1999
Turman, Robert. Sacred Symbols. Te Ritual Art of Tibet. New
York, 1999.
Watt, Leidy 2005
Watt, James, Denise Leidy. Defning Yongle: Imperial Art in Early
Fifeenth Century China: exh. at. New York: Metropolitan Mu-
seum of Art; New Haven, 2005.
Translated by Maria Artamonova
52 53
Te Hermitage collection includes several silver ves-
sels made in Burma (Myanmar) in the early 20th cen-
tury. Tey were transferred from Gokhran [State Treas-
ury] in 1951
1
. With that the story of their provenance
might have been considered closed, were it not for the
emblem on the bottom of one of the vessels, the largest
and most interesting (Inv. No. -2119; silver, repouss,
engraving; diameter 29.5 cm) (ill.1).
Te emblem depicts a shield beneath a crown with
across on top of it; the shield features abulls head face
on, turned 45, with acrown and white horns. Te bull
has its tongue out and its ears spread out. Te emblem
is contained inside two concentric circles and the whole
composition is framed by a distinctive, splendid, but
very stylised, garland. Tis is the principal family coat-
of-arms of the Dukes of Mecklenburg: the bull features
in several variations of this coat-of-arms
2
(Handbuch
1763, Taf. CVI) (ill.2).
It is well known that the Dukes of Mecklenburg
and Schwerin and Strelitz married several members
of the Romanov dynasty in the 19th century. Archive
searches aiming to link these silver vessels to Grand
Duchess Ekaterina Mikhailovna, the daughter of Grand
Duke Mikhail and the granddaughter of Paul I, who
married Duke Georg August Ernest Mecklenburg-Stre-
litz in 1851, and her daughter Elena Georgievna, Duch-
1
Act No.13 of 6 June 1951; the acquisition documents record
only the unsealing of the boxes in the museum and the objects state
of preservation.
2
Te author is grateful to Magdalina Dobrovolskaya, Senior Re-
searcher in the State Hermitage Numismatic Department, for her
help in identifying the coat-of-arms.
OLGA DESHPANDE
THREE EARLY TWENTIETH-CENTURY SILVER BURMESE BOWLS
FROM THE HERMITAGE COLLECTION
Ill. 1. Bottom of bowl -2119: a general view;
b fragment with coat-of-arms
ess of Saxe-Altenburg
1
, yielded no results. Moreover,
neither Ekaterina Mikhailovna and her husband nor
Elena Georgievna ever travelled to the East, and the
absence of any Customs stamps on the bottom of the
items shows that they could not have been purchased at
aEuropean auction
2
.
A considerably more convincing hypothesis is that
the bowls were part of the collection of Grand Duchess
Maria Pavlovna (ne Princess Maria Alexandra Eliza-
beth Eleonore Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 18541920), who
in 1874 became the wife of Grand Duke Vladimir Alex-
androvich (18471909), the third son of AlexanderII
3
.
Te point is that Maria Pavlovna had a stepbrother
named Johann Albrecht Ernst Konstantin Friedrich
Heinrich (18571920), a man who merits a few words
in his own right. He was a major public and cultural
fgure who played a substantial role in Germanys co-
lonial policy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
As Emperor Paul Is great-great-grandson, he was one
of the last three of the Mecklenburg-Schwerin family to
be awarded the Order of St.Andrew: Alexander II con-
ferred the Order on him and his two brothers in 1874
(Levin 2003: 32, No.806).
Johann Albrecht visited his sister in Russia on sev-
eral occasions; in 1884 he went with his brother-in-law
Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich on an inspection
trip around Northwest Russia, and Maria Pavlovna trav-
elled with them (ill.3)
4
In 1909 the Duke took ahoneymoon cruise with his
second wife to Eastern Asia, returning to Germany via
Russia on the Trans-Siberian Railway
5
.
1
In summer 1917 Elena Georgievna transferred her collections
and those she had been lef by her mother to the Baron Stieglitz Mu-
seum for safe keeping. Afer the revolution they sufered the fate of
all private Russian collections: they were transferred to the State Mu-
seum Fund and later scattered among various establishments, includ-
ing the Hermitage (Russkaja vetv 2005: 221222).
2
Information provided by Marina Lopato, Senior Researcher in
the State Hermitage Department of Western European Applied Arts.
3
Te author is deeply grateful to Herr Mathias Schott, Chair-
man of the Society for the Return of Misappropriated Property of
the Dukes of Mecklenburg in Schwerin, for his stated conviction
that these items belonged to the family of Maria Pavlovna and for
his suggested direction of search.
4
Tis journey is described in the travel sketches Around the
North of Russia (18861888) by Konstantin Sluchevsky, a member
of Vladimir Alexandrovichs retinue (Sluchevsky 1886).
5
Johann Albrecht (Mecklenburg). URL: http://de.wikipedia.
org/wiki/Johann_Albrecht_%28Mecklenburg%29 (date of access:
01.03.2012).
Although no details of the route of the Dukes voyage
to the East have yet been found, it is more than likely
that it would have included Burma, which had become
aBritish colony only two decades earlier (in 1886), but
was already well known in the West for its silver items.
Te emblem on the bottom of the vessel was evidently
inscribed by aBurmese master, most probably based on
adrawing by the Duke himself. It would also be logical
to suppose that afer arriving in St. Petersburg on the
Trans-Siberian train Johann Albrecht may have visited
his sister before travelling on to Germany and given her
some of the items he had brought back.
On this point too, unfortunately, asearch in the Her-
mitage archives yielded no results, so the above scenario
remains ahypothesis, albeit avery likely one.
Ill. 2. Coat-of-arms of the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
a
b
54 55
Te movements of these items afer 1917 can also be
reconstructed only hypothetically: in the collection in
Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovichs palace State
Museum Fund Gokhran Hermitage (1951). Te
State Museum Fund Gokhran link fnds a parallel
in the similar transfer to Gokhran, in 1922, of a large
group of items from the collection of Duchess Elena
Georgievna of Saxen-Altenburg as part of 2,500 various
items from the Baron Stieglitz Museum, already regis-
tered as belonging to the State Museum Fund (Russkaja
vetv 2005: 221).
Te possibility of the items in question belonging
to German palaces in Schwerin can immediately be
discounted, as they are not mentioned in the catalogue
of missing items from the Schwerin palaces (Dokumen-
tazion 2005). However, there is absolutely no doubt that
all these vessels arrived in Russia at the same time and
by the same route. Tey are linked (as will be demon-
strated) by aunity of place, time and action: they were
all made in Burma in the early 20th century, were made
from the same material silver of the same standard of
fneness, with the use of the same ornaments and prin-
ciples of structural composition, and are also linked by
acommon range of themes. Tere are no other objects
of this type in Russia. Tis was an isolated and fairly ex-
otic purchase by a member of the Mecklenburg family,
most probably Duke Johann Albrecht.
Burma is extraordinarily rich in reserves of silver,
gold, precious and semiprecious stones. Te history
of the art of working gold and silver in Myanmar goes
back about two thousand years: it was brought here
on the wave of the general process of Hinduisation
1
.
Te earliest pieces were found in 1926 on the territory
of riKetra (Lower Burma, 4th 9th centuries) the
frst state in the history of modern Myanmar
2
, popu-
lated bythe Pyu tribe
3
.
By the beginning of the 2nd millennium silver had
begun to outstrip gold in popularity, both in its geo-
graphical spread and in the range of items produced.
Silver was used extensively in the secular sphere (adorn-
ments, formal tableware and sets for chewing betel nuts,
a practice in which all strata of society indulged), but
even more in the religious sphere. Silver was used for
statues of Buddha, monastic bowls for collecting alms
(used on ceremonial occasions), mortars and wishing
trees (for oferings to temples), small bowls for washing
the hands, avariety of vessels for private gifs to temples,
cases for storing manuscripts... (Fraser-Lu 1989: 27).
Te Burmese used awide range of techniques in the
manufacture and decoration of vessels embossing
and repouss, engraving, incrustation, etc. Large ves-
sels such as those under consideration were made us-
ing the repouss technique. Te contours of the pattern
were frst drawn in charcoal. Te vessel was flled with
1
Hinduisation the spread of Indian cultural infuences
inSoutheast Asian countries in the 1st millennium AD.
2
A large group of objects, mainly of silver, was found in a reli-
quary chamber discovered by chance in the Khin Ba burial ground.
Tey included a very unusual 66 cm-tall silver reliquary depicting
four buddhas of the past and pupils of the Buddha Shakyamuni, see:
(Duroiselle 1930; Moor 2007: 177183).
3
A Sino-Tibetan people who spoke one of the languages of the
Tibetan-Burmese family.
aputty whose main ingredient was rosin (the putty was
necessary to absorb blows during beating and to avoid
breaches in the metal); then, with the aid of along rod
with arounded end, on which the necessary part of the
side was fxed, the master beat out the relief required for
the specifc pattern. In order that the metal remained
sof and malleable, it was necessary to anneal it in afre
periodically for a short time, then wash it each time
in an etching solution to remove the residue of oxides
(Fraser-Lu 1989: 14). Te fnal work on the pattern was
done on the outside of the vessel. Sometimes when mak-
ing alarge vessel the beatings and frings were repeated
up to sixteen times (Fraser-Lu 1989:16).
Silver is avery sof metal, so is not used in its pure
form for applied purposes. In terms of its composition
and purity, silver in Burma was divided into three types
dependent on the contents of the admixtures: baw, khai-
yobat and dain, which had, respectively, 34 %, 6.4 %
and 9.6 % or more admixtures (mainly copper and zinc).
Items made from baw silver were so sof that they in-
stantly went out of shape under strong pressure of the
hand. Te main type used for domestic trade was the
khaiyobat alloy, while for trading with other countries
the dain alloy was normally used (Fraser-Lu 1989: 25,
26). Masters with a good reputation preferred to work
with silver with a high degree of purity (7997 %),
whereas in the cheapest items the silver content might
be no more than 40 % (Fraser-Lu 1989: 8).
All the Burmese objects in the Hermitage, as has
been demonstrated by an X-ray fuorescent analysis
1
,
are made from adain alloy with asilver content of 83
84 %, meaning that they are items of afairly high quality.
Irrespective of their size, the surface of Burmese sil-
ver bowls was always decorated with thematic scenes
and decorative motifs in relief. It was traditionally not
very high relief and the compositions were simple and
austere. When Burma became a British colony in the
19th century, the arrival of a large number of British
people, who largely dictated the tastes of the time, in-
evitably infuenced the stylistic characteristics of silver
production, which was extremely popular with the
colonists. Te traditional forms remained unchanged,
but the compositions began to feature a large number
of characters and details, with more movement and ex-
pressiveness. Little by little low, weakly expressed reliefs
1
Expert opinion of the Department of Examination and Authen-
tication of Works of Art No.1685 of 27.06.2011.
were replaced by much higher ones, and the fgures be-
gan to resemble wood carvings. Sometimes the relief
was so high that the metal lost its waterproof quality
(Fraser-Lu 1989: 31). Nevertheless, Burmese silver re-
tained its high technical standard, which was invariably
marked by medals and awards at the industrial exhibi-
tions organised in Delhi and Calcutta at the turn of the
20th century (Fraser-Lu 1989: 179).
Tree of the four Hermitage silver objects were cho-
sen for this article, as they are of interest not only for
the themes they depict, but also for their artistic design
(the thematic source of the dcor of the fourth vessel
remains unclear).
Two of the bowls are decorated with scenes from
jatakas
2
. One of them is the above-mentioned vessel
-2119 with the Mecklenburg coat-of-arms (ill. 4).
Bowls of this shape were used for oferings to temples.
Te fairly tall body of the vessel is divided into three
bands: two of them (the upper and lower bands) are dec-
orative, and the thematic band in the middle is divided
into ten scenes. It sets out the last jataka (No. 547/550)
about the virtuous King Vessantara. It is part of the
mahanipata, which is particularly revered in Indochina
the Ten Great Jatakas that form awhole collection.
Vessantara was the son of King Sanjaya and Queen
Phusati, who ruled in the Sivi (Shivi) kingdom. From
his early childhood he exhibited boundless compassion
and charity to those around him, displaying unprec-
edented generosity and easily parting with his belong-
ings. He owned a magic elephant that was capable of
bringing rain at any time. When a neighbouring coun-
try was hit by a drought and its people asked for Ves-
santaras elephant, he immediately gave it to them. His
own people were indignant at this and drove the young
2
Ajataka is an account of aprevious life of the Buddha Shakya-
muni, the founder of Buddhism. Te South Indian, or Sri Lankian,
collection of jatakas, published in Pali in the late 19thcentury (Faus-
bll 18771897) and later translated into English (Cowell1981), con-
tains 547 jatakas. However, there were evidently two editions of the
jatakas in existence simultaneously in Ancient Burma: an earlier one,
consisting of 550 stories (three more texts were added between the
496th and 497th), and alater one, which ended with the 547thjataka.
Consequently, the wall paintings in early Pagan temples refected
both versions of the jatakas at virtually the same time. Moreover, the
sequence of the concluding Ten Great Jatakas was sometimes mis-
placed. Asimilar misplacement can also be observed at alater time.
Te existence of 550 jatakas is also mentioned in modern literature
((Fraser-Lu 1994:4), and in more detail: (Luce 1956). In this article,
therefore, possible variations will be mentioned when indicating the
numbers of the jatakas.
Ill. 3.Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich
with Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna and Duke Johann Albrecht
during their journey around northern districts of Russia.
Published in (Sluchevsky 1886)
56 57
Jujaka kneeling before him (ill. 5, f); a well-to-do mar-
ried couple in elegant clothes, but without any charac-
teristic signs a scene that is not entirely comprehen-
sible (ill.5, g)
1
; the Brahman Jujaka sleeping in atree at
night (ill.5, h)
2
; animals barring Maddis way into the
forest (ill.5, i)
3
; Jujaka and his wife (ill.5, j)
4
.
As we can see, the sequence of the episodes is some-
times broken and some of them have exchanged places.
For example, Jujaka frst asks Vessantara for his chil-
dren, but then we see his young wife for whose service
they are actually needed. Sometimes the master does
not scrupulously follow the text of the jataka. For in-
stance, instead of the lion, tiger and leopard that barred
Maddis way, he depicts three diferent animals alion,
adeer and another animal that is hard to identify out
5
.
However, this is fully in keeping with the traditional
method ofconveying material that is regularly encoun-
tered in wall paintings and in illustrated manuscripts
(Green2001: Ch.1, p. 23)
6
.
1
Are these Vessantaras parents perhaps? Afer taking the chil-
dren, Jujaka headed home, but Sakka set them on the road to Sivi,
where the children were received by their grandparents.
2
Jujaka headed home with the children, but he was overtaken by
darkness and spent the night in a tree. Te brother and sister man-
aged to escape while he was asleep. Te gods set them on the road
to the city of Shiva (Siva), where the Brahman arrived later, also di-
rected by the gods.
3
At Vessantaras insistence Jujaka took the children while Maddi
was away gathering fruit in the forest. Wishing to protect Maddi from
dreadful nervous shocks if she returned to the monastery at that mo-
ment, Sakka ordered three gods to assume the appearance of wild
beasts and prevent her from approaching the house. As aresult she
returned much later, afer nightfall.
4
In the joy of his sons return with his family, King Sanjaya for-
gave the Brahman Jujaka and gave him alarge new house, where he
settled with his wife.
5
Te author is grateful to Dr Sylvia Fraser-Lu for her assistance
inclarifying the details of the subject.
6
Te author is grateful to Dr Alexandra Green at the British Mu-
seum for providing material from her unpublished dissertation Bud-
dhist Narratives in Burmese Wall Paintings, 2001.
Te episodes are usually separated from one another
by atree or abush, sometimes by smooth vertical edges.
In this case the role is performed by a sort of column
whose upper part is a huge shaggy mask with bulging
eyes and tusks, its tongue sticking out and something
like a royal crown on its head (ill. 6). Something of
a similar structure and fantastic appearance can also
be seen on a bowl in the Victoria & Albert Museum
inLondon (Lowry 1974: fg. 34). Te sources of this mo-
tif, called bilu-pan-sweh in Burmese, go back to the In-
dian guardian motif kirtimukha (glorious face) which
was extremely widespread in the art of Southeast Asia
(for example: (Bernet Kempers 1959: 7475, pls. 104,
219, 232; Fraser-Lu 1994: 55; Giteau 1997: pls. 51, 76)).
As well as having dividers at the sides, each scene has
a small scalloped arch above it a feature that is also
frequently encountered (Fraser-Lu 1989: 30, fg. 18).
Te thematic part is placed between decorative bands
also one of the traditional methods of structuring
Ill. 4. Bowl with scenes from the Vessantara jataka.
Ill. 5, aj. Fragments of the bowl with scenes from the Vessantara jataka
king out of the country, and he obediently went to live
in the forest with his family. On the way Vessantara
gave away his horses, his carriage and all his belong-
ings to needy Brahmans, and some time later he gave
his own children to another Brahman. Te king of the
gods Sakka (Indra), fearing that Vessantaras wife Maddi
might fall into the hands of some scoundrel, assumed
the appearance of a Brahman and asked Vessantara to
give him his wife. Vessantara consented without hesita-
tion, remembering that his aim was to achieve the high-
est state ofperfection. Afer this, Sakka appeared to him
and told him that he had tested his perfection in the vir-
tue ofgenerosity and returned everything he had given
away (Cowell1981: Vol. 6, p. 246304).
Te Vessantara jataka, the last in the collection of ja-
takas, illustrates the gradual achievement by abodhisat-
tva of the highest level of virtue dana
1
, which also ena-
bled him in his next and fnal reincarnation to achieve
the state of the Buddha.
Te master has taken ten episodes from this long nar-
rative and presented them in the following scenes (ill.5):
awhite elephant with alarge umbrella on its back, and
alongside aservant looking afer the elephant (ill.5, a);
King Vessantara and his wife Maddi (ill.5, b); the Brah-
man Jujaka asking for Vessantaras children (ill.5, c); the
young wife of the Brahman Jujaka (ill.5, d); somebody
hiding his face behind a large lotus leaf (?) this may
be Vessantaras daughter Kanhajina running away from
the Brahman (ill. 5, e)
2
; Vessantara with the Brahman
1
Dana (generosity, giving) the highest of the ten virtues (para-
mitas) the most important categories in Buddhist philosophy, lead-
ing to the state of the Buddha.
2
When the children learned of the Brahmans intention to take
them from their parents, they attempted to escape and hide in apond
with lotuses. Tis could be the little girl covering her face in an at-
tempt not to be recognised.
Ill. 5, h. Fragment of the bowl with scenes
from the Vessantara jataka
i h g f d
c b
j
a e
a whole composition. Te inside of the bands usu-
ally depicted gya-chit-lon animals corresponding to
the days of the week and the planets relating to them
(Fraser-Lu 1994: fg. 2). In accordance with the princi-
ples of Burmese astrology
7
large vessels could feature
7
Tere are eight days in the Burmese week, as Wednesday is di-
vided into two days: before 6 pm and from 6 pm to midnight. Ac-
cordingly: Sunday is represented by the Sun and the bird Galon
(Hindu: Garuda); Monday is the Moon and atiger; Tuesday Mars
and the sacred lion Chinte; Wednesday before sunset Mercury and
an elephant with tusks; Wednesday afer sunset to sunrise on Turs-
day the planet Rahu (a mythical Indian planet) and an elephant
without tusks; Tursday Jupiter and amouse; Friday Venus and
aguinea-pig; Saturday Saturn and the serpent Naga. Besides them,
there is another mythical planet Keit (Hindu: Ketu), not linked to
aparticular day of the week but revered more than all the others. It
is personifed by the fabulous animalPansayubo, an animal of fve
beauties, with the trunk and tusks of an elephant, a deers antlers,
alions mane, afsh tail and the body and power of adragon (Maung
Htun Aung 1978:1113).
58 59
a combination of eight or even nine animals, real and
imaginary. Here, however, this principle is somewhat
contravened: in the lower band there are actually nine
animals and ten in the upper band (with two unidenti-
fed animals sitting beside them). Te animals in both
bands are hard to identify: they are shown from awk-
ward angles, with tossed heads and among the tendrils
of plants, and one can only tentatively recognise the bird
Galon (Garuda) and the serpent Naga. Some animals in
the lower row are more recognisable alion, atiger and
aguinea-pig (ill.7).
Above and below the bands with animals are two
more decorative rows, this time with vegetable motifs.
Te top of the bowl is decorated with a dha-zin-gweh
motif, the curling branch of an orchid surrounded on
both sides by an e-dan motif of peas or pearls this
is one of the most traditional variations of dcor (Fras-
er-Lu 1989: 30, fg. 2). Te lower part of avessels body
usually features aband with the cha-lan motif of sharp
lotus petals pointing upwards, standing alone or in rows
on top of one another. In this case, however, this motif
is given afree and untraditional treatment: in arepeated
broad, large, rounded petal (its upper part facing down-
wards) afowering lotus is depicted with alarge splendid
head on along stem surrounded by long narrow leaves
and its head turned to face the viewer. Tepetals are
Ill. 6. Fragment of the bowl with scenes from the Vessantara jataka:
divider in the form of a bilu-pan-sweh mask
Ill. 7. Fragment of the bowl with scenes
from the Vessantara jataka gya-chit-lon animal-protectors
of the days of the week (tiger)
Ill. 8. Fragment of the bowl with scenes from the Vessantara jataka:
lotuses
Ill. 9. Bowl with scenes from the Mahajanaka jataka.
Ill. 10, a. Fragment of the bowl with scenes
from the Mahajanaka jataka
adds to the dynamic, emotional character of the bowls
dcor as awhole.
Te second bowl (Inv. No. -2118; silver; repous-
s, engraving; diameter 25 cm; ill.9) is decorated with
scenes from the Mahajanaka jataka (No. 539/542), the
second jataka from the mahanipata.
Mahajanaka, King of Mithila, had two sons Arit-
thajanaka and Polajanaka. Te elder son became king
afer his fathers death, while the younger, who was very
popular with his people, became his deputy. Shortly
aferwards the new king, suspecting his brother of in-
tending to usurp the throne, had him imprisoned, but
Polajanaka managed to escape from the capital to the
outskirts of the kingdom, where he assembled his sup-
porters and declared war on his brother. As he lef for
the battle, the king made his wife promise that, in the
event of his death, she would fee from the city to save
the life of her unborn child. Having learned of her hus-
bands death at the hand of his brother and the accession
of the new king, the queen put her jewellery in abasket,
covering it with dirty linen, smeared her face with soot
and lef the city unnoticed with the basket on her head.
With the help of the god Sakka she very quickly reached
the other end of the kingdom, where she found refuge in
the abode of aBrahman-hermit. When she gave birth to
aboy, she named him Mahajanaka afer his grandfather.
When Mahajanaka was old enough, he learned the se-
cret of his birth, and when he reached the age of sixteen
he decided to reclaim the kingdom for himself. Before
he reached Mithila his uncle King Polajanaka died, en-
trusting his courtiers to fnd a man worthy of becom-
ing the ruler of Mithila and the husband of his daughter
Sivali. Mahajanaka, having fulflled all the conditions
ofthe contest of suitors, married Sivali and ruled peace-
fully for many years. One day, however, all the futility
of material wealth and earthly power was revealed to
him. Mahajanaka then shaved his head, dressed like
a hermit and withdrew into the forest, cutting him-
self of from the world of people forever (Cowell 1981:
Vol.6, p. 1936).
Te theme of the Mahajanaka jataka, with the main
characters original striving to satisfy his earthly desires
and his subsequent repudiation of them, to a certain
extent repeats the life of Prince Siddhartha, the future
Buddha Shakyamuni.
Te Hermitage bowl essentially features just one
episode the battle of Aritthajanaka and Polajanaka
on elephants. In compositional terms the master de-
divided additionally, again by a lotus fower on a long
stem, but this time seen from the side (ill.8).
Te whole of the empty space in the central band is
covered with tiny embossed dots, which from adistance
resemble a delicate network. Tis may be an imitation
of the complex and rarely encountered za-bauk double-
layered technique, which created a tracery surface like
delicate lace (Fraser-Lu 1994: pl. 161).
Tis sparkling background, reinforcing the already
active play of light and shade, in combination with
the lifelike poses of the many fgures, conveying rapid
movement, the efectiveness of the shaggy bilu-pan-
sweh and the elastic rhythm of the vegetable ornament
picted two mirrored groups of scenes on the body of
the bowl, with four scenes in each group (ill. 10). Te
central scene must be that of the brothers fghting on
elephants controlled by drivers (ill.10, a). Te elephant
to the right is clearly larger and more powerful than the
other, probably because it is the elephant of Aritthajana-
ka, the lawful king. To either side of the principal ele-
phants are two more elephants with drivers and riders
(ill.10, b, c), which represent the armies of each of the
adversaries. In circles further to either side is the fgure
of a man on foot (running?) with a sword in his right
hand (on the right) (ill.10, d) and in the lef hand (on
the lef) (ill.10,e). Tis is, to all appearances, Polajanaka
60 61
escaping from prison. Further to the lef and
right are two more elephants with drivers and
riders (ill. 10, f, g), still moving towards the
main group (ill.10, a). Te last group of two
elephants with riders and drivers (ill.10, h) is
thus diametrically opposite to the main group.
Here, however, according to the rules of sym-
metry, the elephant on the lef is larger.
All the riders on individual elephants
are wearing helmets only the riders in
scenes10,aand 10, h are wearing crowns, and only they
are sitting on special riding seats, an indication of their
royal birth. However, the direction of the movement of
all the characters towards scene 10, a enables us to de-
fne that as the centre of the composition and to con-
sider that scene 10, h was added for symmetry.
Each scene is framed at the top with azigzag-shaped
arch with pointed teeth-shaped projections, and the
dividing motif is a large agave bush against the back-
ground of sea waves (?). In fact, the general background
appears to be a coast or riverbank, although the site
ofthe battle is not mentioned anywhere in the jataka.
Te spare swords fastened behind the riding seats
onthe elephants are very eye-catching
1
.
Tere are decorative bands at the top and bottom:
the upper band features a pattern of curling tendrils,
and the lower band a cha-lan motif: rows of lotus
petals pointing upwards.
Such type of composition, where the whole body of
abowl is actually occupied by asingle episode, is totally
at variance with the traditional approach and was dic-
tated not so much by didactic purposes as by decoration
and entertainment. Tis is obvious if we take for com-
1
According to awritten communication from Alexandra Green,
it is the frst time she has come across this motif.
parison the bowl with asimilar subject from the Victo-
ria & Albert Museum (Lowry 1974: pl. 34). It depicts
fve episodes: Polajanaka feeing from his elder brother
on horseback; the fght of the two brothers on elephants;
Arrithajanakas wife leaving the city with abasket on her
head; Mahajanaka heading for the capital to win back
the kingdom; Mahajanaka waking from a wonderful
dream and seeing his dead uncles ministers around
him, inviting him to assume the throne
2
.
Te London vessel, which also copies the shape of
amonks bowl, is more traditional in composition, in
the interpretation of the subject and in the character
of its decoration. Te Hermitage bowl demonstrates,
in our view, a clear departure from the traditional ap-
proach. Tis will become evident if we divert our atten-
tion from these particular bowls and examine the earlier
principles on which the interpretation of Buddhist jata-
kas in Burma was based.
Temes from the mahanipata frst appeared in Bur-
mese art in the 11th century in the Mon
3
state of Taton
2
Te author is grateful to Dr John Clarke, curator of Indian,
Tibetan and Southeast Asian art at the Victoria & Albert Museum, for
providing photographs and identifying the compositions on the bowl.
3
Te Mons were an ancient tribe in Indochina who settled
inSouthern Burma and Central Tailand.
in Lower Burma
1
, and afer the conquest of Taton by
the Burmese in 1057 such depictions are frequently en-
countered in early Pagan art of the 11th and 12thcen-
turies on ceramic reliefs (the Western and Eastern
Petleik pagodas, the Ananda temple) and in wall paint-
ings (the most famous are those in the Nagayon temple
and Abeyadana temple) (Luce 1956: 292293). It was
here that the iconographic scheme of the jatakas origi-
nating from Taton took root: each tile (or fragment of
painting) schematically depicts one episode from the
jataka, giving it a name and a number. For example:
Matanga-jat [aka] 497). In the 12th century tiny com-
ments are encountered: Samiddha-jat [aka] 167. Te
blessed one was ahermit (Luce 1956: 292293). More
rarely one comes across agroup of two or three reliefs,
with one scene on each tile this was used only for the
mahanipata.
It is important to note that in many temples, particu-
larly large ones, the whole cycle of 547/550 jatakas was
presented. Moreover, this thematic dictionary was
standardised, to use Alexandra Greens expression:
specifc, well-known episodes were always chosen (for
instance, the Vessantara jataka was illustrated by one
of three episodes: Vessantara giving away his priceless
white elephant, Vessantara and his family being driven
into the forest, Vessantara giving away his children).
Tis conventional selection of scenes made the subject
more recognisable and the understanding of its mes-
sage more defned, so achieving its didactic aim: to set
people on the right path the path to magnanimity and
generosity, the path to obtaining Buddhist merit.
1
Te earliest surviving monuments are reliefs on small glazed
ceramic tiles on the terrace of the Shwezayan pagoda (11th century)
and stone reliefs on the boundary stones of the hall for the initiation
of monks at Kalyani Tein (11th 12th centuries) (Luce 1956:292;
Aung Taw 1972: 37).
In the wall paintings of the temple at Lokateikpan
(12th century) the mahanipata were represented for the
frst time not by one or two scenes, but by afairly broad
narrative: the illustration of the Vessantara jataka fea-
tured a large number of episodes, including those pre-
ceding the birth of the Bodhisattva (later the number
ofepisodes was again reduced).
Gradually depictions of the mahanipata alone became
more and more preferable, and in the 17th century the
mahanipata fnally eclipsed the full cycle of 547/550jata-
kas. Moreover, monumental painting gradually began to
determine traditions in other types of art manuscripts,
painting on lacquered vessels and reliefs on metal ob-
jects. For example, nineteenth-century manuscripts are
similar to the wall paintings of the time in style, iconog-
raphy and subject matter. As Alexandra Green notes,
Tis type of standardisation between media reveals an
emphasis upon the content of the representations, rather
than upon a specifc art form, reinforcing the idea that
the depicted images are religious in nature, regardless of
what details are portrayed. Clearly, the nature of the nar-
rative content is the primary concern to the donors and
artists (Green 2001: Ch. 1, p. 23).
Returning to the two bowls on the subject of the
Mahajanaka jataka, it is evident that neither the London
example nor (even less) the Hermitage bowl correspond
to these didactic directives. Te London bowl retains
asort of narrative and development of the subject, but
the choice of episodes is still more literary entertain-
ing than didactic; of the fve scenes depicted, not one
illustrates any Buddhist values, the mutual link between
deeds and consequences, which is actually the main-
spring for the development of the subject of any jataka.
Te Hermitage vessel is further removed from these
directives: here only one episode is presented in asym-
metrical decorative composition.
Ill. 10, ah. Fragments
of the bowl with scenes
from the Mahajanaka jataka
f d
h
c e g a
62 63
Te London bowl, which dates from the late 19thcen-
tury, was most probably made for export and orientated
towards aWestern purchaser who was not versed in the
latent imperative of Buddhist narratives. Tis is even
more noticeable in Hermitage bowl -2118 with its
purely secular interpretation of an important Buddhist
text one from the mahinapata. Tis enables us to date
this bowl to an even later time to the end of the frst
decade of the 20th century, which would concur with its
quite possible (though still not entirely proved) export
from Burma at that time.
Te same applies to bowl -2119 with the jataka
about King Vessantara. Te sequence of its episodes
and their interpretation testifes to the absence of that
Buddhist doctrinal component, which defnes the se-
quence of the narrative (Wicks 2000: 171). For exam-
ple, the whole excerpt of the story concerning the white
elephant its transfer to a neighbouring city and Ves-
santaras consequent exile from the city (cause con-
sequence), is interpreted by the depiction of aservant
boy that indicates nothing (see ill. 5, a). Even less sig-
nifcance is accorded to the depiction of Vessantara and
Maddi sitting on thrones (see ill.5, b).
Tis circumstance enables this bowl to be dated to
the end of the frst decade of the 20th century. Moreo-
ver, both are high relief depictions, which was charac-
teristic of that time
1
and feature the dynamic, emotion-
al interpretation typical of the early 20th century (see
above). On the whole, both pieces show quite skilful
work, especially bowl -2119.
Unfortunately, very few Burmese silver bowls have
ever been published
2
. Tey have not been researched
at all, neither from the point of view of their stylistic
and iconographic features, the preference for particular
episodes, the similarities or diferences in interpretation,
etc., nor from the point of view of the succession of their
depictive language from the traditions of earlier times.
From the point of view of the allegorical content of the
depictions it is important to take for comparison abowl
with a similar subject from a private American collec-
tion. Although it was made in the mid-20th century, the
1
Oral communication by Dr John Clarke of the Victoria & Albert
Museum.
2
One bowl from the Victoria & Albert Museum (Lowry 1974:
pl. 34), two bowls from the Britain-Burma Society (Moore 2007b:
fgs. 38, 39), one bowl from a private collection (Wicks 2000) and
three others introduced by way of examples in the aforementioned
works by Sylvia Fraser-Lu.
circumstances of its manufacture
3
caused the master
to treat it with truly religious zeal and fervour. Robert
S. Wicks is the frst (and as yet the only) researcher to
analyse the content of the bowls reliefs, comparing the
selection of episodes from the Vessantara jataka with
the interpretation of the same subject on the reliefs
in Sanchi from the 1st century BC and in Gandhara
inthe 2nd 3rd centuries BC (Wicks 2000).
Te American bowl features six episodes (shown in
eight scenes): 1) the Brahmans asking Vessantara to give
them the elephant + Vessantara washing his hands in
water (symbolizing the irrevocability of adecision once
taken); 2) Vessantara being driven away with his wife
and children; 3) Vessantara and his family in the forest;
4) Vessantara giving the Brahman his children + Ves-
santara washing his hands; 5) Maddi gathering fruit and
berries in the forest; 6) wild beasts barring their way.
Wicks was struck by the fact that, despite the almost
two thousand years separating the Gandhara reliefs from
this silver bowl, the selection of episodes virtually coin-
cides (episodes 5 and 6 are featured only on the bowl)
(Wicks 2000: 166). Te number of episodes completely
coincides six in both cases, which Wicks suggests may
be explained by the text of the jataka itself, in which there
are several mentions of six oferings of thanksgiving by
various characters (Wicks 2000: 170). Based on the fact
that this jataka illustrates the gradual attainment of the
three levels of the virtue of generosity, Wicks arrived at
the conclusion of the purposeful choice of episodes for
the bowls dcor, whose hidden message was its direct
relationship to the life and work of adoctor, who devotes
her life to serving ordinary people. As Wicks writes, the
two scenes the gif of the elephant and the gif of the
children represent two kinds of giving. Te gif of the
elephant is a model for the external, and less dif cult
form of gif, while the children represent the higher chal-
lenge, the gif of self (Wicks 2000: 171).
Tis approach, intended to facilitate the moral and
spiritual perfection of an adherent, was always typical
of all types of art (reliefs, wall paintings, manuscripts,
objects of applied art) connected in one way or another
with religious practice. Against this background, the de-
viation in the interpretation of the subjects on the Her-
3
Te bowl was intended for Dr Anna Barbara Grey, a member
of a Baptist medical mission that operated in Burma with short
breaks from 1922 to 1957. Te bowl was made on funds collected by
the Burmese Baptist Church and presented to Dr Grey on her retire-
ment as atoken of the deep gratitude of her wards and in recognition
of her many years of service.
mitage bowls from allegorical approach to more secu-
lar-entertaining one is obvious and provides yet another
argument for the time and date of their manufacture.
Although the history of Buddhism on the territory of
modern Burma goes back almost 2,000 years, it has been
interwoven, as everywhere in Indochina, with astrong
Hindu (more precisely, Brahmanical
1
) element. Mahay-
ana Buddhism and Brahmanical cults already coexisted
in Sri Ketra in the 4th to 9th centuries (Gutman 1999:
2936; Guy 1999: 2936; Moore 2007a: 141144). Tis
has also been observed in Pagan, where an eleventh-
century Brahmanical temple has been preserved (Aung
Taw 1972: 7375; Ray 2001: 33-47)
2
, and in other me-
diaeval Burmese states especially in Arakan, in the
southwest of modern Burma, where aShivaite dynasty
ruled from the 5th to 10th centuries (Gutman 2001: 11,
4146). Later on Brahmanism did not play an active and
independent role in Burma, but right up to the end of
the 19th century Brahman priests (Brahmans-priests
or Brahmanical priests) were accorded an exceptionally
important place in the ritual-ceremonial life of the court
and the higher aristocracy
3
.
Tis short excursus is intended to explain why ad-
herence to the depiction of Brahmanic characters was
maintained so long in decorative applied art, as is well
demonstrated by a small vessel in the Hermitage col-
lection (Inv. No. -2121; silver; repouss, engraving;
diameter 9.5 cm; ill.11).
It is asmall, slightly squashed bowl with afairly wide
neck and abody that narrows towards the bottom, rest-
ing on the backs of three elephants. Below the smooth,
undecorated neck runs a band of cylindrical iye, peas-
pearls. Te bottom of the vessel is bordered by a row
ofelongated lotus petals (a cha-lan ornament). Smooth
ribs, framed by similar beads on both sides, divide the
body into six segments.
1
Hinduism came to the mainland SEA in its earlier form of Brah-
manism, formed in the middle of the 1st millennium BC; the greatest
reverence was accorded to Trimurti, a triune deity embodying the
three principal powers: existence (Brahma), destruction (Shiva) and
creation (Vishnu).
2
Te Nathlaung Kyaung temple, dedicated to Vishnu, was built,
probably in the 11th century, for the religious needs of Indian traders
and for Indian Brahmans in the service of the royal court.
3
Te Hindu component was one of the most important ingre-
dients of the complex concept of legitimisation of the royal author-
ity of a Buddhist ruler a concept that survived only in Indochina
(Smith1978). Afer the eventual occupation of Burma by the British
in 1885, this complex layer of Burmese culture, along with the mo-
narchical traditions, disappeared forever.
Te segments depict the most important characters
in Brahmanism: Indra (?) (ill. 12, a), Vishnu-Varahi
with a sword in his hand (the third avatara
4
of Vishnu)
(ill.12,b), Krishna-Kaliya (Krishna, the eighth avatara of
Vishnu, on the snake Kaliya) (ill.12, c), Ganesha (ill.12,d),
the four-armed Shiva with avina in his hands (ill.12, e)
and the four-armed Vishnu with ashell (ill.12,f)
5
.
All the characters can be identifed with no doubt by
their attributes and iconography. Only the four-armed
character sitting on a two-tiered throne (see ill. 12, a)
has no attributes. It is possibly Indra not by chance
isthe bowl supported by three elephants (the elephant
is Indras vahana, his vehicle).
Te characters featured three Vaishnava characters
(Vishnu and his two avataras), Shiva and his son Gane-
sha, and possibly Indra clearly refect the Brahmanic
component that had survived at the Burmese court.
All the scenes are depicted in the same way: the char-
acter is placed in the centre of the composition and is
surrounded by motifs of winding branches with fowers
and leaves. Te whole background is covered with little
protuberant dots made with a tiny punch that enliven
4
An avatara is the descent of a god to Earth in one guise or an-
other. Te term is most frequently associated with Vishnu and his
numerous avataras. Te ten best-known of them are: the fsh-matsya,
the tortoise-kurma, the wild boar-varaha, the man-lion-narasimha,
the dwarf-vamana, Rama with an axe-Parashurama, Rama the hero
ofthe Ramayana, Krishna, Buddha and Kalki-Vishnuaasha. All the
avataras are linked by the idea of the preservation and maintenance
ofworld order, and the restoration of justice.
5
Te author is grateful to Dr John Clarke of the Victoria & Albert
Museum for his assistance in identifying the characters.
Ill. 11. Bowl with Brahmanical characters.
64
the depiction, creating aplay of light and shade. Te ele-
phants hide is conveyed using the same method, but the
animals themselves, adorned with pompons and small
plates on their heads, are drawn somewhat crudely.
Here there is also adegree of haut relief, but the relief
characters are static, the folds in their clothing conveyed
by formal sharp deep lines. Te thrones and carpets are
shown in reverse perspective, while the scarves falling
from the shoulders are simply spread across the surface.
Te standard of the work is, on the whole, lower than in
the previous cases, but the bowl is of interest because of
its fairly rare theme, in comparison with the Buddhist one.
Te Hermitage bowls, the only examples in Russian
museums, therefore acquaint us with a hitherto un-
known sphere of Burmese art.
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Buddhas Former Births, Translated from the Pli by Various Hands
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Fraser-Lu 1989
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a
c
e f
d
b
Ill. 12. Fragments of the bowl with Brahmanical characters: a Indra (?); b Vishnu-Varahi;
c Krishna-Kaliya; d Ganesha; e Shiva; f Vishnu with ashell
66 67
Te State Hermitage Museum has one of Eastern Eu-
ropes largest collections of painted clay vases from An-
cient Corinth, one of the leading centres of artistic pro-
duction in Ancient Greece. It consists of whole shapes
and fragments which arrived both from private collec-
tions, acquired by the museum over the course of more
than 150 years, and from excavations in the ancient cen-
tres of the Northern Black Sea region (Borysthenida on
Berezan Island, Olbia, Pantikapaion, Nymphaion etc).
Considerable study of items from the collection has
been undertaken in recent years.
Te main catalyst for this study was the arrangement
of anew display in Room 111 on the ground foor of the
New Hermitage building, Te Art of Archaic Greece
and Ancient Cyprus. A considerable increase in the
amount of exhibition space available for Corinthian
vessels made it possible to look to part of the collection
which had remained in store for decades, totally un-
known not only to visitors but also to specialists. Itwas
decided to compile a scholarly catalogue raisonn of
the Corinthian vases in the Hermitage Museum, with
descriptions of some 700 items, including more than
200 whole shapes. Te results of our research also laid
the basis for the specialist catalogues of the Hermitages
Corinthian vases issued as part of the international pro-
ject known as the Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum.
In the course of this research dozens of items were
fully studied for the very frst time.
Staf in the Department of Examination and Au-
thentication of Works of Art, Sergey Khavrin, Ksenia
Chugunova and Irina Grigorieva, carried out technical
and technological analysis of the items: visible-induced
luminescence of the surface in ultra-violet rays, X-ray
fuorescence of the surface, spectral analysis of samples,
thermo-luminescent analysis and X-ray photography.
Tis provided information about the state of conserva-
tion of the original object and about earlier conserva-
tion and restoration carried out, including the restora-
tion materials used.
Armed with this information, we were able to de-
cide what new intervention, if any, was required, what
conservation was necessary, where applicable, and
what aesthetic principles should determine any new
restoration.
Lastly the objects were attributed, allowing us to date
them in accordance with our current understanding of
the history of Corinthian vase-painting, and to link the
painting on them with the names of known vase-paint-
ers. At this point the artistic and historical signifcance
of each piece becomes clear.
Complementing work with the objects themselves
was archival research with the purpose of confrming
each items accepted provenance, which also helps es-
tablish the likelihood of its authenticity.
During this study, a number of individual unique
works were identifed (Bukina 2010; Bukina, Shuvalo-
va 2011), as well as alarge number of pieces important
for exhibition purposes. Tese were removed from the
reserves and placed either on permanent display or in-
cluded in shows outside the Hermitage itself, such as
[My Kingdom for a Horse]
(2007) and .
[Children of the Gods. Classical
Heroes in Ancient and Modern Art] (20092010) in
Kazan, and .
[Te Stroganovs. Collectors of Antiquities] (2010
2011) in Perm.
One of the earliest Corinthian vases in the Hermit-
age went on display in the permanent exhibition for the
frst time in acentury. Tis oinochoe asmall jug with
atrefoil lip and conical body was created in the second
quarter or middle of the 7th century BC (inventorisa-
tion number . 1388, Inv. No. . 4313; preserved height
18.4 cm; acquired 1862 from the collection of Marquis
Gian Pietro Campana (Cataloghi del Museo Campana:
IXX.G.312; Stephani 1869: No. 1426; Payne, NC 1931:
13); ill.1). It is decorated with black-fgure painting on
the body (four running dogs and abird) and silhouette
ornament on the neck and handle. Vessels of this shape
were produced in Corinthian workshops in the 9th and
8th centuries BC, but items dating from the 7th centu-
ry BC are particularly numerous (Amyx, CorVP 1989:
486487). Teir exact purpose is not known: most of
them were found in burials and sacred places rather
than in domestic contexts.
Te oinochoe had previously been restored, perhaps
in the Italian workshops of Marquis Campana. Amiss-
ing handle, lip and part of the body wall with a large
part of the bottom were flled in with low-fre clay and
painted. Since there was damage to the original sur-
face and painting of the oinochoe, small areas of loss
to the glaze and purple were covered with retouching,
always, however, within the preserved contours of the
animals. Tis retouching was uncovered during techni-
cal and conservation analysis undertaken in 20082009.
Documentation in the Laboratory for Scientifc Resto-
ration of Applied Art Objects informs us that partial
conservation was undertaken in 19951996, when the
nineteenth-century clay fragments were removed. Te
infll in the lower part of the vessel was removed and the
retouching removed; the infll was replaced and gypsum
mastic used to fll the lost fragment of the lip. Since the
conservation was never completed, the vessel was in no
state to be exhibited. Now new conservation cleaned
away all retouching and entirely removed the painting
on the replacement handle, since it was decided that
this was essentially lacking in historic or aesthetic inter-
est. Since it was in full accord with the shape for this ves-
sel type, the nineteenth-century infll of missing pieces
was lef in place: it was re-attached and tinted, the infll
of the handle and lower part of the vase in aneutral clay
tone, the lip to match the original glaze.
When conservation had been completed we could
embark on an attribution of the painting on the vase,
which was frst studied by Sophia Boriskovskaya (Bo-
riskovskaya 1966: 7071). She dated it to the middle
of the 7th century BC and attributed it to an imitator
of the Hound Painter. A number of vessels have been
grouped around this name, including an oinochoe with
a conical body, the painting on which includes a num-
ber of common features, although the actual painting
manner makes it clear that they are not all the work
of a single painter (see: (Amyx, CorVP 1989: 2628;
Benson 1989: 4648)). In our opinion the main argu-
ment in favour of an attribution of the painting on the
ANASTASIA BUKINA, OLGA SHUVALOVA, ANNA POZDNYAK,
TATYANA SHLYKOVA, KRISTINA LAVINSKAYA
ON THE STUDY AND CONSERVATION OF A GROUP OF CORINTHIAN PAINTED VASES
Ill. 1. Black-fgure oinochoe. . 1388, Inv.No.. 4313.
Second quarter to mid-7th century BC.
68 69
Hermitage vessel not to the Hound Painter himself but
to an imitator lies in the vase-painters individual tech-
nical preferences. Te incisions in the dogs heads reveal
amore rapid approach than that of the Hound Painter
and demonstrate the painters tendency to illustrate two
details with asingle line, in this case the ear and part of
the jaw, the eyebrow and line of the nose (compare with
the works of the Hound Painter himself: (Amyx, Cor-
VP 1989: pl. 7, 3; Benson 1989: pl. 16, 3a)). Tere are,
nonetheless, features that are very close to the manner
of the Hound Painter, such as the incisions of the dogs
paws and, most importantly, the overall style of the
painting with large silhouettes. Darrell Arlynn Amyx
described this as large, bold style, fttingly contrasted
(by Payne and others) with the miniature work of the
same period (Amyx, CorVP 1989: 26). It was thus pos-
sible to confrm Boriskovskayas attribution. Identifca-
tion of the vessels description in the catalogue of the
Campana collection (Cataloghi del Museo Campana:
IXX.G.312) meant that it was also possible to confrm
its provenance.
In contrast to this early oinochoe come the pieces
created during the Early, Middle and Late Corinthian
periods (covering aperiod from the late 7th century to
the middle of the 6th century). Here we will pick out
two large vases with black-fgure painting, both kraters,
vessels used to mix wine and water. Two of the three
whole vessels of this shape belonging to the Hermit-
age had never before been exhibited and were in need
of conservation before entering the permanent display
ofart of the Archaic period.
Te frst of these (inventorisation number . 2369,
Inv. No. . 8074; height 33.7 cm; (Boriskovskaya 1963:
10)) entered the museum in 1901, when it was purchased
from Yulia Fyodorovna Abaza, widow of the collector
Alexander Ageyevich Abaza, who had occupied posts as
State Controller, Minister of Finance and Chairman of
the Department of State Economics. It seems most likely
that it was one of those painted vases formerly owned by
Count Nikolay Guryev, Russian envoy in Rome and Na-
ples in the second quarter of the 19th century which had
passed by descent through his family. Te heir ceded
the vases to Abaza in payment of agaming debt. On the
basis of other Ancient vessels from Guryevs collection
with a known provenance we should presume that the
krater was acquired in Italy, probably in Naples or Rome.
It was probably there that the krater underwent signif-
cant restoration: modern study has shown that it was
glued together from 76 original fragments and 20 small
fred clay inflls. Te joins were flled with tinted mas-
tic over the clay and a similar compound was used to
cover the whole of the inside surface. Small dents on the
unpainted surface of the ground on the outside of the
vase were also flled with plaster and tinted. By the early
2000s the mastic in the joins had been almost entirely
lost through natural wear and tear, which inevitably led
to instability in the vessels structure. Almost the entire
surface of the painting had been covered with alayer of
retouching, particularly thick in the images of animals
and birds. In both the fgures and the ornament on the
secondary parts of the krater the retouching was car-
ried out within the original contours, fully masking the
cracks and joins. Tis approach fully accords with the
known practice of Italian nineteenth-century restorers.
Te crumbling of the joins in many areas had damaged
the retouching. Moreover, the earlier restoration mate-
rials were very dirty, impeding study of the details of the
painting and preventing us from seeing the objects true
aesthetic value (ill.2).
Physical and chemical analysis of the materials used
to retouch the krater showed that the pigments used
were lead whites, ochre and cinnabar. Analysis of the
binders suggested that one of the paints was bound with
shellac or vegetable resin, its composition including
asmall quantity of wax (it is also possible that the wax
or wax mixed with oil was deliberately added to sofen
the mixture), while for the other (reddish-brown, used
to imitate purple) shellac was mixed with animal glue
(perhaps gelatine). Since this technique is characteristic
of nineteenth-century Italian approaches to the restora-
tion of Ancient vases, the technical analysis confrmed
the vases proposed provenance. Most importantly, the
conservation study made absolutely clear the need for
new intervention. It was decided to remove the old res-
toration materials (both the remains of the mastic and
the retouching paint), leading to the full restoration of
the true state of the vessel. It was re-assembled from its
fragments and the losses flled with plaster. During the
early restoration many of the fragments had been fled
down and it was decided to tint the new infll the colour
of the pale clay used to make the vessel (ill.3).
It was thus possible to fully recreate the vases shape
and to identify the original painting with the artists
own incisions. Te vessel is an early variation on the Co-
rinthian krater, without plates on the handles. Vases of
this type and size preceded the more characteristic Co-
rinthian krater, the column krater, the handles made of
plates resting on miniature columns. Te lip of the Her-
mitage vessel was originally entirely covered in black
glaze, as is characteristic of the earliest of the kraters
without plates (Amyx, CorVP 1989: 505). When she
looked at the animal paintings Sophia Boriskovskaya
noted the stylistic similarity to paintings on oinochoai
with animal friezes, the backgrounds tightly flled with
ornament, placing those oinochoai at the turn of the
7thand 6th centuriesBC and suggesting that this heavy
style particularly recalled the style of the Group of Lou-
vre E565 (Boriskovskaya 1966: 122123). It remains an
open question whether we should see the vases in the
group as the work of a single painter (the Painter of
Louvre E 565) or several painters (the Group of Louvre
E 565). Te Hermitage object can be compared with one
Ill. 2. Black-fgure krater. . 2369, Inv.No.. 8074.
590s BC. Te State Hermitage Museum.
Detail before conservation Ill. 3. Black-fgure krater. . 2369, Inv.No.. 8074. Afer conservation
70 71
of these vases, akrater in the Villa Giulia (La collezione
Augusto Castellani 2000: No. 15). So close are the two
vases in shape that we might suggest they were the prod-
ucts of a single potters workshop. Similarly evident is
the uniformity of the incisions, particularly on the heads
and paws of the panthers and in the bodies of the herbi-
vores, although the ornament flling the ground on the
Hermitage krater is far more densely packed. We must
therefore concur with Boriskovskayas opinion and see
the author of the painting on the Hermitage krater as
the Painter ofLouvre E 565 or amember of the Group of
Louvre E 565. Since the composition on the Hermitage
vessel is of an earlier type than that in the Villa Giulia
(which has only a single band of animal fgures rather
than two, on which see: (Amyx, CorVP 1989: 505)), and
since the latter can be dated to between 595 and 585 BC
(La collezione Augusto Castellani 2000: 42), we would
suggest adate for the Hermitage vase in the 590s BC.
Te other krater studied in recent years derives
from the Stroganov collection (inventorisation num-
ber .4231, Inv. No. . 9732; height 33.8 cm; acquired
in 1926 from the State Museums Fund; ill. 4). A frst
glance at the object in the stores told us little about the
object: it was so covered with thick dust and other dirt
that nothing could be said of the state of preservation
of the original glazes and paints or the presence (or
otherwise) of nineteenth-century restoration. Cleaning
of the vase surface in 2008 revealed no overall layer of
repainting, confrming the supposition that the krater
belonged to the group of Corinthian vases with a red
ground (Boriskovskaya 1966: 202203). Te ground,
painted with red ochre, is evidence of the imitation of
Attic pottery and particularly of the very specifc col-
our of the clay for which the Athenian ceramicists were
famed (Payne, NC 1931: 109). Tese vessels are dated to
the cusp of the 560s and 550s BC (the period known as
Late Corinthian I), and the Stroganov krater thus con-
siderably enriched that part of the display which covers
the later development of Corinthian vase-painting. Be-
low, cleaning revealed alarge patch with apale surface
on one side of the body of the krater, bleached by salts
and damp; here the fne layer of ochre, used in Antiquity
to give the background its red colour, had been lost. It
is also possible that the area was sanded down in the
19thcentury, at which time it was tinted brown.
Te painting revealed has a number of individual
features, particularly noticeable in the lines around the
details, either incised or painted in dilute glaze over an
applied white paint. Applied purple and white are ex-
tensively used, both with glaze or instead of it, afeature
characteristic of works by Corinthian painters working
against a red ground (Payne, NC 1931: 109). Tis can
also be seen in paintings attributed to the Hyppolytos
Painter, with whose name Sophia Boriskovskaya tenta-
tively linked the Hermitage vessel (Boriskovskaya 1966:
202203); on the painter see: (Amyx, CorVP 1989: 390).
Indeed the outlines and the incisions of details in the
fgures of riders, and the use of applied colour sup-
port such an attribution. Yet the Hermitage painting is
more careless than that on the best of the vases given to
the Hyppolytos Painter (cf.: (Amyx, CorVP 1989: 262,
A-5)). It is perhaps alate work by the painter, when his
period of greatest dexterity was behind him but he still
employed his familiar decorative schemes to create at-
tractive, colourful images in the spirit of the local deco-
rative tradition.
Afer these three pieces, each of them remarkable,
whether because of their early date or attribution to the
most important painters of the age, we must turn to the
far more considerable body of Corinthian vases stud-
ied, conserved and frst prepared for publication which
are largely mass-produced but which allow us to judge
the very high level achieved in local workshops. Painted
kotylai characteristic Corinthian clay drinking cups
occupy aparticular place in this range of objects.
Te earliest of these cups in the Hermitage is
adorned with two heraldic compositions with cocker-
els, lions and birds (inventorisation number . 6726,
Inv.No. .14445; height 8.2 cm; acquired in 1931 from
the State Academy for the History of Material Culture,
formerly in the Marble Palace; ill. 5). Tanks to the
high quality of the painting and its good state of pres-
ervation the object has always been on permanent dis-
play. Expert analysis conducted in 2005 concluded that
the cup was not in need of conservation and the work
carried out was therefore devoted entirely to its attribu-
tion. Never previously published, the kotyle had none-
theless drawn the attention of Sophia Boriskovskaya,
who linked it with the Polychrome Skyphos Group (Bo-
riskovskaya 1966: 110). Tis classifcation of painters of
Corinthian kotylai was compiled by Jack Leonard Ben-
son (Benson 1953: List 57), but Amyx later established
that the existence of the Group could not be sup-
ported (Amyx, CorVP 1989: 458). Benson himself then
started to use the term Group to explain the overall
structure of mass production of kotylai in Corinth at
the end of the 7th century BC (Benson 1985). Benson
suggested that these specialised workshops were forced
by increasing competition from Athenian producers of
drinking cups to develop anew standard shape, the ko-
tyle, with greater capacity than had been seen previous-
ly and with anew kind of decoration. Tis decoration
usually included panthers and goats, more rarely birds
and mixanthropic beasts (sirens, gryphons, etc). Ben-
son suggested that the identifcation of diferent paint-
ers would lead to division into three levels or grades of
painters: the frst composed of the best artists, leading
vase-painters of Corinthian ceramics, who occasion-
ally painted kotylai; the second composed of compe-
tent masters who specialised in painting kotyle, the
painters who made up the Polychrome Skyphos Group;
the third composed of that wider circle of second-rate
painters and imitators who produced mass-circulation
Ill. 4. Black-fgure krater. . 4231 Inv.No.. 9732. 560s 550s BC. Te State Hermitage Museum
Ill. 5. Black-fgure kotyle.
. 6726, Inv.No.. 14445. Late 7th early 6th century BC.
72 73
objects of quite indiferent quality (Benson 1985: 17).
In the light of this classifcation to date the most com-
plete we can date our Hermitage kotyle with cockerels
from the late 7th century to the 590s BC (cf. on the
form: (Corinth XIII: fg. 11, 159-5)) and suggest that
the artist was of the middle group, acompetent special-
ist in the painting of such pieces.
Te shape of the above cups is that used by potters
at the end of the 7th century BC. Alater version of the
shape, with abroader body and straighter walls, is rep-
resented by a newly conserved kotyle now on show in
the Hermitage rooms for the frst time since it arrived
in the museum.
Tis cup was purchased in Ochakov by a mem-
ber of staf of the Imperial Archaeological Commis-
sion in the 1900s (inventorisation number . 2800,
Inv.No..8085; height 9.5 cm; acquired in 1903 (OAK
for 1861: 129, ill.220); ill.6). Te seller of the cup stated
that it had been found in the village of Viktorovka in
the Odessa region of Kherson Province (Inventory of
Objects). Tis village is by the shores of the Dnieper-
Bug Estuary, where cultural traces of the Archaic Period
have indeed been discovered (Kryzhitsky, Buyskikh,
Otreshko 1990: 12). Nonetheless, there is nothing to
suggest that whole painted Greek vases of the 6th cen-
tury BC have been discovered here, or that there was
alocal necropolis in this period where such vases might
have been buried. Trowing further doubt on the pro-
posed provenance is the fact that the Hermitage cup has
survived in very good condition: it is whole, preserv-
ing alarge part of its glaze and colours. Restoration in
2008 revealed no retouching and it was necessary only
to remove the salts which had formed in the cup during
its time buried in the soil. We should therefore suggest
that the cup was probably acquired by the seller from
antique dealers in Ochakov or Odessa (who traded both
in fnds from the Northern Black Sea area and in ob-
jects brought from abroad), the legend of the cups ori-
gin serving to enhance its value at the time of the sale to
the Imperial Archaeological Commission.
Te painting on the outside of the cup is, like its shape,
typical of Corinthian kotylai from the 580s and 570s BC
onwards (Middle Corinthian) (cf. on the form: (Kala-
podi I: cat. 179)). Te combination of individual stylis-
tic features in the painting and shape lead us to com-
pare the Hermitage vessel with akotyle from the shrine
ofDemeter in Catania in Sicily, the painting on which
(of good quality, above average, but without aspecifc at-
tribution) allowed Lorenza Grasso to date it to the same
period as the Hermitage piece (Grasso1999: cat. 478). It
also seems likely that the stout fgures of beasts on the
latter, combined with the characteristic fller ornament,
mean that it can be compared with works attributed to
the Painter of Naples 80253 (Amyx, CorVP 1989: 146,
cats. A-1, A-2)). Tey are olpae and oinochoai rather
than cups, but it is likely that a skilled painter such as
the artist of the Hermitage kotyle would easily have
turned his hand to decorating diferent kinds of ob-
jects. Tere are also kotylai whose painting has much in
common with that on the Hermitage piece, in terms of
composition and the incised additional ornament, and
which might have been produced in the circle of the
same vase-painter or by his close colleagues (Ingoglia
1999: cats. 204, 205; Grasso 1999: cats. 477479).
Another kotyle (inventorisation number . 6725, Inv.
No. . 14444; height c. 8 cm; acquired in 1931 from the
State Academy for the History of Material Culture) is
of particular interest since we think it possible that it is
the work of a Middle Corinthian painter whose name
has previously been linked only with fragments. Tis
kotyle had been kept in storage until its conservation
in 2010. Its state of preservation was cause for concern
since it was covered inside and out with apolymer flm,
beneath which athick layer of salts had formed, dulling
the painting (ill.7). Trial cleaning of some areas showed
that the layer of painting including bright applied pur-
ple had not sufered greatly (ill. 8). Te flm was re-
moved with asolvent and it was also possible to remove
the crust of insoluble salts to reveal the original images,
which are in arelatively good state of preservation.
Te painting consists of a frieze of animals edged
with chequer pattern above and below. Tis ornament
and the means of depicting panthers link the Hermit-
age kotyle with cups attributed to the Painter of KP-248
(on the painter see: (Brownlee 2003: 189)). Cornelis
Nef and Lorenza Grasso suggested that the Painter of
K-248 should be identifed with the Painter of Berlin
537-, and that the paintings attributed to both artists
were in fact the work of one and the same painter in
diferent periods. Tis artist was given the name the
Painter of the Streaming Palmettes (Grasso 1999: 26).
Grasso also attributed several fragments to this art-
ist, and the profle of one of those fragmentary vessels
(Grasso 1999: cat. 49, fg. 4) is very close to the pro-
fle of the Hermitage cup. Ann Brownlee also noted
the similarities between the Painter of K-248 and the
Painter of the Streaming Palmettes importantly for
us, in the manner of depicting the panther heads but
she preferred to see adiference between two diferent
vase-painters (Brownlee 2003: 189). Since the Hermit-
age kotyle, like KP-248, has no streaming palmettes,
we tend to agree with Brownlee. Our conclusion is
thus that the painting on the Hermitage cup was the
work of the Painter of K-248 (according to the clas-
sifcation used by Benson and Brownlee) and to judge
by the hasty execution of the details, it should be seen
as alater work. Tis would make it the best preserved
of all of his late works so far known.
. 6725, Inv.No.. 14444. 580s 570s.
Te State Hermitage Museum. Before conservation
. 6725 Inv.No.. 14444. Afer conservation
. 2800, Inv.No.. 8085. 580s 570s BC.
Of similar importance in creating a representative
exhibition of Corinthian vases is the only amphora
of early shape in the Hermitage (inventorisation num-
ber . 1394, Inv. No. . 4319; average height 20.2 cm;
acquired in 1851 from the Museum of the Imperial
Academy of Arts, formerly collection of Dr Antonio Piz-
zati (Stephani 1869: No. 6); ill.9). Very few such vessels
Corinthian amphorae with aprojecting lip, of early type
(i.e. with animal painting) are to be found in museum
collections anywhere in the world. Te vase is adorned
with polychrome tongue ornament on the shoulders
and with animals on the body. It can be dated to the
last decades of the 7th century or frst quarter of the 6th
century BC. Te zigzag between the rays in the lower
frieze also provides evidence to support our proposed
date (compare: (Perachora 2: 8384)).
Up to now it had been thought that the vase was
acquired from the collection of Marquis Campana
(Stephani 1869: No. 6), but archival research, particular-
ly documents relating to the period 18611862, provide
no confrmation of this (Archive of the State Hermit-
age Museum, Fund 1, Register 2, Folder 16, parts I and
II (1861)). On the contrary, it is in the catalogue of the
Pizzati collection, purchased in 1834 for the Museum
of the Imperial Academy of Arts and later transferred
to the Hermitage, that we fnd adescription of this vase,
aperfect match of shape and dimensions, state of pres-
ervation and depictions of fgures; to judge by that cata-
logue the amphora was found at Nola (Archive of the
State Hermitage Museum, Fund 1, Register 6, Inv. E-I,
Nos. 56; cat. 1).
74 75
Like many vessels from the Pizzati collection the vase
had been carefully restored. Technical study revealed it
to have been assembled from numerous pieces, appar-
ently using animal glue (gelatine). Some of the joins
were visible even beneath the thick layer of retouching,
since the old restoration materials were themselves in
astate of disintegration. Removal of the old restoration
revealed three small ceramic insets that were in fact
fragments from adiferent vessel. All of the fgures and
secondary parts of the painting were covered with re-
touching, clearly to be seen in visible-induced lumines-
cence in ultra-violet light. Some parts of the image had
also evidently been newly incised: the lines applied in
the 19th century are less confdently drawn than those
of the Ancient vase-painter. It was decided to take the
amphora to pieces and re-assemble it in order to remove
the dirt that had accumulated on the surface since the
old restoration some time in the frst third of the 19th
century, and to restore its integrity. Tus the retouch-
ing and the alien ceramic pieces were removed. Te lost
areas were flled with plaster and tinted, without recrea-
tion of the missing parts of the painting. Tis presents
the vessel in as authentic astate as possible for display.
More individual in the nature of its painting and
in a better state of preservation is a pyxis with fve li-
ons and painters (inventorisation number . 4251,
Inv.No..9716; height 9.3 cm; acquired in 1928 from
the collection of Osip (Iosif) Emmanuilovich Braz).
Conservation was required, since the whole of the
surface was covered with athick layer of dust and the
lower part with alayer of soot, meaning that the paint-
ing was poorly visible to start with. Tere were no signs
of any earlier restoration. Conservation study in 2008
revealed that the pottery itself was tainted with danger-
ous chloride compounds and there were cracks in the
walls of the vase (ill.10). During conservation the salts
and traces of soot were removed and the cracked walls
reinforced. Te original painting thus revealed could
now be attributed (ill.11). It was possible to assess Bo-
riskovskayas opinion that the pyxis was produced in the
last quarter of the 7th century BC and that the painting
was the work of the Heraldic Lion Painter (Boriskovs-
kaya1966: 108). Tis date is contradicted by the shape
of the vase with its evenly bulging walls and maximum
diameter almost at the middle of its overall height (cf.:
(Callipolitis-Feytmans 1973)); see also: (Amyx, Cor-
VP1989: 448449); cf. also: Dehl-von Kaenel 1995: cat.
1071). On the basis of the shape we would suggest that
the vessel be dated to the 580s or 570s BC. Its attribu-
tion should therefore be linked rather with the name
of the Bitalemi Painter, whose manner is so close to
the Heraldic Lion Painter that it has been proposed
that both names in fact describe asingle artist (Amyx,
CorVP 1989: 119, 225). Te style of the Heraldic Lion
Ill. 10. Black-fgure pyxis. . 4251, Inv.No.. 9716.
580s 570s BC. Te State Hermitage Museum.
Before conservation
Ill. 11. Black-fgure pyxis. . 4251, Inv.No.. 9716.
Afer conservation
Painter / the Bitalemi Painter is elegant, very formal
and quite distinctive, despite the banality of the subject
matter (Amyx, CorVP 1989: 377). Te greatest coin-
cidence between the Hermitage pyxis and the works of
the painter(s) lies in the presence of one typical (banal)
element of his iconography, the heraldic pairs of lions
in the frieze. Yet there are anumber of important difer-
ences: the style is less elegant, the symmetrical part of
the composition is limited to asingle pair of fgures in
the frieze and is not applied throughout, and there are
diferences in the incisions (cf.: (Corinth XVIII: 1, cat.
265; Amyx, CorVP 1989: pl. 95, 2)). We cannot there-
fore assert that the painting is the work of the Heraldic
Lion Painter / the Bitalemi Painter, and should suggest
rather that it is awork from the artists circle.
One of the most important objects subjected to
study in recent years, one that gave rise to greatest dis-
cussion, is alarge oinochoe with anarrow base that ar-
rived in 1862 with other items from the collection of
Marquis Campana (inventorisation number . 1392,
Inv. No. . 4317; height with handle 30.7 cm (Stepha-
ni 1869: No. 2; Boriskovskaya 1971: 6, ill. 6; Amyx,
CorVP 1989: 232, -1); ill. 12). Tis vase was restored
in 1957 and plaster was used to fll a lost fragment of
the rim. It was probably at this time that two fragments
of the neck and the disk by the handle were re-attached;
Ill. 9. Black-fgure amphora. . 1394, Inv.No.. 4319.
Late 7th to frst quarter of the 6th century BC. Te State Hermitage Museum
77
at the same time either any retouching was removed
or there was none when the oinochoe arrived from the
Campana collection.
Tis vase is a permanent feature of the museum
display of the art of Archaic Greece and has long been
known to scholars. It can be dated to 590580 BC
(cf. the shape type: (Amyx, CorVP 1989: 479481)),
although the decoration includes a whole number of
elements characteristic of Corinthian vases of the last
quarter of the 7th century BC (Boriskovskaya 1971).
Te oinochoe is adorned with animal paintings in three
friezes, the fller ornament of the background includ-
ing remarkable large rosettes with scales (arcs incised
along the edge of the rosette, opening outwards). As
Boriskovskaya noted, these elements are particularly
characteristic of the repertoire of painters in the Corin-
thian Scale-pattern Group (Boriskovskaya 1971). Inour
opinion, however, the attribution should also take
Ill. 12. Black-fgure oinochoe. . 1392 Inv.No.. 4317. 590s 580s BC.
into account the stocky fgures of the animals and the
specifc type of lion head (on this feature of the style
of the Scale-pattern Group see: (Amyx, CorVP 1989:
149)). We cannot agree with Amyx, who saw the man-
ner of the painting on the Hermitage oinochoe as close
to the manner of the Painter of London A1356 (Amyx,
CorVP 1989: 232). Only the selection of fgures links
the Hermitage oinochoe with the other vases in Amyxs
catalogue, not the painting style, the quality or the range
of incisions.
Although the vase would seem to have been restored
and was permanently on display, has been studied and
published on many occasions, its technical condition
was amatter of concern. Most threatened was the deco-
ration, in places largely covered by salts forming on the
surface. Conservation study in 2010 revealed anumber
of issues, such as the uneven preservation of the glaze
and purple on the vase. Tis unevenness was surely due
to the conditions in which the vase lay in the ground
before it was found, presumably at an angle: on one side
and the foot the painting was relatively well preserved,
but on the other the purple and glaze were largely
(inplaces wholly) lost, with only the incisions surviving
in some areas. Because of the long time that the vase
spent in the ground the surface of the oinochoe was
covered with athick build up of chloride salts, not solu-
ble in water, which in many places covered the paint-
ing. Te pottery itself was permeated with water-soluble
salts. In many places the glaze had come away from
the surface, making it vital to carefully clean the whole
surface and reinforce the decoration. Tose parts of the
walls covered with insoluble accretions were cleaned us-
ing compresses soaked in aweak solution of citric acid;
before this the pottery was soaked in water. Layer by
layer, the dissolved substances were removed with tam-
pons and scalpels. Te cleaned surface was reinforced
with apolymer solution. Te build up inside the vessel
was also removed, and only then did work commence
on removing the salts from within the body of pottery
itself. In order to make the oinochoe suitable for display,
the defects in the surface and joins were flled with mas-
tic with a plaster base, and the losses to the neck were
also flled; all additions were tinted. Like all the vases
above, this oinochoe is now part of the Hermitages per-
manent display.
Te result of our eforts was the considerable enrich-
ment of the permanent exhibition. Many of the pieces
in the Hermitage collection have been made available
for study for the frst time without later accretions,
without the nineteenth-century restoration which did
much to distort their appearance. Working with awide
range of related objects, we were able to apply the many
diferent approaches to the restoration of a vases ap-
pearance within the framework of the aesthetic cri-
teria set by the demands of the modern research and
exhibition process. Te project demonstrated the ad-
vantages of amulti-faceted method, in which diferent
approaches the use of the latest technologies to study
and conserve the object; attribution, artistic and histor-
ical analysis; research into provenance, collecting and
restoration ofAncient painted clay vases complement
and reinforce each other.
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KAMILLA KALININA, ANNA PETRAKOVA, KSENIA CHUGUNOVA, OLGA SHUVALOVA
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Translated by Catherine Phillips
In the collection of the State Hermitage Museum is
an Attic red-fgure psykter with images of four naked
female fgures reclining on couches, holding various
items in their hands (Inv. No. . 1650, Inv. No..4584;
ill. 1). Vessels of this form mushroom-shaped or
bulbous were used by the Ancient Greeks to cool
wine: most scholars (Richter, Milne 1935; Noble 1965;
Drougou 1975; Schreiber 1999) have agreed that the
psykter was placed inside a krater, the psykter flled
with wine and the krater with cold water. Te cool
wine was poured from the psykter into cups using
a ceramic or bronze ladle. We can see a psykter inside
akrater in feasting scenes on Athenian black- and red-
fgure vases, such as acup in Essen (Folkwang Museum,
Inv.No.F169) (Vierneisel, Kaeser 1990: pl. 41.7), afrag-
ment of acup from the Museo Archeologico in Florence
(Beazley Archive Database: No. 200448), and another
cup at Compigne (Inv. No. 1102) (CVA Compigne,
Muse Vivenel: pl. 17.2.5). A pelike in Bonn (Viernei-
sel, Kaeser 1990: pl. 41.6) shows aman dipping aladle
or scoop into a psykter inside a krater, while an oino-
choe in the National Museum in Athens (Inv. No. 1045)
shows a man removing the water from a krater inside
which stands apsykter (CVA Athens, Muse National1:
pl. 2.13). Tere is an extremely rare form of the vase,
akrater-psykter (Beazley Archive Database: No. 15922),
which is avase in the form of akrater with an in-built
psykter; there is also arare form known as an amphora-
psykter (CVA Boston, Museum of Fine Arts 1: pls. 33.1
2, 34.12). Te psykter was entirely made on apotters
wheel, without any added details (except those psykters
which have handles). Scholarly publications of collec-
tions of Attic black- and red-fgure ceramics around the
world provide information about some hundred or so
more or less whole psykters, quite asmall quantity when
compared with the quantity of surviving amphorae or
kylikes, which can be counted in their thousands. Te
psykter with hetaerae is the only whole psykter in the
Hermitage collection.
Te psykter is a type of Ancient Greek clay vase
in use in Athens for about a hundred years, from the
second half of the 6th century to the frst half of the
5th century BC. Tere are well-known black-fgure
psykters from the last third of the 6th century BC attrib-
uted to the circle of the Antimenes Painter (CVA Leip-
zig 2: pls. 27.12, 28.34; CVA Muse du Louvre 8:
pls. 73.23, 73.810; Drougou 1975: pl. 14.1), the
workshop of Nikosthenes (Tosto 1999: pl. 45.183) and
the Leagros Group (Drougou 1975: pls. 5.12, 27.1).
Best known of the red-fgure psykters are a piece in
the Hermitage attributed to Euphronios (505500 BC)
(Peredolskaya 1967: No. 17), a fragmentary psykter by
Euphronios inBoston (Drougou 1975: pl. 6), apsykter
in the British Museum by Douris (c.500 BC ) (Buitron-
Oliver 1995: pls. 5455), a psykter by Myson in Berlin
(c. 490 BC) (Drougou 1975: pl. 22.1) and a psykter by
the Pan Painter in Munich (c. 480 BC) (Braccesi et al.
1988: No. 18). We also know of psykters by Onesimos
(Drougou 1975: pl. 16.2), the Tyszkiewicz Painter in the
Villa Giulia in Rome (CVA Villa Giulia 4: pl. 42.12); by
Smikros (Drougou 1975: pl. 4.2) and the Kleophrades
Painter in the Louvre (Drougou 1975: pl.14.2); by Phin-
tias in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston (Drougou
1975: pl.1); by Euthymides in the Museo Archeologico
80 81
ll. 1. Red-fgure psykter .1650. Euphronios. Athens. Late 6th century BC. Te State Hermitage Museum
a Seklina; b Agapa; c Palaisto; d Smikra
a b
c d
in Turin (Drougou 1975: pl. 12); by the Dikaios Painter
in the British Museum (Drougou 1975: pl. 10); by Ol-
tos in New York (Drougou 1975: pl. 2); by the Syriskos
Painter in the Baltimore Museum of Art (Drougou
1975: pl.26.1), and others, as well as arare example of
a late red-fgure psykter by the Painter of the Yale Le-
kythos, dated 470460 BC (Beazley Archive Database:
No.207679). Not all psykters were adorned with fgura-
tive images, more modest pieces being simply covered
with black glaze and given several bands of ornament
(CVA Oxford, Ashmolean Museum 1: pl. 48.26).
Te Hermitage psykter shows a scene of feasting:
the naked women reclining on the striped cushions are
hetaerae, frequent participants in such banquets, their
purpose being to entertain the men. Although they are
entirely naked, three of the women wear caps (the fourth
has apatterned fllet). As an element of Ancient Greek
attire, the cap was not only worn exclusively by women
but served specifcally to indicate the wearers sex: the
wearing of acap by aman (even abearded man) was in-
tended to signify as is recorded in written sources, for
instance in Aristophanes achange in status (whether
within the confnes of the theatre, as adisguise or apar-
ody of female behaviour). Te hetaerae wear round ear-
rings, with fne cords around the arms of three and the
thigh of one. One of the women plays a double fute
(ill.1, a) (its case hangs behind her), another holds two
skyphoi (ill.1, b), the third drinks wine from askyphos
and holds akylix in her other hand (ill.1, c), the fourth
holds a skythos in her lef hand and uses the kylix to
play at the game of kottabos (ill.1, d).
Te author of the Hermitage psykter is one of the
leading Athenian vase-painters and potters of the
late 6th and early 5th century BC, Euphronios (Eu-
phronios 1990). Unlike most names given to Athenian
vase-painters, which are the invention of scholars for
the purposes of identifcation of stylistic groups (Bea-
zley 1963), Euphronios was the painters real name,
recorded by him on the vase in the form Painted by
Euphronios. Te Hermitage psykter is one of the few
vessels attributed to Euphronios which preserves the
painters own signature. It is also of interest in that it
bears not only the name of the painter but the name
of the four characters depicted. Tus we can add the
names Seklina, Palaisto, Agapa and Smikra to the list
of names ofhetaerae known from written sources. Be-
side Seklina is an inscription: I throw this [drop] to
you, Leagros, adedication to an Athenian youth who
was very popular in the late 6th century BC (there are
anumber of dedications to him on red- and black-fg-
ure vases from this period).
Te psykter was one of 565 (or 566) vases acquired
for the Imperial Hermitage from the collection of Mar-
quis Campana in 1861. In recent years research into the
history of the Hermitage collection conducted jointly
with Anastasia Bukina of the Department of Classi-
cal Antiquity has demonstrated that the painted vases
from two Italian collections, those of Campana and Piz-
zati, were confused when the newly arrived Campana
vases were arranged in the halls of the New Hermitage
in 1862, requiring the complete transformation of the
whole display. Tis led to unfortunate errors from the
frst catalogue produced by Ludolf Stephani (Stepha-
ni 1869) through to the most recent museum publica-
tions. Fortunately, the psykter with hetaerae can be
defnitely demonstrated to derive from the Campana
collection, being noted as something remarkable even
in the catalogue drawn up prior to the sale (Cataloghi
del Museo Campana).
It is the Campana catalogue (Cataloghi del Museo
Campana: seria XI..119) that provides us with the frst
known description of the Hermitage psykter, complete
with correct interpretation of the fgures (we should
note that agood number of the other vases in the cata-
logue are there incorrectly described) and reproduc-
tions of the inscriptions.
Te next detailed descriptions of the psykter were
those by Ludolf Stephani, frst in the reports of the
Imperial Archaeological Commission for 1869,
1
with
an outline of the form, all the fgures and inscriptions
(ill.2), and then in his catalogue of the Hermitage vase
collection published that year, which also included are-
production of the form and inscriptions (Stephani 1869:
No. 1670). Since then generations of Hermitage scholars
have admired the psykter with hetaerae, not least in the
catalogue by Anna Peredolskaya (Peredolskaya 1967:
25). Today the psykter continues to be much in demand,
with regular requests for permission to reproduce it in
Russian and foreign publications.
It is no surprise, therefore, that the Hermitage psyk-
ter features in all the fundamental publications on the
1
Vases from the collections acquired by the Hermitage in the
19th century started to appear in the -
(OAK)/Compte-Rendu de la Commission
Impriale archologique from the issue for 1861 (published in 1863),
in which year many interesting fnds were made (OAK for 1861: 31).
82 83
Ill. 2. Reproduction of the psykter in OAK for 1869
history of Ancient Greek vase-painting published in the
late 19th and frst half of the 20th century, such as the
works of Ernst Buschor (Buschor 1914: 159, pl. 113),
Adolf Furtwngler (Furtwngler, Reichold 19041932:
vol. 2, p. 15, pl. 63), Ernst Pfuhl (Pfuhl 1923: vol. 3,
pl.394; vol. 1, pp. 356, 447, 450) and John Hoppin (Hop-
pin 1919: vol. 1, pp. 404405). It appears in the earliest
publications on depictions of symposia and kottabos
on vases, by Otto Jahn (Jahn 1867: 221, pl. I), and on
Euphronios, by Wilhelm Klein (Klein 1886: 104105).
Nor has the Hermitage psykter been omitted from most
of the important publications on vase-painting pro-
duced in the second half of the 20th century and the
early 21st century, from specialised studies of the his-
tory of feasting and kottabos, of the depiction of frontal
faces in vase-painting, the form of the psykter, the vases
of Euphronios and much more.
Clearly the interpretation of the subject and the at-
tribution of the psykter have been the subject of consid-
erable attention over the course of some hundred and
ffy years. It would be impossible to list all of the publi-
cations that deal with the Hermitage psykter with hetae-
rae and it might seem impossible to add to our knowl-
edge of questions of subject and attribution. It was the
state of preservation of the vase that led us to return our
attention to it.
For several decades the psykter has not been avail-
able for loan to exhibitions outside the Hermitage, due
to the instability of the joins recorded during conserva-
tion checks by staf in the Hermitages Laboratory for
Scientifc Restoration of Applied Art Objects. Tere has
been considerable concern regarding this problem in
recent years and a planned study undertaken in 2011
revealed that the joins had come apart on both sides of
the psykter and that there was cracking and faking in
the repainting on the fgures of the hetaerae. Special-
ists who have devoted many years to the study of the
conservation of vases from historic collections were
consulted and they confrmed the dangerous state of
the psykter, on the verge of collapsing into pieces. We
were forced to consider what measures might be taken
in order to preserve one of the key objects in the Her-
mitage collection of Ancient art, not only vital to schol-
arly work and catalogues but an inalienable part of the
permanent exhibition. Since frst going on display in
1862 the vase has lef the museum halls only for short
temporary exhibitions.
It is the duty of all museum employees not only to
study the works in their care but to take preventive ac-
tion to ensure their preservation. We therefore under-
took an urgent study of the piece, applying all available
methods to determine the state of the object and draw
up aprogramme of conservation and restoration meas-
ures which could be commenced immediately, as well
as a list of options to be followed if the object should
fall apart. Such a programme is possible only through
a close collaboration between keeper (curator), physi-
cists, chemists and conservators.
When the Campana collection was acquired for the
Hermitage, the vases were all, apparently, whole. Some
were indeed whole shapes but others had been carefully
stuck together by nineteenth-century Italian restorers,
using original fragments and careful clay inserts to re-
place areas of loss. Worn areas of the original painting
and the new inserts were painted so that the vase creat-
ed the impression of awhole, beautiful vase, extremely
attractive to a potential buyer. At a conference on the
history of collections of ancient ceramic vases and their
restoration held at the Institut national de lhistoire de
lart in Paris, 31 May to 1 June 2011 (LEurope du vase
antique 2012), papers by colleagues around the world
mentioned the names of a number of nineteenth-
century artists (such as Lagrene and Tischbein) who
collaborated with restoration workshops and who ap-
plied the same techniques they used in their painted
canvases to the retouching and new painting of Ancient
vases. Te psykter with hetaerae is one of those Cam-
pana vases that underwent signifcant restoration in the
19th century.
As early as the 1860s Stepan Gedeonov expressed
concern regarding the state of preservation of some of
the vases in the Campana collection. He did everything
in his power to ensure that they were suitably packed
and transported: by cart from Rome to Civitavecchia,
then by ship to Kronstadt and thence on small boats
to the Jordan Entrance of the Winter Palace. Te trans-
portation took place in spring and summer, the objects
set out on tables for the Emperor to view in summer
and autumn, and then moved to their fnal location in
autumn and winter, i.e. there were considerable tem-
perature changes, particularly during the latter period.
Gedeonov was extremely concerned by this and pre-
sented an of cial request that the vases be moved to dif-
ferent rooms because of the danger represented by the
cold and humidity. He also ordered special glass domes
to go over some of the vases which were presumably
intended to provide at least partial protection from at-
mospheric variations. Lastly, Gedeonov brought two
restorers from Rome, Charles Bute and Alessandro
Depoletti, to carry out conservation work on the ex-
hibits in case of damage on their journey; they were
initially engaged for three months but the volume of
work must have been greater than anticipated for they
ended up spending eight months in Russia (for detailed
information on this see the article in this volume (Pe-
trakova2012)).
Study of anumber of the vases restored in the 19th
century that arrived with the Campana collection has
demonstrated not only a similarity of technical ap-
proach but the frequent application of new paint over
uncleaned areas of the vase, so that the destructive
salts continue to act below what looks like astable sur-
face. One good example of this is the krater with ships
.1525 from the Campana collection, the conservation
of which was covered in a paper presented in 2010 at
the Hermitages Restoration Council (Petrakova, Bori-
sova 2011). Te presence of salts and the drying of glued
joins under the infuence of changes in temperature and
humidity (which cannot be accurately controlled in the
context of the current museum rooms and cases) made
the eventual collapse of the psykter into pieces inevita-
ble. A full study of all aspects of the psykter with he-
taerae was clearly necessary in order to determine the
complex of possible measures for its preservation (bear-
ing in mind questions such as the percentage of replace-
ment inserts and retouchings in relation to the original
parts, the solubility of various substances in water or
chemical cleaning materials, and the potential for resto-
ration of the form and painting on the psykter afer all
conservation works had been undertaken).
Furtwngler had already provided a detailed de-
scription of the joins and retouching on the psykter at
the start of the 20th century (Furtwngler, Reichold
19041932: vol. 2, p. 19). It was only in 1967 that
84 85
Ill. 3. Photographs of psykter .1650 in ultra-violet light
(orange and pink show areas of nineteenth-century retouching) Ill. 4. X-ray fuorescence spectra: red spectrum of the original
ceramics; green spectrum of the retouching
0 5 10 15 20
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Peredolskaya who noted the incompleteness of Furt-
wnglers description provided a full description of
the objects state (Peredolskaya 1967: 24). Although it
was already known back in the early 20th century that
the painting on the psykter had been distorted by re-
touching, none of the reproductions of the vase even
the colour photographs in recent publications have
ever provided diagrams to indicate where the retouch-
ing was located (it were simply described in the text).
Te surface had not been cleaned, due to the very high
risk of damage to this valuable, well-known and much-
published object.
For the frst time since its arrival in the Hermitage,
the psykter was transferred to the museums Depart-
ment of Examination and Authentication of Works of
Art to be studied by avariety of specialists. When work-
ing with objects in museum collections, preference is
given to non-destructive methods of study and two of
these were chosen here:
1
visible-induced luminescence
imaging in ultra-violet light
2
and X-ray fuorescent
analysis of the surface.
3
Luminescence imaging is one
means of capturing something not visible to the eye
under normal lighting conditions (compare ills. 1 and
3). When working with ceramics, the method allows us
to identify joins in the pottery, to fnd the limits of the
restoration painting, see dirt and, in some cases, estab-
lish the nature of the restoration materials. In physical
terms, luminescence is the emission of light from or-
ganic and non-organic materials prompted, in this case,
by the ultra-violet rays. Visible-induced luminescence
images usually reveal diferent areas of restoration re-
touching against the homogeneous luminescence of
the fred clay.
Study in ultra-violet rays (ill. 3) revealed consid-
erable areas of repainting, far beyond those described
in Peredolskayas catalogue. Tere was retouching not
only in the fgures of each of the hetaerae but across
the whole surface of the stem, the lower part of the
body and the neck, not mentioned either by Peredols-
kaya or Furtwngler (although Peredolskaya had said
1
Expert report by the Department of Examination and Authenti-
cation of Works of Art No. 1638 of 09.02.2011.
2
Te equipment used consisted of two ultra-violet lamps (high
pressure mercury vapor arc-discharge lamps) with a wavelength
of 365 nm, and a camera, SBIG STL-11000M (SBIG Astronomical
Instruments).
3
Using Brukers Artax -XRF spectrometer Bruker (U = 50 kW,
I = 700 mkA).
that the latter had more or less correctly set out the
main areas of repainting). Tis repainting was prob-
ably applied in the 19th century to enhance the black
areas of the psykter, since such vases were particularly
admired for their black metallic sheen with a play of
colour under the light.
In some cases luminescence can provide addition-
al information about pigments used in the repaint-
ing. Lead whites, for instance, are shown as grey or
white, while zinc whites appear greenish yellow (Ko-
solapov2010: 14). But we should be careful in identify-
ing pigments solely from their luminescent colour, since
most pigments are mixed within an organic medium or
binder. Te visible-induced luminescence of the psyk-
ter in ultra-violet light revealed restoration joins and
retouching of two kinds, giving luminescence of difer-
ent colours, bright orange and pink, probably due to the
use of diferent binders. Te characteristic bright orange
luminescence of the kind visible in the photographs is
usually associated with the presence of shellac.
X-ray fuorescent analysis of the surface allowed us
to identify the composition and draw certain conclu-
sions regarding the use of mineral pigments. Te results
of this analysis show that both kinds of retouching were
executed using pigments containing lead, the presence
of these pigments (and the binders) determining the lu-
minescence of the areas covered with repainting. Tat
difers from the luminescence of the original fragments
of the vase, which are free of repainting and are execut-
ed using ceramic technologies (Noble 1965). Te main
component of the original painting (and of the clay
mass itself) is iron (ill.4).
86 87
Ill. 5. Points at which cross-sections were taken
Ill. 6:
c EDX- spectroscopy of the superfcial original black surface of the psykter;
d EDX-spectroscopy of part of the clay from which the psykter was made
Ill. 7:
a Photograph of cross-section 2, from asample taken from arestored part of the red fgure of ahetaera,
in visible polarised light, magnifcation x 200. Te fller of the upper orange layer is lead red, the upper layer
of ground is small-particle fractionalised gypsum, the fller of the lower layer of ground is amixture
of large-particle calcium aluminosilicates with asmall quantity of iron and potassium aluminosilicates.
Between the upper layer of the ground and the orange paint layer is an application of gelatine;
b image of cross-section 2, from ascanning electron microscope;
c EDX-spectroscopy of the superfcial orange layer;
d EDX-spectroscopy of the intermediate restoration layer (upper layer of the ground)
Ill. 6:
a Photograph of cross-section 1, from asample taken from an original part of the psykter
in visible polarised light, magnifcation x 500;
b image of cross-section 1, from ascanning electron microscope
600
400
200
0
600
400
200
0
a b
3
2
1
0
0 2 4 6 8 0 2 4 6 8 10
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 0 2 4 6 8 10 Energy/keV Energy/keV
Energy/keV Energy/keV
c d
c d
a b
1
2
3
5 4
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
1.0
0.0
Te chemical composition of the organic glues and
resins in the joins and areas of retouching presum-
ably carried out in the 19th century was identifed.
Using a -XRF spectrometer and luminescence imag-
ing micro-samples were taken in areas of both kinds of
retouching and, for comparison, in those parts of the
vase unafected by the retouching (ill.5).
For the closest possible study of the paint structure,
cross-sections were produced: the samples were placed
in polymer blocks which were then polished to reveal
one side of the cross-section containing the sample.
Tese cross-sections were studied under a microscope
in the visible light spectrum and then photographed.
Tis study made it possible to draw conclusions regard-
ing the diferent layers of paint, both original and res-
toration. Dark feld images of the cross-sections, pro-
duced using the polarising microscope POLAM-312,
appear as ills. 6, a; 7, a; 8, a; 9, a; 10, a; 11, a.
88 89
Ill. 8:
a Photograph of cross-section 3, from asample taken from arestored part of the red fgure of ahetaera,
in visible polarised light, magnifcation x 200. Te fller of the two upper orange layers is lead red with some inclusions of silicates,
the upper layer of the ground is small-particle fractionalised gypsum, the fller of the lower layer of ground is amixture
of fractionalised calcium aluminosilicates with asmall quantity of iron and potassium aluminosilicates.
Between the upper layer of the ground and the orange painter layer is an application of gelatine;
Ill. 9:
a Photograph of cross-section 4, from asample taken from the restored lower black part of the psykter,
in visible polarised light, magnifcation x 300. Te fller is ablack pigment with some inclusions of yellow chrome, orange chrome,
lead red and lead white; b image of cross-section 4, from ascanning electron microscope;
c EDX-spectroscopy of the yellow inclusions
Ill. 10:
a Photograph of cross-section 4, from asample taken from the restored lower black part
of the psykter, in visible polarised light, magnifcation x 400.
Te fller of the upper layer is black pigment with inclusions of yellow chrome, orange chrome, lead red and lead white,
the thin white layer of ground is amixture of gypsum with aluminosilicates, the lower orange layer is the original clay;
Ill. 11:
Photograph of cross-section 6 in visible polarised light, magnifcation x 100.
Sample taken from the inner restored part of the psykter. Te fller of the upper black layer is gypsum with amixture
of black pigment and asmall quantity of silicates and apigment containing iron, the thick white layer
of ground is chalk with atiny amount of gypsum and aluminosilicates, the lower orange layer is the original clay;
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
Energy/keV
a b
a b
c
a b
a b
To gain more precise information regarding the
composition of the non-organic materials the cross-
sections were studied using a scanning electron mi-
croscope with X-ray micro-analysis (LEO-1420VP).
SEM-BSE images of cross-sections are reproduced as
ills. 6, b; 7, b; 8, b; 9, b; 10, b; 11, b. Investigation of the
pigment composition of each layer of the cross-sec-
tions using SEM-EDX and the study of the pigments
in polarised light allowed us to draw certain conclu-
sions regarding the non-organic materials of the dif-
ferent layers (ills. 611). Te results of this analysis are
presented in table form.
90 91
A comparison of the images produced with the aid
of the optical microscope and scanning electron micro-
scope, showing the original areas and those with difer-
ent kinds of restoration, reveals quite clearly the difer-
ence between the diferent technical approaches. Te
original black covering of the surface (ill.6) was applied
directly to the clay in ahomogeneous fne layer some 30
m thick. Tere is no organic binder.
Ills. 711 show micro-photographs of the cross-sec-
tions from the areas of restoration. Cross-sections 2 and
3 (ills. 7 and 8) were taken from the fgure of the hetaerae
Agapa and have a multiple-layer structure consisting of
an upper paint layer and two layers of ground. Te res-
toration retouching of the fgure was carried out accord-
ing to the accepted practice for applying apainted image
to an uneven surface, such as stone or a rough piece of
wood: frst the surface is covered with a large-particle
pigment ground with amixture of animal glue, then this
is covered with alayer of small-particle pigment such as
gypsum (Kiplik 2002: 337338). In this case, the coarse-
particle pigment of the frst layer of the ground, the gesso
grosso, is a mixture of aluminosilicates of calcium, mag-
nesium, iron and potassium with asmall quantity of gyp-
sum. Tickness of the layer: 150 m. Te second layer of
ground consists of small-particle fractionalised gypsum.
Tickness of the layer: 100 m. Te binder for both layers
of ground is animal glue. Te surface of the second layer
of ground was then covered with athin coating of animal
glue. Afer the areas of loss had been flled through the
application of two layers of ground to the original sur-
face, the reddish-orange image of the hetaerae was ap-
plied. Since EDX-spectrometry showed only lead in the
pigments of the orange layer, it was concluded the main
pigment in the upper reddish-orange layer was lead red
(ills. 7 and 8). Tickness of the layer: 50 m.
Samples 4 (ill.9) and 5 (ill.10) were taken from the
lower part below the black stem of the krater, showing
pink in ultra-violet light. Study of the cross-sections in
this light revealed them not to be evenly black, as ap-
peared to the naked eye. Te cross-section of the resto-
ration painting (sample 4, ill. 9) showed white, orange
and yellow inclusions in the black ground. An analysis
of these inclusions revealed that the white and small
reddish-orange inclusions are pigments composed
mainly of lead, i.e. lead whites and lead red respec-
tively. Te spectra showed that the composition of the
yellow and orange inclusions includes lead and chrome
(ill. 9, c), allowing us to conclude that these pigments
are lead-chrome combinations, chrome yellow and
chrome orange. Upon establishing the pigments used in
the restoration retouching it became possible to date the
restoration process: since industrial production of these
pigments in Europe (Britain) commenced only in 1814
1816 (Kuhn, Curran 1985: 188), and the psykter was ac-
quired in 1861, it must have been carried out some time
in the second quarter or middle of the 19th century.
Sample 5 (ill.10), unlike sample 4, is aconglomerate
of multiple layers. Over the original clay ground (the
orange lower layer) afne layer of white ground was ap-
plied to even out the areas of surface loss. Tis white
ground is a mixture of gypsum with aluminosilicates,
with adding of animal glue as the binder. Te fller of
the upper layer is black pigment with some inclusions of
chrome yellow, chrome orange, lead red and lead whites.
In composition this layer is analogous to the main layer
of sample 4. Te absence of aground in sample 4 and the
absolutely even inner surface of the sample are evidence
that there was no surface loss at this point. It thus seems
likely that afer the flling of areas of loss and evening of
the surface in the lower part of the krater with amixture
of gypsum and aluminosilicates ground with animal
glue, athin black layer the main pigment of which is
black, presumably soot with some other coloured inclu-
sions was applied to almost the whole of this surface.
Sample 6 was taken from the inner surface of the
krater which was stuck down with bands of muslin as re-
inforcement. Aphotograph of across-section of sample
6 can be seen in ill.11. At more than 500 m the layer of
restoration reinforcement on the inside of the krater is
much thicker than that of the external layers. Study of
the pigment components of the separate layers revealed
that the fller of the thick white layer (the ground) is
chalk, with a small admixture of gypsum and alumino-
silicates (ill.11, c), while the fller of the upper black layer
is gypsum with an admixture of black pigment contain-
ing iron, with asmall quantity of silicate. Te binder for
both layers, both black and white, is animal glue.
Study of the composition of the organic materials
was undertaken using gas chromatograph mass spec-
trometer TRACE-2000 and micro-chemical tests. Te
results showed that the binder for all the layers of the
ground is animal glue, which is easily dissolved in water.
It was established that the binder of the reddish-
orange and black layers was composed of a mixture
of vegetable oil, natural resin and wax. Te resin con-
sisted largely of various modifed di- and triterpene
Table
Results of the study of the composition of non-organic pigments using apolarising microscope
and ascanning electron microscope with X-ray micro-analysis.*
Sample
number
Layer
Elements discovered using
SEM/EDX
Presumed pigments
1 Lower orange layer of the original clay
Upper black layer of the original coating
Si, Al, Fe, K, Ca
Al, Si, Fe, K
Iron, potassium and calcium aluminosilicates
Iron and potassium aluminosilicate
2 Lower layer of the restoration ground
Second layer of the restoration ground
Upper orange restoration layer
Si, Al, Ca, Fe, S, K, Na
Ca, S, Si
Pb
Iron, potassium and calcium aluminosilicate,
tiny amount of gypsum
Gypsum, tiny amount of silicates
Lead red
3 Lower layer of the restoration ground
Second layer of the restoration ground
Two upper orange restoration layers
Si, Al, Ca, Fe, S, K, Na
Ca, S, Si
Pb
Iron, potassium and calcium aluminosilicates,
tiny amount of gypsum
Gypsum, tiny amount of silicates
Lead red
4 Yellow inclusions
Orange inclusions
White inclusions
Pb, Cr
Pb, Cr
Pb
Chrome yellow
Chrome orange
Lead whites
5 Lower orange original layer of clay
White layer of the restoration ground
Upper layer of the restoration layer:
yellow inclusions
orange inclusions
white inclusions
Si, Al, Fe, K, Ca
Ca, S, Si, Al, K, Na
Pb, Cr
Pb, Cr
Pb
Gypsum, potassium, calcium, sodium natrium
and potassium aluminosilicates
Chrome yellow
Chrome orange
Lead whites
6
Lower orange layer of the original clay
Tick white layer of ground
Upper black layer
Si, Al, Fe, K, Ca
Ca, Mg, Si, Al, S
Ca, S, Fe, Si
Chalk with atiny amount of gypsum
and aluminosilicates
Mixture of black iron-containing pigment,
gypsum and asmall amount of silicates
* Bold highlighting is used to indicate the main elements; the others are trace elements.
92 93
small-particle fractionalised gypsum. Te ground was
applied to the original surface in order to even it up in
areas of loss.
3. Afer flling and levelling of areas of loss with
amixture of gypsum and aluminosilicates ground with
animal glue, restoration paint was applied to the surface
of the psykter, reddish-orange or black according to re-
quirements.
4. Te main pigments used during restoration were:
orange lead red; white aluminosilicates, gypsum,
chalk, lead whites; yellow chrome yellow.
5. Te presence of chrome yellow allowed us to date
the restoration to the second quarter or middle of the
19th century (between 1816 and 1861).
6. Te binder for all the layers of ground was water-
soluble animal (collagen) glue.
7. Te binder of the restoration orange and thin
black layers was amixture of oil, resin and wax.
8. Te presence of alkides in the reddish-orange res-
toration layer is evidence that at some point in the 1950s
to 1970s the psykter was covered with a thin layer of
alkide varnish for the purposes of reinforcement.
Study of the vase undertaken in the Laboratory for
Scientifc Restoration of Applied Art Objects revealed
not only its dangerous condition, the instability of the
glues, the increasing separation of nineteenth-century
joins, the presence of salts etc, but the impossibility of
reinforcing the vase from within, since this is covered
with a thick layer of something like mastic, unevenly
applied, making the inner surface of the vase inacces-
sible and thanks to its uneven application exacerbat-
ing the distortion of the form. It became clear that not
only cleaning but the preventive reinforcement of the
vase from within, with the purpose of avoiding the col-
lapse of the vase, is not only impossible but would be
dangerous. Te object was restored in the 19th century
without prior cleaning and thus continues to deterio-
rate below the overpainting, while that overpainting is
now cracking and faking. Te only conservation op-
tion when the vase falls apart of its own accord will be
to take it to pieces, clean it, reinforce the fragments and
recreate the form from the original pieces with plaster
infll of areas of loss, as was done with the krater with
ships in 2009 (restorer Natalia Borisova) (Petrakova,
Borisova 2011). Te successful experience of conserva-
tion of that krater (. 1525), afer detailed physical and
chemical analyses, and with full photographic record of
the process and preservation of the nineteenth-century
pieces (separated from the original sixth-century BC
pieces), demonstrates that such an approach is viable
with regard to the psykter.
Unlike the krater with ships, however, the psykter
with hetaerae is afamous, much-published object, one
of the most prized items in the Hermitage Museum. It
is the symbol of the Hermitage volumes of the Corpus
Vasorum Antiquorum, for a stylised image of the he-
taera Agapa appears on the cover. For various reasons
the vases from the Campana collection have been the
object of greater attention than those from other sourc-
es and in her 1967 catalogue Peredolskaya said that the
purchase of the Campana pieces was of the greatest
importance to the history of the creation of the depart-
ment of antiquities overall (Peredolskaya 1967: 5) (our
emphasis K.K. et al). Moreover, the psykter with he-
taerae is akey element in the permanent display. In ap-
proaching the analysis and conservation of the object,
all of the participants in the process face adif cult task,
in which the needs of the object itself must be balanced
against the historic value of the nineteenth-century res-
toration and the objects role under its present guise
within the museum and in the popular and specialist
consciousness.
Tanks to the physical and chemical analysis already
undertaken and to modern conservation techniques we
are able to ofer a number of variations as to how the
psykter could look afer completion of conservation
(ill. 12). Combined with the experience of vase resto-
ration around the world, in Berlin and Munich, in the
Metropolitan Museum and the J. Paul Getty Museum,
and the practice of restoration in many Italian museums,
we have a body of information at our disposal which
can form the basis for a much wider discussion of the
question of what the psykter should eventually look like.
Anumber of questions remain open, such as the colour
of the tinted plaster inserts orange, black or speckled
and whether the outline of the fgure should be indi-
cated on the inserts in order to preserve the overall con-
tours. One thing, however, is absolutely clear: the object
is in dire need of conservation even if this leads to loss
of the nineteenth-century restorations. Otherwise we
must face the prospect of losing the piece in its entirety.
REFERENCES
Beazley 1963
Beazley, John Davidson. Attic Red-Figure Vase-Painters. 2nd ed.,
Oxford, 1963.
Ill. 12. Possible variations for the psykters appearance afer conservation and restoration
a
c
b
d
combinations, a composition more in keeping with
diferent kinds of copal than shellac. Te wax had been
worked and purifed before use. Moreover, the reddish-
orange layer also included alkides. We should thus as-
sume that the painted surface of the psykter was covered
with a layer of alkide varnish, specifcally to reinforce
the painted image, some time in the 1950s to 1970s.
As a result of tests the following characteristic fea-
tures of the historic restoration were identifed:
1. Te restoration retouching imitating the origi-
nal painting consists of multiple layers, i.e. two layers
ofground and at least one layer of paint.
2. Te lower layer of the ground is a coarsely
ground aluminosilicate, the fller of the upper layer
95
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Braccesi et al. 1988
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stra internazionale, Agrigento, 2. maggio 31. luglio 1988. Rome,
1988.
Buitron-Oliver 1995
Buitron-Oliver, Diana. Douris. A Master-Painter of Athenian
Red-Figure Vases. Mainz, 1995.
Buschor 1914
Buschor, Ernst. Griechische Vasen. Mnchen, 1914.
Cataloghi del Museo Campana
CVA
Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum.
Drougou 1975
Drougou, Stella. Der Attische Psykter. Wrzburg, 1975.
Euphronios 1990
Euphronios, peintre Athnes au VIe sicle avant J.-C.: exh. cat.
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aux XVIIIe et XIXe sicles. Institut national dHistoire de lart. Paris,
2012.
Furtwngler, Reichold 19041932
Furtwngler, Adolf, Karl Reichold. Griechische Vasenmalerei.
Mnchen, 19041932.
Hoppin 1919
Hoppin, John. A Handbook of Attic Red-fgured Vases Signed by
or Attributed to the Various Masters of the Sixth and Fifh Centu-
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Jahn 1867
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Kiplik, Dmitry. [ .]. [Texni-
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Noble 1965
Noble, Joseph Veach. Te Techniques of Attic Painted Pottery.
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[Otjot
OAK for 1869
[Otjot
Imperatorskoj Arxeologieskoj komissii]/Compte-Rendu de la
Peredolskaya 1967
Peredolskaya, Anna [ ].
: [Krasnofgurnyje
attieskije vazy v Ermitae: katalog]. Leningrad, 1967.
Petrakova, Borisova 2011
Petrakova Anna, Natalia Borisova. A Krater with Ships from the
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bution of Ancient Vase-Painting. Reports of the State Hermitage
Museum. St.Petersburg, 2011. [Issue] LXIX: 4762.
Petrakova 2012
Petrakova, Anna. Stepan Alexandrovich Gedeonov and Vases
from the Campana Collection in the Hermitage. On the Histo-
ry of their Acquisition. Reports of the State Hermitage Museum.
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Pfuhl 1923
Pfuhl, Ernst. Malerei und Zeichnung der Griechen. Mnchen,
1923. Bd. 13.
Richter, Milne 1935
Richter, Gisela Marie Augusta, Marjorie Josephine Milne. Shapes
and Names of Athenian Vases. New York, 1935.
Schreiber 1999
Schreiber, Toby. Athenian Vase Construction. Malibu, 1999.
Stephani 1869
Stephani, Ludolf. Die Vasensammlung der Kaiserlichen Ermitage.
Tosto 1990
Tosto, Vincento. Te Black-fgure Pottery Signed Nikosthenes
Epoiesen. Amsterdam, 1999 (Allard Pierson Series 11).
Vierneisel, Kaeser 1990
Vierneisel, Klaus, Bert Kaeser (eds.) Kunst der Schale Kultur
desTrinkens. Mnchen, 1990.
Te fgure of a youth made from baked clay
(Inv. No. 5389, list . 576 (Furtwngler 18831887:
Taf. LXXVII, LXXVIII; Gorbunova, Saverkina 1975:
No. 94; Rafopoulou 2000: 69, note 358, pl. 90. fg. 7))
entered the Hermitage in 1884 as part of the collection
of terracottas purchased from the well-known collec-
tor of antiquities Count Pyotr Alexandrovich Sabourof
(Khodza 2004b: 166173). It stands out from other coro-
plastic works not only for its extraordinary size (height
68 cm), but also for the style of execution, leaving no
doubt that it is the work of amaster who was capable of
producing monumental sculptures (ills. 13).
A thermoluminescent analysis was carried out by
Sergey Khavrin of the State Hermitages Department of
Examination and Authentication of Works of Art who
took samples from various parts of the fgure and con-
frmed its authentication. Only the lef hand is a later
addition. Te fgure is hollow and was made with the
aid of several matrixes. Te back of the fgure, which has
an oblong vent with not aquite regular outline, was also
made in amould, but in an extremely slipshod manner.
Te clay on one side lies in virtually unsmoothed lumps
on which traces of atool can be seen, in stark contrast
to the painstaking work on the front of the fgure (ill.4).
It is likely that the matrix was damaged, because asmall
part is hand-made. Te impression is that the master
who made the terracotta knew in advance that it was
to stand in aniche, so he either permitted himself this
negligence or decided not to repair the damage that had
occurred in the process of the work. Another possibil-
ity is that for some reason the fgure was fnished by an
unskilled apprentice.
Te terracotta consists of several parts glued together:
joins can be detected on the neck, in the upper arm, be-
low the lef knee, on the lef ankle and across the lef foot,
above the right knee and above the right ankle, and also
across the support, approximately in the middle. Te lit-
tle fnger of the lef hand has been lost, and the other
fngers are glued on. Te right hand has not survived.
Te upper edge of the support has broken of. Judging by
the modifcation and darkening of the colour pigment
(ochre), the fgure was scorched, and this occurred be-
fore it was broken into pieces. Te gluing together was
carried out at various times using four diferent materi-
als. Carpenters glue was used in the 19thcentury it was
then, in all probability, that the right arm was assembled
and glued in such away that part of it was concealed be-
hind the fgures back so that the loss of the hand was not
immediately apparent. In the 1970s the parts that had
disintegrated where the old glue had dried were joined
with gypsum, using terracotta or grey mastic (polyvinyl
butyral) to colour those places. On the support and on
the back of the right leg below the knee there are addi-
tions of adiferent clay, which may date from an earlier
restoration. Te rectangular base consists of numerous
fragments glued together.
Tests carried out by specialists in the Hermitages
Department of Examination and Authentication of
Works of Art Ludmila Gavrilenko and Elena Ava-
kova (microscopic and microchemical analyses) and
Irina Grigorieva (Fourier-IR method) showed that the
terracotta had been painted more than once and that
the materials used had been the high-quality, careful-
ly ground pigments of natural minerals that had been
ELENA KHODZA
TERRACOTTA FIGURE OF A YOUTH FROM PYOTR A. SABOUROFFS COLLECTION
96 97
used in ancient times. White lead as an admixture is
present in the so-called trace quantities in the thin
white layer showing in places on the surface. Tis way
of colouring was used both in painted works of art and
in the painting of sculpture, which became known as
long ago as 1838, when Xavier Landerer, Professor of
Chemistry at Athens University, published the results of
his study of white paints, its samples taken from asculp-
ture in the Acropolis ( 1838: 99101). White
lead, especially in small quantities, is quite frequently
found on ancient terracotta pieces (Jeammet, Knecht,
Pags Camagna 2007:196197). On the lips and on the
decoration in the centre of the wreath cinnabar (mer-
cury sulphide), frequently used in ancient coroplastics,
has been applied. Special mention should be made of
the presence of such an expensive pigment as mala-
chite on the leaves of the garland. Te point is that,
unlike in earlier times, in the Hellenistic period they
were already able to obtain a green colour by making
do with acheaper pigment, the so-called green earth, or
by applying a thin layer of Egyptian blue on to yellow
paint. Tis method was used, for example, by amaster
from Tanagra to paint abunch of grapes in the hands of
aboy from the Louvre (Inv. MNB 1037 (Tanagra. Mythe
et archologie 2003: 226227, No. 167; Jeammet, Knecht,
Pags-Camagna 2007: 194)). Te use of malachite con-
frms that the sculptor of the Hermitage fgure regarded
his work as particularly valuable.
Ill. 1. Figure of ayouth from Pyotr Sabourofs collection. Terracotta.
Te State Hermitage Museum. Frontal view
Ill. 2. Figure of ayouth from Pyotr Sabourofs collection.
Side view
coating on the face and on the chest. Ochre has been
used as apigment. Te lower layer contains alittle chalk
and plaster. It should be noted that chalk was already
being used for white coating in Tanagra and later in
the workshops of Myrina (Higgins 2001: 314; Jeammet,
Knecht, Pags-Camagna 2007: 194, 196). As for plaster,
we know that it was used, for example, in the workshops
of Attica, particularly as a component of white coat-
ing (Middleton 2001: 308). Te red upper layer on the
neck, arms and stomach contains cinnabar as well as
ochre. Tere is a layer of yellow ochre beneath a pink
layer on the lef shoulder and the right arm, but the lay-
ers of paint on the right arm do not always cover one
another. Moreover, the right arm is covered by another,
Te main pigment used is ochre of various shades.
Te brown ochre on the hair is applied directly on to the
clay, without slip. In other places the original lower layer
of white coating (kaolinite) contains albumen as abinding
medium. It should be noted that this is very rarely found
on the surface of terracotta pieces (Higgins 2001: 313). One
could use as an analogy the white preparatory coating on
the early second-century BC bust of Aphrodite from My-
rina (Louvre, Inv. Myrina 661 (Mollard-Besques 1963: 34,
pl. 38b)). Analysis has shown that it is very fnely ground
calcium carbonate, i.e. chalk, with egg protein for binding
(Jeammet, Knecht, Pags-Camagna 2007: 196).
Several layers of paint have been applied to the
youths face and body. Tere are two on top of the white
Side view
Rear view
98 99
later, rough layer of beige colour containing ochre, alit-
tle chalk and a small amount of charcoal. a red layer
containing cinnabar and a little charcoal has been ap-
plied over the layer of ochre on the lef arm. acoating of
kaolinite has been preserved on the legs: it has taken on
abluish tinge as aresult of the efect of heat. Te greater
part of the surface is covered by ayellowish orange layer
for which sienna served as the pigment. Sienna, as we
know, is an earthen paint of mineral extraction and dif-
fers from ochre in that it contains primarily silica, not
alumina. It takes its name from the Italian city of Sienna,
near which the best varieties were extracted. It is most
likely that this is alater layer.
Te support in the form of atree trunk, the surface
of which is badly soiled, also has more than one layer
of paint. Te brick-red layer, whitened with chalk, con-
tains cinnabar and soot. In places the red layer takes
on ablue shade as the result of mixing small amounts
of charcoal with chalk and plaster. It is known that
Tanagra masters used chalk as well as kaolinite as
ameans of lightening apigment and in order to obtain
ablue colour (Jeammet, Knecht, Pags-Camagna 2007:
194). Glass smalt, a natural compound that contains
cobalt, was used for the eyes. In the painting of terra-
cotta pieces this is always alater, not ancient, imitation
of Alexandrian frit or, as it also called, Egyptian blue
an ancient blue pigment obtained by acoalescence of
copper salt, sand and soda, though there is a natural
mineral with asimilar composition called cuprorivaite.
At any rate, a study of terracotta pieces in the Louvre
has thrown up instances where Egyptian blue has been
used instead of cobalt in later restorations (Bouquillon,
Colinart, Porto, Zink 2003: 300). It should be noted
that cobalt oxide was known to ancient crafsmen
and was used as acolouring pigment, in particular, in
glassmaking (Kunina 1997: 26).
Since there are drops of black paint on the surface,
applied in the 19th century to imitate ancient mould,
it would be reasonable to propose that the fairly rough,
uneven beige layer amixture of ochre, chalk and char-
coal also appeared at that time, with the aim of con-
cealing the losses of the paint layer but also so that it
would look like genuine ancient painting.
Te many layers of paint and the fact that this pro-
cess was evidently carried out several times is certainly
not evidence that the fgure of the youth was touched up
and repainted on numerous occasions in modern times.
When we are talking about an outstanding artefact such
as this, it may be supposed that even in ancient times its
owners renewed and corrected the painting on several
occasions. Painstaking research, not only in recent years,
enables us to come to this conclusion. In the study of
this phenomenon tribute should be paid above all, per-
haps, to Alfred Laumonier, who in the mid-20th century
researched the polychromy of terracotta pieces from the
excavations of French archaeologists at Delos. In study-
ing astatuette of afying Eros, he discovered that it had
been subjected to changes even in ancient times. Te
drapery, he wrote, was initially entirely pink; later this
paint, applied directly on to the clay, partly faded and
the whole fgure was restored with lime milk, to which
in turn a new polychromy was applied: the drapery is
blue-green, with a broad pink stripe along the bottom,
as well as on the neckband and on the middle fold; the
latter had evidently also received several touches of yel-
low (gilding?) [La draperie tait dabord entirement
rose; puis cette peinture, directement pose sur la terre,
sest eface en partie, et on a restaur toute la fgurine
avec un lait de chaux qui a reu son tour une nou-
velle polychromie; draperie bleu-vert, orne dune large
bande rose en bas, ainsi que lencolure et le pli median;
ce dernier semble avoir reu aussi quelques touches de
jaune (dorure?)] (Laumonier 1956: No. 603, pl. XXVI).
Not having the equipment available today, the research-
er could only suppose that yellow ochre had served as
a substrate for gilding, which becomes distinctly clear
under magnifcation. Tis was later confrmed under
45-fold magnifcation (Bourgeois 2007: 89).
Tis practice of repainting was by no means unique.
Te painting of afragment of astatuette of Apollo (De-
los, Museum, Inv.No.a394 (Bourgeois 2007: 89)) was
altered very substantially on three occasions. On the
so-called Baillache Lady, a fne Tanagra-style statuette
in the Louvre (Inv. No. CA 2552) named afer the pre-
vious owner, the cloak had been repainted three times,
all three layers being of ancient origin. As Marie-Em-
manuelle Meyohass research has shown, the cloak was
originally red, then pale pink, and fnally bright pink,
and on the third occasion expensive marena was used
as a pigment (Tanagra. Mythe et archologie 2003: No.
150, fgs. 6668). It is interesting that all the layers are
well preserved and each time were applied on to anew
white undercoat. Te logical conclusion is that anew re-
painting might have been carried out not only as aresult
of damage, but as aconsequence of changes in fashion
(Bourgeois 2007: 88). As mentioned earlier, the fgure
of the youth was subjected to the strong efect of heat in
ancient times, which, on the one hand, may have caused
changes in the colouring, as ochres and kaolinite change
colour under high temperatures, and, on the other hand,
may have been the reason for the additional painting.
Poses identical, or very similar, to that of the youth
are found in Greek sculpture of the 4th 3rd centu-
ries BC. Characters in this pose are thought to have
frst appeared in reliefs, particularly on funeral steles.
One such example is the naked male fgure on a frag-
ment of a stone stele in the Dallas Museum of Art
(Inv. No. 1966.26), which dates from between 340 and
330 BC. However, the more pronounced bend in the
right hip of the terracotta fgure and the more sharply
lifed right shoulder, which gives the line of the shoul-
ders a diagonal direction, make this pose natural, as
though relaxed. Tis diference is not incidental. Walter
Mller noted that the cross-legged motif borrowed from
rounded sculpture, which gives the pose naturalness
and spontaneity, was typical for very young, feminine
and passive characters such as Narcissus, Ganymede or
Paris (Mller 1943: 170171). In time this diference
between reliefs and rounded sculpture disappeared, as
shown by another example a male fgure on a third-
century BC stele in Rhodes Museum (Smith 1991: 188
189, fg. 219). Tis image, lacking in obvious athleticism,
though not to the same degree as the terracotta youth,
correlates to the standard type of a young Satyr play-
ing the fute, seen in over ffy later replicas (Zimmer-
mann 1994; Schrder 2004: 125129; Landwehr 2006:
4348, Nr. 204-206, Taf.3639). Tis type is akind of re-
production of the image of young Pan, which appeared
around 300 BC and, in its turn, could not have arisen
without a predecessor like Praxiteless Satyr at rest or
leaning Satyr (Martinez 2007: 248).
In the same article Mller notes that it was not
typical of Praxiteles to portray his characters standing
cross-legged (Mller 1943: 171), so it is even more in-
teresting that this tendency appeared quite early with
restorers working with copies and replicas of his sculp-
tures. Inparticular, this applies especially to the Apollo
Sauroktonos. An instructive example is a statue from
the Richelieu collection that arrived from Rome in 1633
(now in the Louvre, Inv. MR suppl. 1, Ma 2305). Te sev-
enteenth-century restorer added an ancient fragment of
the torso of Apollo Sauroktonos. Te head is also an-
cient, but from a diferent statue. Te pelvis, legs and
support were made anew. Te statuette of Apollo Sau-
roktonos that was in the Villa Borghese in the 18thcen-
tury and was mentioned by Johann Winckelmann but
has since disappeared, is featured in a drawing by Ber-
nardino Ciferri that is now in Windsor (Eton College,
Inv. Bm 2, 75; (Praxitle 2007: 230, fg. 140)). Another
replica of the Apollo Sauroktonos, transformed into
Apollo with a lyre, is known from a drawing made in
Rome by Pierre Jacques between 1572 and 1577, which
is now in the National Library in Paris (Inv.Acq.5787,
Fb 18a, No. 16; (Praxitle 2007: 230, fg. 141)). It may be
supposed that, on the one hand, the popularity of stat-
ues similar to young Pan and, on the other hand, the
correspondence of this pose to the hedonistic mood fea-
tured in Praxiteless images, led the restorers to restore
the legs in this way.
Another statuary type associated with the youth
from the Sabourof collection is Roman copies and rep-
licas of astatue of Pothos, of which there are more than
a dozen, including a copy in the Capitoline Museum
in Rome. Te question of the original of this statue has
still not been fnally resolved. According to Brunilde
Ridgway, identifcation of the sculpture has not been
proved, the attribution and chronology are disputed
(Ridgway 1990: 87). It is important that the researcher
associates it with Praxiteles, as it reminds her of the
Apollo Sauroktonos. In one version the original Pothos
is attributed to Scopas (Lattimore 1987: 411420), while
in another the original is thought to be aclassicist work
of the late Hellenistic period (Ridgway 1990: 8788).
Pothoss pose difers from the pose of the youth by
asharper incline, which has become an argument in fa-
vour of the theory that the fgure was part of a group.
However, as shown by a marble statue from the Dres-
den collection, there was avariant in the late Hellenistic
period in which the incline had virtually disappeared, if
this was not an alteration made by aRoman master cop-
ying aGreek sculpture. (Knoll 2000: 15, Nr. 5). Moreo-
ver, there are other important features that invite com-
parison of the youth from the Sabourof collection with
Pothos. Besides the crossed legs, it is a gentle, almost
feminine, interpretation of the body, without empha-
sised or clearly designated muscles, with smooth transi-
tions that are possibly evidence of Praxiteless infuence
on Scopas.
In his publication of the Sabourof collection Ad-
olf Furtwngler wrote: Te terracotta published here,
made essentially by the same method as ordinary small
terracotta fgures, may have been the frst to display
100 101
such fne, painstaking work in these dimensions [Eine
schn und sorgfltig und in Wesentlichen in dersel-
ben Technik wie die gewohnlichen kleinen Figuren
ausgefhrte Terracotta von der Grsse, wie die hier
verofentlichte, drfe bis jetzt noch nicht orgekommen
sein] (Furtwngler 18831887: Taf. LXXVII, LXXVIII).
Pyotr Sabourof himself valued this terracotta sculpture
extremely highly and paid 40,000 francs for it an enor-
mous sum at that time. In aletter from Berlin on 29Feb-
ruary 1884 he wrote to Alexander Vasilchikov, the then
Director of the Imperial Hermitage: Te Hermes,
which is approximately a metre in height (an obvious
exaggeration E. Kh.), is unique. No museum possesses
such an item, which comes from the fnest age and is
reminiscent of the striking style of Praxiteless Hermes
found at Olympia [LHerms qui est de hauteur dun
mtre environ, (an obvious exaggeration E. Kh.) est
un Unicum. Aucun Muse ne possde une pice pa-
reille qui apportient la plus belle poque et rapelle dun
manire frappante lHerms de Praxitle trouv Olym-
pia] (Archive of the State Hermitage Museum, Fund 1,
Register 5, Folder 13 1884, f. 13). Te collectors com-
parison with the Hermes from Olympia was, of course,
not achance remark. It is not only that the sensational
discovery of this statue on 8 May 1877, i.e. during Sab-
ourofs time as Ambassador to Greece, was still fresh
in his mind, but also that there is a defnite similarity
between the two sculptures. Not because of the statues
build, of course that of Hermes, contrary to that of the
youth, is very athletic, with afairly precise muscle struc-
ture. Te similarity is in the physiognomy: the small
eyes of alengthened shape which, when ashadow falls
on them, produce an impression of lyrical thoughtful-
ness; the elegant, fnely moulded straight nose; the full,
somewhat feminine lips we fnd all these elements,
part of the so-called Praxitelean type of beauty preva-
lent in the 4th century BC, in both statues, as well as the
wreath of ivy over the close-cropped hair (ills. 5, 6). Tis
Detail: head (frontal view)
Detail: head (profle)
ideal type of beauty was subsequently very attractive for
masters in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. However,
it has to be said that the terracotta youth has asmaller
mouth and the lips are drawn diferently (in the statue
of Hermes the lower lip is signifcantly fuller than the
upper lip); there is also agreater sofness, even acertain
femininity, in the oval of the face and its features. Tis
may be explained partly by the diference in texture of
the material used in one case marble, in the other clay,
and partly by the younger age of the terracotta character,
asign of which can be seen in the slim ankles and dis-
proportionately large feet acommon feature of teenag-
ers. It also has to be noted that both characters have the
same elegiac mood in common this is also associated,
above all, with Praxiteles and his ability to give a pose
anonchalant air, accentuated even more by the smooth
fowing lines of the silhouette and the carefree languor
of the facial expression.
Te cloak, falling from the tree trunk in an agitat-
ed rhythm of folds, encircled at the bottom with wavy
edges, is designed in the same way in both cases (ill.7).
Another notable detail that associates the Sabourof
terracotta with the Hermes from Olympia is of arather
more technical character the contrast between the
very painstaking detail of the front and the slipshod
work on the back, which cannot be explained by the
statues being unfnished: it is evidence that both sculp-
tures were intended to be viewed only from the front
or from the side. In both cases the tree trunk is treated
fairly primitively.
Could the Hermes from Olympia have somehow in-
fuenced the sculptor of the terracotta youth? Answer-
ing that question is made more dif cult by the diver-
gence of opinions and debates that have raged around
the famous sculpture in respect of its authorship and
the time of its creation (Kreuzer 1943: 133153). Ernst
Curtius celebrated the statue in apoem sent to Crown
Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, in which Praxiteles himself
informs the addressee: Having long been concealed
in the night of the cof n, my Hermes has known anew
birth and has appeared before you in his youthful splen-
dour [Nun aber ist, was lang verloren/ Aus tiefer Gra-
bensnacht befreit,/ Mein Hermes stehet neugeboren/
Vor euch in Jugendherrlichkeit] (Blmel 1948: 9). Over
the course of time, however, his rapture has clashed
with the septicism of anumber of researchers. Several
weighty objections have been put forward in response
to such an argument in favour of Praxiteless authorship
as the testimony of Pausanius (Paus. V, 17, 3), who men-
tions the Temple of Hera as the place where he saw the
great sculptors marble statue of Hermes with the infant
Dionysus in his arms. Te French researcher Alain Pas-
quier summarised the objections in his article Praxite-
les Today? Te Question of Originals (Pasquier 2007:
97102). In essence, they are these: the base of the stat-
ue is not original, and consequently the sculpture may
have been altered, which explains the dissonance be-
tween the quality and style of the work if you compare
the front with the back. Te massive support between
the tree trunk and Hermess hip is roughly worked with
horizontal futes, which is not in keeping with Praxite-
less style and rather indicates the hand of acopyist who
was thinking less of aesthetic perception than of dura-
Detail: cloak and support
102 103
bility. Te fashion of the sandals like those of Hermes,
which appeared in the 4th century BC, is encountered
in sculptures right up to 300 BC. Te treatment of the
cloak on the one hand, realistic, on the other hand,
with an agitated rhythm of folds is another argument
against the statue being an original work of Praxiteles.
It looks as though it was created much later, no earlier
than the 1st century BC. Finally, the intense polishing
of the marble on the face, torso and hips, which could
have been carried out during restoration, along with the
rough working of the back with a rasp and a chisel is
typical of sculpture in Hadrians time. Since it is impos-
sible to ignore the testimony of Pausanias, the follow-
ing versions have emerged: the frst is that the author
of Description of Hellas (or his informer) was either
mistaken or meant another Praxiteles who was work-
ing in the 2nd century BC; the second is that the statue
Pausanias saw, which was found in the 19th century,
was made by a copyist attempting to reproduce the
original, but in the style of his own age. Te greatest
scepticism has been evinced by Ridgway, whose point
of view has also found its adherents. She suggests that
the group sculpture of Hermes with the infant Dionysus
is an original made in the 2nd century BC and has no
relation whatsoever to the fourth-century BC sculpture
(Ridgway 1990: p. 80). Pasquier does not risk making
any decisive conclusions, with the exception that he re-
fuses to see in the statue more than asuperbly made Ro-
man copy (Pasquier 2007: 102).
While in no way claiming to be experts in this mat-
ter, we recognise that the group from Olympia, in the
absence of Praxiteless originals, despite all doubts con-
tinues to serve as one of the clearest examples of the
great masters style, even with the distortions caused
by alater restorer or copyist. It follows that the defnite
similarity of the Hermitage terracotta to the Hermes
from Olympia gives it the right to be included among
the works of the numerous followers of Praxiteless
style, who consciously or unconsciously made the cor-
responding alterations to it. An association also arises
with a monument of the post-Lysippus tradition the
bronze victorious athlete in the Paul Getty Museum in
Los Angeles. Not only the hairstyle, but also the shape
of the forehead, the full cheeks, the narrow slant of the
eyes, the elegant straight nose, the small mouth with
full lips and even the sof depiction of the muscles all
these common features lead us to suggest that the sculp-
tor of the Sabourof terracotta was touched by the infu-
ence of the Lysippus school. Tere is extensive literature
concerning the bronze youth in which various dates are
suggested. Most of them fall within the second half of
the 4thcentury BC, though Claude Rolley dates it to the
late 4th early 3rd century BC, based on the fact that
the somewhat relaxed pose and the delicacy of the mod-
elling are evidence of a later period, when the work of
Lysippuss followers was infuenced by Praxiteles. Later
Carl Mattusch, an American expert on antique bronzes,
suggested that the statue should be dated to around
300 BC (Rolley 1986: 53; Frel 1987: 9091; Mattusch
1996: 33; Khodza 2004a: 79). However, the total absence
in the youth from the Hermitage collection of an ele-
ment of emotionalism or the sense of intense inner en-
ergy that was typical of Lysippuss school suggests only
asuperfcial, weak infuence of that school.
Te question of who is depicted in the terracotta
fgure was posed by Furtwngler, but he was unable to
come up with a defnite answer. Te name that frst
comes to mind, he wrote, is Hermes granted there are
none of Hermess attributes, but the close-cropped hair
and cloak ft him very well; the ivy garland, the feminin-
ity and the facial expression tend to point to Dionysus,
but how then can the close-cropped, tousled hair be
explained? [Der erste Gedanke ist wohl an Hermes,
he wrote von dessen charakteristischen Attributten
zwar keines da ist, zu dem aber das kurzgeschorene
Haar und das Gewand wohl passen wrden; doch der
Kranz, das weichliche Wesen, der Ausdruck? Das Letz-
tere weist alles auf einem jugendlichen Dionysos; aber
ware bei demselben das ganz kurze, aufstrebende Haar
mglich?]. Furtwngler was nevertheless inclined to
see this fgure as a depiction of Hermes, though not
quite the usual one possibly Hermes Chthonic, since,
according to his information, the terracotta came from
a burial: Perhaps it is Hermes , a deity of the
underworld, and perhaps one can fnd in his pose and
facial expression something of the Bacchic pleasures
they hoped to fnd in the aferlife? [Ist es etwa ein
Hermes , der Gott der Unterirdischen, in dessen
Haltung und Ausdruck man etwas von der sssen, bak-
chischen Seligkeit legte, die man im Jenseits erhof e?]
(Furtwngler 18831887: Taf. LXXVII-LXXVIII).
In all probability, one of the grounds for this propo-
sition was the similarity noted by the scholar between
the Sabourof youth and the statue of Mercury in the
Uf zi Gallery (Inv.No.250 (Mansuelli 1958: 50, No. 27,
fg. 29, a, b)). Te latest research of this statue of Pa-
ros marble whose provenance is unknown was carried
out in connection with a recent exhibition in the Lou-
vre devoted to the art of Praxiteles. It showed, however,
that both forearms together with the attributes held by
the character are later additions, as is the petasos with
wings, and that the restoration had been carried out in
the Renaissance period. Originally the statue had not
even depicted Mercury. More than that, the animal
skin hanging on the tree trunk hints that it was Dio-
nysus companion, ayoung Satyr or Pan. Te sculpture
dates from approximately the 1st or 2nd century AD
(Praxitle 2007: 342343, No. 88]. If we interpret the ivy
wreath on the head of the terracotta youth as an attri-
bute of the Dionysian cult, this detail actually brings it
closer to the so-called Mercury in the Uf zi. However,
the similarity in the poses draws them even closer it is
identical, except that one is amirror image of the other.
Although on the statue of Mercury the hairstyle above
the forehead, conveyed by rounded curls in relief dril-
led in the middle, is so diferent from that on the youth
from the Sabourof collection and there is also a subs-
tantial diference in the facial features in this respect
the Uf zis Mercury is closer to the Hermes from Olym-
pia, there is still apronounced similarity. Te identical
characteristics of the build the lengthened torso and
relatively delicate hands and feet, in combination with
the absence of emphasised muscles and the smooth fea-
tures of the silhouette, create the impression of an efe-
minate and very young man. Here one can trace asort
of general standard that enables these monuments not
only to be attributed to aparticular circle, but also sug-
gests that they are relatively close in chronological terms.
One can include in this group the marble statue of
a boy in the Vatican Museum (Gallery of the Candela-
bra), which dates from the 1st century AD and, in all
probabilty, is acopy of agrave monument from the late
Hellenistic period (Amelung 1908: 56, Nr. 38B, Taf. V;
Herrmann 1993: 307, fg. 10, 321, note 32). Te same
characteristic features of build can be seen in abronze
Mercury, standing in the same pose with crossed legs.
Tis Louvre statue comes from Herculaneum and dates
from the 1st century AD (Ridder 1912 : 12, No. 31;
Praxitle 2007: No. 88, fg. 241).
Te stylistic features of the fgure of the youth and,
above all, the composition of the fgure with its inter-
lacement of lines and unsteady attitude led Furtwng-
ler to the conclusion that the piece had no direct rela-
tion to the work of Praxiteles and corresponded to the
aesthetic canons of the Hellenistic period. It seems pos-
sible to associate these features with the late Hellenistic
period, so that the piece could be dated between the
1st century BC and the 1st century AD. Indeed, such
a correction of perfect physiognomy in the spirit of
Praxiteless canon of beauty is encountered in Roman
copies of the 1st century AD, even when they were re-
workings of Greek originals from the Classical period.
An example of this is provided by the head of astatue of
Hermes in the Hermitage collection (ill.8), made in the
early 1st century AD afer an original from the school
of Polycletus (Inv. No. A. 167 (Waldhauer 1931: 6, Nr.
90, Taf. V-VI; Saverkina 1986: 8182, No. 29)). Te oval
of the face becomes more oblong, the cut of the eyes
is lengthened and the face takes on a languid melan-
choly expression, emphasised by the play of light and
shade. Even in the fgure, despite all its athleticism and
the precise modelling of the muscles, as Irina Saverkina
rightly points out, one gets an impression that the pose
is unbalanced and unstable.
Te naming of Corinth in Furtwnglers catalogue as
the place where the terracotta fgure was made, as well
as his assertion that it had been found in aburial, was
probably based on conversation with Pyotr Sabourof.
Ill. 8. Hermes. Early 1st century AD. Marble.
Te State Hermitage Museum. Detail: head
104
Te collector, in turn, may have received this informa-
tion when he had purchased the terracotta. Experience
has shown how little trust can be placed in this asser-
tion. Olivier Rayet, a French archaeologist and collec-
tor who was in Greece in the years when Sabourof was
serving as adiplomat, wrote that he had unsuccessfully
attempted over four years to be present at the unseal-
ing of aGreek tomb. Te suspiciousness of the diggers
(fouilleurs) goes so far that they will never tell astranger,
whose ability to keep a secret they are not sure of, the
genuine origin of an object they bring him. If he insists,
they put down the frst place they think of [Celui
qui crit ces lignes a vainement essay pendant quatre
ans dassister louverture dun tombeau grec. La mf-
ance des fouilleurs va si loin, que jamais ils ne disent
un tranger de la discretion duquel ils ne se croint pas
sr, la vraie provenance de lobjet quils lui apportent,
Insiste-t-il trop pour la savoir, on lui dsigne la premi-
re localit venue] (Rayet 1875: 552). Needless to say,
he is talking about illegal excavations, but it was these
that were the main source of ancient objects on the an-
tique market (Higgins 1986: 163; Khodza, 2011a: 170).
As for dealers in antiquities, the best-known of whom
supplied European auctions, they could not but have re-
alised that precise information about the location of
the fnd increased trust in the seller and made the piece
more valuable.
It may be that the fgure of the youth was attributed
to amaster from Corinth because there was atradition
of making large terracotta pieces in that city. At any
rate, Furtwngler forwards no arguments in favour of
that origin. Tere are no obvious centres of produc-
tion of antique sculpture that could serve as convinc-
ing analogues of the Hermitage terracotta. aterracotta
fgure of approximately the same height (64.5 cm) of
a naked Mercury appeared in the sale of the collec-
tion of the well-known collector and middleman in
the sale of antiquities Henri Hofmann. Tere is a re-
production of the statue in the catalogue published for
the auction held in the Hotel Drouot in Paris afer the
collectors death. It is obvious from this reproduction
that the whole terracotta consisted of fragments glued
together, but it is not possible to judge the identity of
the texture of the clay or the degree of restoration it
had undergone. One can hardly pronounce on the au-
thenticity of a number of details, such as the petasos
with wings, the lower legs, the base and the caduceus,
but it is not impossible that certain fragments are of
ancient origin. Te catalogue indicates that the fg-
ure was found in Smyrna (Collection Hofmann 1899:
7374, pl. XXVI). Indeed, the masters of that city, one
of the principal centres of Greek coroplastics, like
those in anumber of other centres inAsia Minor, were
strongly infuenced by monumental sculpture, which
ofen served as asource of inspiration. Tis is probably
why the statuette from the Hofmann collection was
attributed to Smyrna. Te doubts over its authenticity
are increased by another statuette of Hermes from the
same collection which is an obvious fake (Collection
Hofmann 1886: 24, pl. 59). Although smaller in size
than the other one (28.5 cm), there is aclear similarity
in the details, making one think that they came from
the same workshop. In the catalogue the place of ori-
gin is stated to be Asia Minor. In the same catalogue
agreat many obvious fakes are presented as so-called
Asia Minor groups, possibly obtained by Hofmann
from the same source, especially as the mid-1880s was
atime when the art market was fooded with such for-
geries (Furtwngler 1889: 4546; Reinach 1891: 586
suiv.; Kurz 1967: 145146; Khodza 2011b: 7475). It
should also be noted that the clay from which the Sa-
bourof youth is made contains no sprinklings of mica
of a golden colour that were characteristic of the clay
from Smyrna.
It appears that the fgure of the youth from Pyotr
Sabourofs collection may have been made by a sculp-
tor of monumental forms as a kind of rehearsal for
amonumental statue or, on the contrary, as areplica or
copy of amarble fgure.
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107
In 1990, the Hermitage archaeological expedition
conducted excavations in the North district of ancient
Chersonesos. Here, in the XX quarter, during the feld
works there was discovered a Hellenistic cellar pre-
served under the yard surface of amediaeval house. In
its flling an inscribed knucklebone was found (Kalash-
nik 1989: 170; fg.1).Tis bone is 3.6cm long and bears
atwo-line inscription on one of the wide sides:

/ (Inv. No. . 1990.25 (Kalashnik 1990:
36; fg.49); ill.1). Te material surrounding the fnd
includes coins and sherds of broken black-glazed pot-
tery which can be dated to the late 3rd 2nd century
BC. According to A. Gilevich, one of the coins from
the flling of the cellar is dated to the mid-4th centu-
ry BC, and two more to 210200 BC (Gilevich 1990:
Nos. 1, 3, 6, 7, 14). Te frst of these coins, like the
small pieces of a red-fgure crater and a squat leky-
thos, probably comes from the layer which pre-dates
the buildings in this area of the district. Tree ceram-
ic pieces from the cellar flling have graf ti on them:
on the bottom of the brown-glazed bowl, the name
[] (Inv.No..1990.12; ill.2); on the bottom
of the black-glazed plate, the ending of the name
N (Inv. No. . 1990.51; ill. 3), under the rim
of the brown-glazed kantharos, the name []
(Inv. No. . 1990.52; ill. 4). Te latter graf to can be
considered a convivial inscription: Asclepius was one
of the deities to whom libations were most ofen of-
fered during feasts (Guarducci 1974: 360361). Simi-
lar inscriptions are attested on variously dated vessels
held by the Hermitage (Kalashnik 1985: 74).
Te astragalus (knucklebone), one of the bones
forming the tarsus in cloven-hoofed animals, is not an
archaeological rarity, but fnding an object like that in
an occupation layer always makes one wonder whether
it is aknucklebone which was used as agaming piece or
simply the remains of someones hearty meal. Its adifer-
ent matter when the astragalus has some markings on it,
looks like it has been worked, or if the context it is found
in is known (especially if it is a burial site). A number
of gaming astragali were found in the North Black Sea
region (Blavatskaya 1959: 6880; Peters 1980: 7984;
YURY KALASHNIK
AN INSCRIBED KNUCKLEBONE FROM CHERSONESUS
Ill.1. Inscribed astragalus. Chersonesus. Inv.No.. 1990.25.
Middleton 2001
Middleton, A. Analysis of White Grounds on some of Poly-
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Mller, Walter. Zum Pothos des Skopas. Jahrbuch des Deut-
schen Archologischen Instituts. 1943. Bd. 58: 154182.
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Paris, 2007: 82105.
Praxitle 2007
Pasquier, Alain and Jean-Luc Martinez (eds.). Praxitle. Paris, 2007.
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Rafopoulou, E. G. Figures enfantines du Muse National dAthnes.
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Rayet 1875
Rayet, Olivier. Les fgurines de Tanagra au Muse du Louvre.
Gazette des Beaux Arts. 1875. Vol. 11: 551558.
Reinach 1891
Reinach, Salomon. Chroniques dOrient. Documents sur les fouilles
et dcouvertes dans lOrient hellnique de 1883 1890. Paris, 1891.
Ridder 1913
De Ridder, A. Les bronzes antiques du Louvre. Paris, 1913. T. 1.
Ridgway 1990
Ridgway, Brunilde Sismondo. Hellenistic Sculpture I: Te Styles
ofca.331200 BC. Wisconsin, 1990.
Rolley 1986
Rolley, C. Greek Bronzes. London, 1986.
Saverkina 1986
Saverkina, Irina [ ].
V . .. [Greeskaja skulptura V v.
do n.e. v sobranii Ermitaa]. Leningrad, 1986.
Schrder 2004
Schrder, S. F. Museo Nacional del Prado: Catlogo de la escultura
clsica. Madrid, 2004. Vol. 2: Escultura Mitolgica.
Smith 1991
Smith, R. R. R. Hellenistic Sculpture. London, 1991.
Tanagra. Mythe et archologie 2003
Jeammet, Violaine, John M. Fossay (eds.). Tanagra. Mythe et ar-
chologie. Paris, 2003.
Waldhauer 1931
Waldhauer, Oscar. Die Antiken Sculpturen der Ermitage. Berlin;
Leipzig, 1931. Bd. 2.
Zimmermann 1994
Zimmermann, A. Kopienkritische Untersuchungen zum Satyr mit
der Querfte und verwandten Statuentypen: Diss. Universitt.
Bern, 1994.
108 109
Ill.2. Bottom of abowl with graf to. Inv.No.. 1990.12.
Ill.3. Piece of aplate bottom with part of agraf to.
Inv.No.. 1990.51. Te State Hermitage Museum
general view; b fragment
Ill.4. Part of the rim of the kantharos with aconvivial inscription.
a
b
148153; tables XVIXVII; Shepko 2011: 441446). Te
Greek and Roman games have been well described by
nineteenth-century scholars (Becq de Fouquires 1873:
331343). Heydemann produced an analysis of the de-
pictions of the knucklebones game in art (Heydemann
1877). Substantial studies deal with the role of astragali
in the games played in the ancient world (DA, t.5: 28
31; RE, Bd. 13, Sp. 19461947; Myrina 1887: 215220;
Blmner 1911: 412414; Jthner 1926: 105116; Deu-
bner 1929: 271281; Schdler 1996: 6173) etc. Tese
studies have been taken into account in the writing of
this article. Te most exhaustive treatment of the topic
is presented in aconcise but informative essay by J.Mar-
quardt (Marquardt 1886: 849854).
Sheep and goat astragali have long been used as
gaming pieces and for other purposes. Tey were
used in sacral practices: they were placed in burials
and dedicated to gods. Tere exists, for instance, an
astragal-shaped inscribed bronze weight dating back
to the mid-6th century BC and weighing 93.07 kg. It
was dedicated by two brothers (judging by the use of
the plural oferings, there would have originally been
two such weights) to Apollo in Didyma as one tenth
of the profts, and afer a while it turned up in Susa,
where it probably came in 494 BC as part of the war
trophies captured by Darius I (Guarducci 1974: 547).
In some temples, astragali were used for divination
(). Te dice were placed on aspecial
table in the sanctuary, and the querent was invited to
cast them. Te prophecy (which may have been pre-
pared in advance) was interpreted on the basis of the
combination yielded by the throw. Tis was the way of
foretelling the future in the cave dedicated to Hercules
in Achaea (Paus. VII. 25, 10).
Te astragali were avery popular attribute of games
played by children and adults in many cultures (one
may recall Stepan Pimenovs famous statue from Tsar-
skoye Selo, which shows aboy playing knucklebones, as
well as Alexander Pushkins lines which describe it: be-
hind its classical exterior, the poet saw agame familiar
to every Russian boy. It is said that as he was passing on
to Pimenov the verses dedicated to his statue, Pushkin
remarked that this was the long-awaited truly Russian
sculpture). Pausanias description of one of the statues
of the Charites in asquare of the town of Elis mentions
that she had in her hand an astragalus, a toy loved by
boys and girls (Paus. VII. 25, 10). Te game of astragali
was ofen depicted in art, especially in the 4th centu-
ryBC and in the age of Hellenism: there exist terracotta
(Inv.No.. 8010 (Antinaja koroplastika 1976: No.99);
ill. 5)
1
and marble sculptures (e.g. the Roman copy of
aHellenistic statuette of agirl looking at the cast astra-
gali, currently in Berlin (Le sport dans la Grce antique
1992; Cat.No.36; see also Heydemann 1877:3)). Tey
were awelcome and afordable present for children in
Te Wasps by Aristophanes, the father wants to give his
son some astragali, which he believes to be aperfect pre-
sent, so much so that when his son asks for fgs instead,
the father is incensed and laments their price in aloud
voice (Aristoph. Vespae 295). A set of knucklebones
could be aprize for diligence in learning: an epigram by
Asclepiades mentions a schoolboy who received 80 as-
tragali for his good handwriting:
, ,

[Better than all students was Konnaros at writing his letters;
He received aprize of eighty knucklebones for his success...]
(AP, VI, 308)
Astragali are commonly found in graves. Tens and
hundreds of them were discovered in childrens buri-
als in Myrina (Myrina 1887: 90; grave No. 95: 161 as-
1
I am grateful to Dr Elena Khodza for kindly allowing me to use
the materials in her keeping.
tragali; grave No. 96: 230 astragali; grave No. 111: 32
astragali) but this is nothing in comparison with the
Locri necropolis, where the dead in some of the tombs
were literally buried under the astragali. Hampes study
of the depictions of astragali in art (Hampe 1951: 16,
Anm. 36) states that as many as 1,002 astragali were
found in one grave, and 1,400 in another. As favourite
toys, they were most ofen placed in childrens graves. In
the necropoles of the Black Sea region, they were found
both in child and adult burials. One childs grave from
Chersonesus contained 210 astragali (a whole fortune
for a boy!), some of which had holes drilled in them
Ill.5. Terracotta statuette: Girl Playing Dice. Inv.No.. 8010.
110 111
and some had been fled down fat on both sides; how-
ever, most of the knucklebones had not been worked
in any way at all. In another child burial, two astragali
with their sides grinded fat (Inv.No..1908.361; ill.6,
a, b) were placed next to a clay circle and a toy am-
phora (Inv. No. . 1908.362 and . 1908.360; ill. 6, c,
d). As many as 75 astragali were found together with
squat lekythoi in a fourth-century BC Panticapaeum
burial (Shkorpil 1907: 5 (grave No. 9)) next to one
of the two skeletons; 21 of them are at the Hermit-
age (Inv. No. . 1904.10). Tey are of diferent types:
some have holes drilled in them, some have been
grinded fat on both sides, some are whole, and some
have numeric markings (ill. 7) (Peters 1980: 83; ta-
ble XVII, 5, 7).
1
In a second-century AD burial from
Panticapaeum, seventeen whole astragali and four
pieces were placed in a toy terracotta cart drawn by
a bullock (Inv. No. . 1903.134 (Benkovsky 1904: 65,
fg. 8; Shkorpil 1905: 64 (grave No. 312 (189))). Tis
fact makes one recall one of the inscriptions from Epi-
daurus containing stories of miraculous healing which
were meant to instruct the pilgrims while they went to
sleep in the Asclepieion. Testory is about aboy who
had stones in his bladder. Te god appeared to him in
his dream and asked what his reward would be if he
1
I am grateful to Dr Dmitry Chistov for his permission to use the
Panticapaeum material.
were to make him better. Te little patient immedi-
ately said Ten knucklebones!. Asclepius laughed and
healed him (Syll 1900: No. 802, l. 6872). Astragali
were used in many diferent games, including odd and
even (); they were thrown in an attempt to
Ill.6. Toys from achilds burial. Chersonesus. Te State Hermitage Museum.
a, b Inv.No.. 1908.361; c Inv.No.. 1908.362; d Inv.No.. 1908.360
a
b
c
get them inside a circle drawn on the ground or dis-
place another astragal and move it outside the circle
(, circle), or tossed into a hole in the earth
(). One of the astragali found in Olbia, which was
probably used for tossing, has a scratched inscription
a b
c
Ill.7. Astragali from aburial. Panticapaeum. Te State Hermitage Museum.
a, b, c Inv.No.. 1904.10
d
112 113
Ill.8. Astragalus with ahole drilled through it. Chersonesus.
drilled in them, like the Chersonesus knucklebone
(Inv.No..1908.94; ill.8). Sometimes, the pierced as-
tragal was made heavier by inserting apiece of lead in
the hole, which made it agood tool for the game
(so that it can be tossed the way the young man in the
Tsarskoye Selo sculpture is doing).
Tere were also less innocent games involving as-
tragali, those involving luck and a dream of getting
rich quick. It was possible to win asubstantial sum: the
stakes could be small at the beginning of the game, but
they grew quickly as penalties for incorrect or unsuc-
cessful throws accumulated. Te winner could take it
all. Tese games were, of course, every bit as engrossing
for the adults as the simple knucklebone games were for
the children, if not more so. Even the Emperor Augus-
tus, the protector of traditional Roman virtues, would
on it which reads () (hit) (Yailenko 1980: 93).
Girls liked to play a game of fve stones ()
(DA, t. 5: 2829): fve small stones or astragali had to
be thrown in the air and caught with the back of the
players palm, just like it is done by Nike on agem cur-
rently in Berlin (Furtwngler 1900: Taf. XIV, 27). Two
astragali from afourth-century Panticapaeum site have
numeric markings: (9) and (40) or, if the bone
is turned sideways, (200) on each side (see ill. 7, ).
Tey were probably part of aset used in agame similar
to lotto, when the numbers shown by the leader had to
be visible to all the players (which explains the repeti-
tion of the mark on four sides and the red colour of the
letters).
Te most common game involved four astragali
(), and it was popular with both chil-
dren and adults. Plato livens up Socrates serious con-
versation with his pupils described in his dialogue Ly-
sis with a scene from school life, which involves boys
playing knucklebones in the palaestra. Te action takes
place in a newly-built palaestra outside the northern
wall of Athens, near the fountain of Panops, which was
probably not far from Diocharos Gate (Delorme 1960:
60, 441: the author mentions twice that the palaestra
was located right under the city wall). As Socrates is
walking along the road following the city walls from
the Academy to the Lyceum, he is stopped halfway by
his pupils accompanied by agroup of young men and
invited to the palaestra to continue his conversation
and to meet Lysis, the boy mentioned in the discus-
sion. As this was the time of the festival of Hermaea,
all the pupils, both the boys and the young men, were
there. Upon entering we found that the boys had
just been sacrifcing; and this part of the festival was
nearly at an end. Tey were all in their white array,
and games at dice were going on among them. Most
of them were in the outer court amusing themselves;
but some were in a corner of the Apodyterium play-
ing at odd and even with anumber of dice, which they
took out of little wicker baskets. Tere was also acircle
of lookers-on... (Plat. Lys. 206 E). It is beyond doubt
that this is a realistic description. Te amusements of
the adolescents must have made Plato recall his own
youth. He was an accomplished gymnast and wrestler
in his early years. Tall and broad-shouldered, he took
part in wrestling competitions at the Isthmian Games
(RE, Hbd. 40, Sp. 2348). It has even been suggested
that Plato was a nickname (from , broad,
broad-shouldered), while the philosopher was in fact
named Aristocles, afer his grandfather. Tis is now
considered to be a false claim based on the Hellenis-
tic biographies of Plato (Notopoulos 1939: 143). Plato
knew Lysis father, whose stables were the best in the
city, so it is not surprising that in the dialogue, Socrates
is well informed about the sporting prowess of the boys
father and grandfather. Te reality of the episode de-
scribed in the dialogue has been recently confrmed
by the discovery of the tomb of Lysis in Athens: it is
a marble loutrophoros with a parting scene shown in
relief (Stroud 1984: 354360, pl. 68). It is noteworthy
that aLate Antique scholiast who produced acommen-
tary on this text by Plato did not start an ethical discus-
sion of the dialogue, instead providing afairly detailed
description of diferent games involving the astragali
(Marquardt 1886: 851852, Anm. 6) he must have
had alot of personal memories to rely on as well. Tis
description, along with the information given by Ar-
istotle in his History of Animals (Marquardt1886: 850,
Anm. 4), as well as a note by the second-century lexi-
cographer Julius Pollux (Marquardt 1886: 850, Anm.2;
861, Anm.2), are our most important sources of infor-
mation on the types of games played by the ancients.
Te astragali were kept in diferent receptacles: in little
baskets, like those possessed by the boys at Lysis pa-
laestra, in bags, in specially made or any available ves-
sels, which could also be used in the game to shuf e the
bones before they were thrown. Astragali could be car-
ried along strung on alength of rope if they had holes
while away some evenings playing with his friends for
stakes of asingle denarius or even for larger sums, and
did not restrict himself to the Saturnalia festivities in
December when the Romans were traditionally al-
lowed to indulge in less than innocent entertainment.
Suetonius quotes excerpts from Augustus letters in his
biography of the Emperor: in one of them, Augustus
recounts how he was amusing himself with his friends
at ameal. Tey were tossing the dice, and whoever got
the Dog (the lowest score) or a six added a denarius
per die to the stake, while whoever threw aVenus (the
best throw; see below) took the money; August con-
fessed to having gambled away about twenty thousand
in this way. Another letter was accompanied with agif
of 250 denarii each for his daughter and her guests in
case they wanted to play dice or odd and even during
Ill.9. Astragalus with an inscription. Crimea. Inv.No.. 14372.
Ill.10. Astragalus with agraf to. Crimea. Inv.No.. 14374.
Ill.11, a, b. Astragalus with an inscription. Crimea. Inv.No.. 14373. Te State Hermitage Museum
a
b
114 115
dinner (Sueton. Aug. 71). U. Schdler explains Augus-
tus passion for astragali by the Graecophilia typical of
his time, and ahint at the victorious foremother of his
family, the Julii, since it was aVenus throw that was
supposed to bring luck in the game (Schdler 1996: 72).
To be fair, Augustus also mentioned the odd and even
game when sending the money to his daughter, and the
Venus throw had no part in that. It is hard to believe
that the Emperor would follow ideological formulas
used in his of cial propaganda when he was relaxing at
home, in an informal atmosphere. He must have simply
liked the excitement of gambling, and the simple yet
engrossing pastime of playing dice was a good way of
forgetting his everyday cares. Further evidence of the
games popularity in Rome is furnished by the atten-
tion of Martial, ever attuned to every important social
habit, who mentions it in two of his epigrams (Mar-
tialXIV, 14, 15).
A game of required four dice. Ar-
istotle described this piece using the commonly used
names of the sides of the astragalus (Marquardt 1886:
850, Anm. 4). Each of them had a number of points
allocated to it, similar to that of asix-sided die: 1, 3, 4,
6 (the two opposite narrow sides had values of 1 and 6,
while the two broad sides had values of 3 and 4). Since
an astragalus cannot be balanced on one of its round
sides, there were no numbers 2 and 5 (Marquardt 1886:
851; Jthner 1926: 105116). Tis is how agame of as-
tragali was described by a Late Antique commentator
to the above-mentioned passage of Platos Lysis: ... it
is played with four astragali with seven values on their
opposite sides, like those of a die (i.e. 3 and 4, 1 and
6 Yu. K.). <...> Tere are 35 combinations all in all.
Some of these scores are named afer gods, some afer
heroes, some afer kings, and some afer famous people,
some afer hetaerae, and some afer the people present,
whether out of respect for them or in mockery. Among
the names are Stesichorus and Euripides. Stesicho-
rus stands for the score of eight, and Euripides for 40.
Te throw means that the astragali have returned
avalue of 6, and , (dog) means that all the
scores are ones (Schol. ad Plat. Lys. 206 E, from Mar-
quardt 1886: 851852, Anm.6). Other sources, mainly
epigrams, mention the names of other throws which
accord with this description of the game: Alexander,
Berenice, Antigonus, Darius, the king throw. Te
throw which yielded four diferent readings was con-
sidered lucky, despite the fact that the sum of all the
scores (1 + 3 + 4 + 6) was only 14. Tis throw was
known as . Since this term is only used by the
writers of the Roman times, it is believed to be acalque
from the Roman Venus. Te goal of the game called
was to gain the highest score, and so
the best throw was the one which yielded four sixes
(Blmner 1911: 414). In all the varieties of the game
practiced by the Greeks and the Romans, the worst
throw was considered to be the one which yielded four
ones, i.e. the lowest possible score. Its name was ,
or canis, the dog. A counter piece could be used to
record the score during the game. Sometimes these
were astragali with numeric and other markings, like
the piece from the Crimea published by Ludolf Stepha-
ni: M (40) (Inv. No. . 14372 (OAK for 1868: 123);
ill. 9). Te astragalus found in the Myrina necropolis
has the inscription which reads (208) or possibly
MH (48). Tere are also astragali marked with charac-
ters resembling Y (400), (700), as well as drawings
of what seems to be astair and alabrys (Myrina 1887:
217, fg.24; 591, Nos. 612614); one of the Crimean as-
tragali has anet carved on its side (Inv.No..14374;
ill. 10). Te astragali which were fled down on both
sides were not used as gaming pieces but only as coun-
ters (Myrina 1887: 218)
1
. A number of Panticapaeum
pieces held by the Hermitage can be cited as examples
(Peters 1980: 154; table XVII). Sometimes, numeric
markings were scratched on the upper fat surface of
such astragali, just like those evidenced by the above-
mentioned Panticapaeum site: (40), (10), and
(11) (see ill.7, b). Various additional conditions could
be added to this simple game, and throws could be giv-
en any names that could be conjured up by the players
imaginations, as noted by the Plato commentator (OAK
for 1868: 123, note 1; Marquardt 1886: 852, Anm. 6;
Myrina 1887: 218; DA, t. 5: 29). It has been suggested
that the term is not in fact the name of the
great playwright but rather a pun reading ,
throw well (RE, Bd. XIII, Sp. 1949), an example of
students humour. Single words similar to the names
listed by the Plato commentator have been attested on
astragali found during excavations. Tus, afled-down
1
It is hardly possible to accept Blavatskayas opinion that both the
astragali with fattened sides and those with inscriptions were used
in a board game similar to checkers (Blavatskaya 1959: 76, 7880);
there were special thin and fat or fat-convex pieces for that purpose.
Simple chips made of astragali were convenient pieces for recording
the score in any game.
astragalus found in one of the graves of the Myrina ne-
cropolis reads , feast, which may indicate alucky
throw (Myrina 1887: 217, fg.24, 1).
Te inscription reading / [?] or
[?] on the Hermitage astragalus from the Crimea
contains the names of Eros and Ajax (Inv.No.. 14373
(OAK for 1868: 122123); ill. 11)
1
, which can prob-
ably be read either as aname for asuccessful throw or
a plea for divine help. We know of an astragalus with
an inscription reading from the museum of the
island of Mykonos (RE, Bd.XIII, Sp. 1946). Te inscrip-
tion on one of the fat sides of the astragalus found in
Panticapaeum reads (Blavatskaya 1959: 7879).
Te word EPMH, which is probably an invocation of
Hermes in vocative, , is also carved on a Hellen-
istic astragalus from asettlement in Galilee (Last 2000:
248). Te inscription on an astragalus from
Chersonesus can be added to this list.
Te site of Afrasiyab, on the far frontier of the Hel-
lenistic world, yielded an astragalus dating back to
the3rd 2nd centuries BC with the Greek inscription
reading KTHC (Akhunbabayev 1991: 73, fg.1). Te in-
scription is an abbreviation of one of the words invented
by players to denote the lucky throws, according to the
Plato commentator: , acquisition, possession or
1
Edmond Pottier and Salomon Reinach believed that these in-
scriptions came from diferent dice (Myrina 1887: 217).
, own; or else the owner of the astragalus may
have wanted to enhance its power by calling on Zeus
Ktesios ( ), who could preserve or increase
someones property (Roscher 19241937: 694). Tis was
probably a motto carved on a die for luck rather than
an amulet which was meant to keep the family safe and
well, according to the publisher of the Afrasiyab astra-
galus (Akhunbabayev 1991: 75).
Both the astragali themselves and their images could
serve as amaterial embodiment of wishes of good luck
and happiness; consider the black-glazed Attic and
South Italian vessels shaped as astragali which were
used to feed babies (State Hermitage, entry Nos..827,
. 828). A carved stone with a cornucopia placed be-
tween the four astragali showing a lucky combina-
tion (each adiferent side up) and the inscription read-
ing MEMENTO/IO, remember (Empronte gemmarie,
No.115) (ill.12) may well have served as amemorable
present which carried wishes of good luck. Moreover,
an astragalus was interpreted as asymbol of something
unsteady and risky: the author of one of the epigrams
jokingly predicts that the addressee, a drunkard and
ascattergood, will have alopsided knucklebone as his
gravestone (AP VI, 428). Tis image of amemorial can
be read as an attitude to an astragalus as a symbol of
the boundary between life and death; cf. the interpre-
tation of a dream about Charon playing dice given by
Artemidorus (Artemidorus I, 4). On the whole, it is
Ill.12. Intaglio print on plaster: four astragali and acornucopia
(Empronte gemmarie, No.115)
Ill.13. Intaglio print on plaster: the word EROS between four
astragali (Empronte gemmarie, No.116)
116 117
asymbol of any transient and variable things. An astra-
galus could, of course, be awelcome sign of good luck,
a happy occasion, a win including success in the af-
fairs of the heart. Te random combinations of dice in
agame are similar to the changeable and volatile emo-
tions: according to Anacreon,
[...astragali are the madness
and turmoil of Eros] (Anacr. fr. 39 (44)). Tis line could
Ill.14. String of beads of diferent kinds including two knucklebone-shaped beads.
Gold. Bolshaya Bliznitsa Burial. Inv.No..116. Te State Hermitage Museum.
a general view; b fragment
Ill.15. Globular bead and astragali-shaped beads. Gold. Panticapaeum. Inv.No.. 1872.143.
a
b
well be illustrated by the print of a carved stone with
the inscription EROS surrounded by four astragali
forming a Venus throw, just like the previous item;
this must be a metaphor of success in love (Empronte
gemmarie, No.116) (ill.13). Te statuette from the Ber-
lin museums shows agirl who is gazing wistfully at the
astragali which form the Aphrodite throw (Le sport
dans la Grce antique 1992, Cat. No. 36). Te earring
pendants from late 4th century BC held by the Berlin
museums, show Nike casting dice (Greifenhagen 1975,
Taf. 40, 4). Te image of this goddess was ofen used
in jewellery as a symbol of the all-conquering female
charms, and in this case, the astragali are an additional
hint at her fckle nature. Tis means that the astragalus
had its place among amulets and ornaments with
amessage, which is further suggested by the necklace
from the last quarter of the 4th century BC found in
a stone burial chamber from the Bolshaya Bliznitsa
barrow. Apart from knucklebone-shaped beads, it also
contained those shaped like aHercules knot, frogs, ci-
cadas, masks, animal heads
1
(Inv. No. . 116 (
for 1869: 130, table I, 15); ill. 14). However, we can-
not be sure that the owner of the necklace treated these
symbols seriously: magic themes, just like gallant ones,
were used so ofen that they became a commonplace
in decorative art. Tis applies to the clasps of the neck-
lace in question, which are shaped like Hercules clubs,
which in the hands of Eros was an allegory for the
weapon of all-conquering love
2
. A necklace found in
aPanticapaeum burial from the 2nd century consisted
of agranulated bead and eight further astragali-shaped
beads (Inv.No.. 1872.143; ill. 15). Astragali made of
diferent types of decorative stones or glass could serve
as talismans, like the rock crystal astragalus found
in Chersonesus in what seems to be a childs grave
1
I am grateful to Mrs Ludmila Nekrasova for her help and the
materials she placed at my disposal.
2
Furtwngler considered the club as one of the attributes point-
ing to Eros as the true lord of the world (Furtwngler 1900:280).
(Inv. No. . 1890.13 ( for 1890: 129); ill. 16), or
a glass astragalus (State Hermitage, entry No. . 225)
(given examples do not complete the total quantity of
the knucklebones held by the Hermitage).
Tus, words carved on the astragali may be inter-
preted as mottos expressing hope for a lucky throw
or an invocation of a deitys help in a game a verbal
magic of a kind. Moreover, astragali with verbal and
numeric markings could serve as counters in a game,
which contained signs or special terms which could re-
cord individual throws or the sums of scores. Te Plato
commentator frst named gods and heroes in his list of
inscriptions that could appear on the astragali; on the
whole, the list seems to include the names and terms
associated with help, success, the achievement of ones
goal (which is only natural in agame). Te inscription
on the astragalus from Chersonesus places it amongst
the dice enhanced by the addition of votive mottos
in this case, the name of Sarapis, the god of plenty, the
helper, the foreteller of the future.
Despite its small size, this astragalus indicates that
the inhabitants of the Hellenistic Chersonesus were fa-
miliar with the new deity. Te cult of Sarapis did not
become known to the Greeks until the very end of
the 4th century BC, afer it was introduced in Egypt
by Ptolemy I and spread over the Mediterranean in
the 3rd century; there was a Sarapiast society in Ath-
ens as early as the year 250 (RE, Bd. 1, Sp. 2415). Te
spread of the cults of Egyptian deities to the cities of
the North Black Sea region as early as the 3rd century
BC is traditionally linked with the more extensive con-
118 119
tacts with Egypt (Shurgaya 1997: 209). Tus, bronze
fnger rings with portraits of the members of the ruling
family (Neverov 1976: 167176) and an altar found in
Chersonesus, which is dedicated to the Egyptian triad
of gods (see below) can serve as evidence of personal
contacts between the inhabitants of the cities of the
Black Sea coast with Egypt and its gods. Te publish-
ers of the Chersonesus altar have discussed at length
the introduction of Egyptian cults to the North Black
Sea region (Vinogradov, Zolotarev 2000: 285290, 292).
Aprominent illustration of the fact that the Greeks liv-
ing along the Black Sea coast were familiar with Egyp-
tian culture is provided by the drawing of the ship of
Isis on the plaster of the temple building in the Bospo-
ran city of Nymphaion. According to N. Grachs sugges-
tion, which has been generally accepted, this drawing is
probably an evidence of Egyptian embassy sent to the
King of Bosporus (Grach 1984: 87; Vinogradov, Zolo-
tarev 2000: 289). G. Semenov used the description of
alaunch of the sacred ship of Isis provided by Apuleius
(Metamorphoses XI, 16) to suggest that the drawing re-
ferred to a festival marking the start of the navigation
season linked to the cult of Isis (Semenov 1995: 225).
Although the treatment of the drawing as acult picture
requires further development, it is clear that the spread
of Egyptian motifs in the North Black Sea region can-
not be linked exclusively with direct trade, political
or personal links with Egypt. All over the Hellenistic
world, new trends were assimilated as aresult of an in-
tegration with the Eastern cultures, including the cul-
ture of Ptolemaic Egypt, and the community of North
Black Sea cities as apart of this (i.e. Hellenistic) world
was just ready to embrace these innovations. Te cult of
Sarapis, which was formed in the Greek-speaking com-
munity of Alexandria as the worship of an all-powerful
god, the saviour and benefactor, quickly found new
adepts all over the Hellenistic world. Incidentally, as
A. Davydova observes, in Egypt itself the cult of Sara-
pis was for along time restricted to the capital and the
cities of the Delta which were within the orbit of Hel-
lenistic culture, and did not spread to the agricultural
inner areas until the turn of the millennium, under the
Roman rule (Davydova 2009: 147162).
Te earliest mention of the cult of Sarapis in Cher-
sonesus comes in the altar devoted to Sarapis, Isis and
Anubis by a certain Charmippos, dated to the mid-
3rd century BC (Vinogradov, Zolotarev 1994: 63; see
further Vinogradov, Zolotarev 2000: 284294). A gold-
en ring from the turn of the millennium found in Pan-
ticapaeum depicts aslightly diferent triad of Egyptian
gods: Isis, Sarapis, Harpocrates (Neverov1978:168169,
183, No.6; Arslan 1997: 569, No.VI, 30; Veymiers 2009:
325). An astragalus inscribed with the name of Sarapis
is an evidence of the fact that the ordinary town dwell-
ers had agood notion of the new deity in his capacity as
the provider of help in this case, the help needed by
the local gamblers hoping forluck in their game of dice.
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Hercules and Omphale was frst listed in the Her-
mitage inventory as the work of an unidentifed seven-
teenth-century German artist (Inv. No. 8746; oil on
canvas; 11398 cm; the painting arrived in 1931 from
Antikvariat, having formerly been at Gatchina Palace
Museum; ill. 1). Te hero of the Greek myth is shown
at the most inglorious moment in his career: Hercules
was punished by the Oracle at Delphi for inadvertently
killing young Iphitus and forced to spend three years
in slavery to Omphale, Queen of Lydia, who made this
son of Zeus put on female attire and spin wool.
1
Sofly
emerging from agloomy background is the tanned torso
of Hercules, contrasting with the white fesh of Omphale,
which, thanks to the use of pale scumbling, seems to be
lit from within. Omphales lef hand, beautiful in shape
but rather sof and faccid, the long fngers spread, holds
Hercules confscated club, while her right one, the small
fnger tipped coquettishly, hands him a distaf. In style,
fgure types, use of colour and the very specifc use of
light and shade arather muted version of the work of
the Caravaggist artists known in Venice as the tenebrosi
indicate that the author worked in the circle of Johann
Carl Loth (16321698), known in Italy as Carlotto. Te
manner of conveying gestures and the form of the hands
and fgures are also similar to this artist.
Loth, aGerman artist from Bavaria, had one of the
largest studios in Venice in the 17th century, almost
as important as that of the celebrated Venetian paint-
er Giovanni Battista Langetti (16251676). Te artists
working and studying there were mainly Loths fellow
1
Ovid. Heroid. IX, 55118; Apollod. II, 6, 23; Stat. Teb. X,
646649 etc.
countrymen, amongst whom the most renowned were
to be his pupils Daniel Seiter, Johann Michael Rottmayr
and Hans Adam Weissenkirchner.
At frst glance, one might see the Hermitage paint-
ing as the work of Loth himself. Certainly the painting
manner is very close. a comparison with John the Bap-
tist Explains his Message to the Scribes (private collection,
Icking), shows that the index fnger of the right hand of
both Hercules and John is raised in identical manner
and the fngers on Hercules lef hand, the strong fn-
gernails carefully worked up, have the same somewhat
pointed form as those of John. Other parallels are to be
found in two pictures of Eliezer and Rebecca at the Well
(Inv.No. 3675; oil on canvas; 123158.5 cm; ill.2;
M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco) and
Anthony and Cleopatra (private collection, Milan). In all
of these paintings the womans neck curves in just the
same way, and she has the same eyes, nose, chin and
lips. Tere are close parallels for the way the shadows
are applied beneath the chin, in the nostrils and to the
backs of the hands.
When we look more closely, however, it becomes
clear that the immediate response should be rejected.
Despite the formal similarities, the cited works by Loth
are all painted with much greater confdence and free-
dom than the Hermitage canvas. Hercules and Omphale
creates a somewhat stilted impression, the sense that
this is apupil at work rather than the skilful Loth him-
self. Hercules right arm seems to be somewhat cramped,
as if the artist could not quite ft the composition into
the canvas, although the putto (Cupid) is painted more
freely and vividly, with greater sense of relief. X-rays of
MARIA GARLOVA
A PAINTING OF HERCULES AND OMPHALE IN THE HERMITAGE MUSEUM AND ITS AUTHOR
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[Kostoreznoje delo v antinyx
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1903 . [Te Report on the Excavations
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1904 . [Te Report on the Excavations
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122 123
Ill. 1. Hans Adam Weissenkirchner. Hercules and Omphale. Te State Hermitage Museum
the paintings by Loth in the Hermitage and of Hercules
and Omphale demonstrate that the application of the
brushstrokes is diferent, particularly in the working
up of light and shade in the body, confrming that they
are the work of diferent artists. At the same time, they
show that the use of light and shade in the fgure of the
putto is very similar to that of children in Loths paint-
ings, such as Te Holy Family (Inv.No. 7288; oil on
canvas; 92.579 cm; compare ills.3, 4), suggesting that
Loth himself may have played asmall part in the execu-
tion of Hercules and Omphale.
Further light is thrown on the question by anoth-
er painting, Satyr and a Sleeping Nymph (Burg Kron-
berg, Germany), which Gerhard Ewald (Ewald 1965)
saw as the work of the master himself, while Barbara
Ruck considered it to be a product of the workshop
(Ruck 1985: cat. 48).
1
In the Alte Galerie of the Uni-
versalmuseum Joanneum in Graz, Austria, is a literal
reduced copy of the painting at Burg Kronberg, entitled
Jupiter and Antiope, which bears an inscription on the
back: Hans Adamus Weiskircher. 1695 (Inv. No. 142)
(ill.5). acomparison of Hercules and Omphale with this
painting reveals clear similarities.
1
Barbara Ruck cites adrawing by Hans Adam Weissenkirchner
from this painting, in reverse, which difers very slightly in the details,
and suggests that it may have been a preparatory sketch for a now
lost print. Tere is a print afer the painting, made by Johann Veit
Kauperz in 1774.
Ill. 2. Johann Carl Loth. Eliezer and Rebecca at the Well. 1670s. Te State Hermitage Museum
124 125
Hans Adam Weissenkirchner (16461695) was born
into a family of artists and sculptors active in their na-
tive city of Salzburg since the 15th century. He is best
known for his work as acourt artist, decorating Schloss
Eggenberg in Graz and most notably producing the vast
paintings that adorn the Planetary Room on the ground
foor. Weissenkirchner was taught in the family studio
but completed his education in Italy at the expense of
Princes von Eggenberg and it was thanks to this fnan-
cial support and to family contacts that he found himself
aplace in the studio of Johann Loth in Venice, where he
worked between 1670 and 1678.
Whether Loth himself painted Satyr and a Sleeping
Nymph alone or with the aid of Weissenkirchner is un-
important. Loths vast workshop, like many of similar
scale, functioned like a production line, with one assis-
tant priming the canvas, another painting the ground,
others laying out the paint in accordance with the mas-
ters sketches. Some artists were entrusted with execut-
ing awhole composition or producing copies. As far as
we know, the painting at Burg Kronberg has not been
subjected to X-ray analysis, but of greatest importance
for our purposes is the reduced copy by Weissenkirchner,
Jupiter and Antiope, where the face of Jupiter as a satyr
Ill. 3. Hans Adam Weissenkirchner. Hercules and Omphale. X-ray photograph. Detail Ill. 4. Johann Carl Loth. Te Holy Family. X-ray photograph. Detail
is very similar in feature to that of Hercules in the Her-
mitage painting. We know that Weissenkirchner was the
most imitative of all of Loths pupils and if the Hermitage
work is very close in appearance to Loths own works but
not painted by him then it can surely only have come
from the brush of his epigone. We have many examples
of this pupils weaker copies of his masters originals:
compare Loths St. Jerome (Palazzo Cantarini, Venice)
and that of Weissenkirchner (Alte Galerie, Graz), Loths
Te Angels Appearing to Abraham (Shipley Art Gallery,
Gateshead) and Weissenkirchners St.Paul (Alte Galerie,
Graz), Loths Lot and his Daughters (Romberk Castle,
Bohemia (Ruck 1985: cat. 32) and Weissenkirchners
Susanna and the Elders (Ruck 1985: cat. 44).
Unfortunately, Weissenkirchners paintings in the
Graz museum have not been X-rayed, providing no ma-
terial for a comparison with X-rays of the work in the
Hermitage, but we do have asignifcant body of materi-
al providing evidence to support his authorship. During
restoration of the Planetary Room at Schloss Eggenberg,
Weissenkirchners large canvases there were subjected
to extremely close study. Tere is of course consider-
able diference between easel paintings, particularly
works created in Venice, and such vast canvases, apoint
126 127
made by many art historians, but the basic techniques
employed by an artist do not change. Tose techniques
were described in detail (Ruck 1985: 4851). a similar
study of Hercules and Omphale undertaken by Hermit-
age restorers Maria Shulepova and Alexey Nikolsky led
them to conclude that the features of Weissenkirchners
technique noted by Barbara Ruck fully accord with
those visible in the painting. X-rays revealed that the
canvas is not Venetian but of coarser weave, like that
used by Weissenkirchner (ills. 3, 6, 7). As was the prac-
tice in Loths workshop and indeed in Venice, the primer
was adark brownish-red mixture of bole, glue and chalk.
One particular feature of Weissenkirchners work is the
application of asingle layer of primer, rather than two
or three as was the practice in Venice and in Loths own
paintings, and this is clearly visible even to the naked
eye. Weissenkirchner immediately applied the outlines
of his composition in white chalk or with the brush
and painted alla prima with rapid, open brushstrokes,
without any complex colour combinations, using asim-
ple alternation of impasto strokes and strokes applied
with an almost dry brush in large areas of shade. Tis is
clearly visible beneath the puttos arm in X-rays of the
Hermitage painting (ill.3). Weissenkirchner applied the
upper layers of painting, the draperies and fesh tones,
with thick impasto strokes, correcting the drawing as
he went, not waiting for the earlier paint to dry. Tus
he painted on awet surface. Tis rapid creative process
is visible in X-rays of the Hermitage canvas (ill 6). We
can see that the artist changed the position of Hercules
hand several times, and that of the distaf and of Om-
phales earring (ill.7). Ultraviolet study of the painting
revealed no losses or areas of repainting. Te overall re-
sult of the comparison was the conclusion that all the
features typical of Weissenkirchners painting manner
were to be found in the Hermitage painting, visible ei-
ther to the naked eye or under X-ray. Tis opinion was
confrmed by colleagues in the Hermitages Laboratory
for Technical and Technological Study (Lylia Vyazmen-
skaya).
In his easel paintings in notable distinction to the
approach taken in his vast decorative canvases at Schloss
Ill. 5. Hans Adam Weissenkirchner. Jupiter and Antiope. 1695.
Alte Galerie, Universalmuseum Joanneum, Graz, Austria
Eggenberg Weissenkirchner made no attempt to free
himself of Loths infuence, repeating both his masters
good points and the bad. He varied the compositions
created by Loth or literally transferred his teachers fg-
ures onto his own canvases, keeping always to the same
general range of subjects. His canvases also lack land-
scapes or architectural elements and both artists pre-
ferred to depict knee-length female fgures. To an even
greater extent than Loth, Weissenkirchner tempered the
dramatism of the Baroque.
Stylistic similarities to the work of Loth are particu-
larly visible in Weissenkirchners paintings produced
in the masters workshop on commission from Counts
Schnborn. Te Schnborns, the Eggenbergs and Weis-
senkirchners other clients tended to prefer aquite spe-
cifc range of subjects. Tese included, in addition to
scenes from the Old and New Testaments and depic-
tions of the Virgin and specifc saints for their domestic
chapels, episodes from Classical history and Ancient
mythology, the latter ofering allegorical expression of
simple moralising and didactic messages. Erotic mo-
tifs from the Old Testament or myths were presented
in a negative light (Ruck 1985: 119). Te Hermitage
painting can confdently be placed with this group of
Weissenkirchners works, created in Loths workshop on
commission from one of his fellow countrymen.
In its didactic subtext the painting is very much
in keeping with such an approach. Weissenkirchners
treatment of the subject of Hercules and Omphale quite
deliberately hints at the earlier image of the lustful satyr.
He gives Hercules alarge mouth with aslightly protrud-
ing thick lower lip, the nose projecting over the fat up-
per lip. His Hercules has broad cheekbones and narrow,
slightly slanted eyes. Combined with the unruly dark
hair and beard this gives the Classical hero asomewhat
barbarian appearance. Te painter removes all traces of
heroism, and only the athletic body of this demoralised
man reminds us of his great feats. Hercules gaze is fxed
on Omphale, his voracious smile a clear indication of
total submission to the object of his passion. Te master
accentuates the heros subordinate position, enslaved by
Omphales charms, making the scene one of temptation,
Ill. 6. Hans Adam Weissenkirchner. Hercules and Omphale.
X-ray photograph. Detail
Ill. 7. Hans Adam Weissenkirchner. Hercules and Omphale.
X-ray photograph. Detail
128
on a par with themes such as Mars and Venus, Joseph
and Potiphars Wife, Venus in Vulcans Forge. Tis is em-
phasised through the introduction of the putto (Cupid)
with fufy blue wings, stretching forth his hand to Her-
cules and Omphale, as if seeking to unite them. Om-
phale looks at Hercules along her nose, her gaze shy and
beseeching. We are to understand the subject of picture
as loves slavery. Although the gesture of Hercules right
hand recalls that of the satyr (Jupiter) the meaning here
is diferent. Where the satyr pressed his fnger to his lips
for fear of awaking the sleeping nymph, Hercules ges-
ticulates as he speaks, seeming to be conversing with the
Queen as his lef arm embraces her shoulders. Te image
of Omphale combines both femininity and strength: her
long elegantly curving neck and the chin are strong, the
eyes turned towards the hero are large, her skin glori-
ously luminous, its curves modelled with the fnest light
and shade. Te bronze bracelet and zone (belt) and the
coarse dark fngers of Hercules on Omphales lef shoul-
der only emphasise the tempting sofness of her body.
Just those same full lips, large eyes and slightly heavy
chin and similar modelling of the body, perhaps slightly
less feminine, are to be seen in the image of Constan-
zia from the series of Virtues in the Planetary Room at
Schloss Eggenberg (Ruck 1985: cat. 7, pl. 8).
Although the subject of Hercules and Omphale
was very popular with Italian and French artists in the
17thcentury, it was much more rarely found in Dutch
or German painting of the age. Of the three paintings by
German artists cited by Pigler in his Barockthemen (Pi-
gler 1974), only one survives today. Tis too is awork
by Weissenkirchner, now in the Alte Galerie in Graz,
painted in 16821683, at the same time as the Eggen-
berg cycle. Due to serious losses to the original paint
layer we can today judge only the basic composition:
the image itself, including the faces, is largely the result
of restoration. Another artist to turn to this episode
from the life of Hercules during the same decade was
Johann Heiss (Hercules and Omphale, c. 1675, Stadt-
museum, Memmingen, Germany) (Knigfeld 2001:
cat. a25 [ill.]). Te two artists set avery diferent tone
in their depictions of the same episode from the myth
of Hercules. Weissenkirchner, in accordance with the
preferences of his clients, the Schnborns and the
Eggenbergs, produced a love scene, an image of ten-
der temptation, an allegorical depiction symbolising
all those led astray from the true path. Heiss, mean-
while, who had aClassical education and took amore
academic approach, produced amore complicated im-
age, presenting the same subject as a scene of mock-
ery. Omphales maidservants vulgarly mock the fallen
hero, while the Queen herself stamps on his foot. In
this painting the putto (Cupid) invites the viewer to
join in the merriment. Te same myth was taken up
at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries by Bartho-
lomeus Spranger, who produced asmall cabinet paint-
ing sufused with quite open, sophisticated and man-
nered cold eroticism, of the kind dictated by the tastes
of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II.
When the painting arrived in the Hermitage from
Antikvariat in 1931 this was not its frst time in the mu-
seum. Te inventory of the Hermitage Picture Gallery
commenced in 1859 and continued to 1927 listed the
work under number 2176 as the work of Loth. a note
in the margin recorded that in 1925 the painting was
in room 16 of the Kitchen Block at Gatchina (manu-
script ,
II
[Inventory of Paintings and Ceilings in the
Care of the II Department of the Imperial Hermitage],
Department of Western European Fine Arts, Hermit-
age Museum). Before it was transferred to Gatchina
the painting hung in the upper row in the Large Italian
Ill. 8. Eduard Hau. Te Cabinet of the Italian Schools. 1856.
Watercolour. Te State Hermitage Museum
Skylight Hall in the New Hermitage, to the lef of the
door to the Spanish Skylight Hall, as can be seen in
a watercolour by Eduard Hau of 1856, Te Cabinet
ofthe Italian Schools (ill.8).
1

REFERENCES
Ewald 1965
Ewald, Gerhard. Johann Carl Loth (16321698). Amsterdam, 1965.
1
I would like to thank Irina Artemieva, Senior Curator in the De-
partment of Western European Fine Arts, for pointing this out to me.
Knigfeld 2001
Knigfeld, Peter. Johann Heiss. 16401704. Weissenhorn, 2001.
Pigler 1974
Pigler, Andor. Barockthemen: Eine Auswahl von Verzeichnissen
zur Ikonographie des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts. Budapest, 1974.
3vols.
Ruck 1985
Ruck, Barbara. Hans Adam Weissenkircher (16461695). Frst-
lich Eggenbergischer Hofmaler. Aus Anlass der Vollendung des Eg-
genberger Planetensaales vor 300 Jahren: Sonderausstellung, Graz,
Schloss Eggenberg, 13. Juni 13. Oktober 1985: Katalog. Graz, 1985.
Ill. 9. Eduard Hau. Te Cabinet of the Italian Schools. Detail showing Hercules and Omphale hanging
in the Large Italian Skylight Hall in the New Hermitage
130 131
Europes last year of peace at the start of the 20thcen-
tury, 1913, was an anniversary year for the German Em-
pire, which marked twenty-fve years of rule by Kaiser
Wilhelm II. Contemporary anniversary publications
record that celebrations started on 9 June with a mag-
nifcent procession through the Kaisers palace. Over the
course of the following week theatrical productions and
rich banquets were held in the palace. Te of cial an-
niversary of Wilhelms accession to the throne, 15June,
started with a minute of silence in commemoration
of his father, Friedrich III, afer which came general
prayers. On the following day 7,000 schoolchildren
swore an oath of allegiance to Wilhelm II in the great
court of the palace. New banknotes and coins were is-
sued to mark the occasion and books were published in
honour of the head of state (Festpredigt 1913).
During the festivities the Kaiser received many gifs
from a variety of public and political organisations,
both German and foreign. One separate group of such
gifs was made up of written addresses to the Kaiser in
honour of the anniversary, each of them richly adorned
but employing very varied approaches to the decoration.
Te design and creation of the addresses was the work
of contemporary artists and crafsmen, individual jew-
ellers or jewellery frms.
Just such a one was an address from the American
Peace Society, produced by crafsmen at Tifanys (ill.1),
with aportrait of the Kaiser in the centre of the binding.
Te Union of German Engineers ordered an address
consisting of nine sheets bearing portraits of Frederick
the Great, Wilhelm I and Wilhelm II. Conrad Beumers
was the author of the binding for the address from the
OLGA LOKALOVA
AN ADDRESS TO EMPEROR WILHELM II IN THE STATE HERMITAGE MUSEUM
Ill.1. Address to Wilhelm II
from the American Peace Society (Tifany & Co.).
Published in Hohenzollern Jahrbuch 1913: 93
Ill.2. Address to Wilhelm II from the Congress of German Towns. By Otto Hupp. Germany. 1913.
Province of the Rhine. Te St.Petersburg Guards Regi-
ment of King Friedrich Wilhelm III presented asimilar
gif to Wilhelm II: a scroll with a congratulatory text,
housed in a long case topped with a helmet and stand-
ing on a base of three eagles claws (Kpenick Palace,
Berlin, Inv. No. 7778).
Amongst the gifs to the Kaiser was another address
(Hermitage, Inv. No. 16214; wood, silver, ivory, enam-
el; height 18 cm, length 56 cm, width 44 cm; ill. 2),
commissioned by the Congress of German Towns
(Der Deutsche Stdtetag). Tis was originally kept,
like the other gifs listed above, in the Kaisers palace
at Potsdam but has since 1951 been in the collection
of the State Hermitage Museum. Te address was
frst published in the journal Hohenzollern Jahrbuch
in1913, in an article by Otto Hintz, Professor of Berlin
University and a specialist in political history, look-
ing at Wilhelm IIs role and that of his predecessors
in Germanys domestic and foreign policy throughout
the 19th century (Hohenzollern Jahrbuch 1913:7895).
Te article is richly illustrated with photographs of the
gifs made in honour of Wilhelms anniversary, thanks
to which we were able to identify the author of the ad-
dress in the Hermitage.
Otto Hupp (18591949)was apainter from Munich
who also worked in the decorative arts, designed and
painted ornaments and illustrated and designed books.
He painted interiors, created new scripts and typefaces,
132 133
designed emblems, coats-of-arms and banknotes. He
also collaborated with the manufacturers Villeroy &
Boch and with various breweries, for whom he designed
ceramic tankards.
Hupp learned the techniques of polishing, engrav-
ing and gilding from his father, the engraver and medal-
maker Carl Heinrich Hupp. He received his professional
artistic education at the Dsseldorf Academy of Arts.
Later, in Munich, he worked in the studio of Rudolf
Seitz, where he learned various painting techniques.
Troughout his long career, Otto Hupp continued to
explore the many methods of working diferent materi-
als: how to etch metal or stone, to carve ivory or box-
wood, the arts of leather bookbinding and ceramics. It
seems incredible that a single man could master such
very diferent techniques but his multiple skills are con-
frmed by the few available sources, including a mono-
graph produced during the artists lifetime (Lange 1940)
and the catalogue of an exhibition in the 1980s (Otto
Hupp 1984). He appears to have worked alone, without
assistants or aworkshop.
In this article we are particularly interested in Otto
Hupps metalwork and ivory-carving. Amongst his
larger works we should mention the Kaisers crown,
acrucifxion and many lamps for the burial vault of the
German kings in Speyer Cathedral. He produced alarge
dish or basin as a gif to the Prince Regent of Bavaria,
Luitpold Karl Joseph Wilhelm.
Otto Hupps diferent creations are so varied in na-
ture that it is hard to identify a particular artistic style,
but it is clear that in his work with metal and ivory he
preferred a Historicist style. Nonetheless, while the ac-
cepted chronological framework for Historicism runs
from the 1820s to the 1890s, by far the greater number
of Hupps works in this style were produced later, in the
frst and second decades of the 20th century.
Te object of interest to us here is abrilliant example
of the Historicist style, but the artist approached the ad-
dress itself and the case in diferent ways, demanding
that we look at them separately.
In his treatment of the case the artist was inspired
by reminiscences of mediaeval Scandinavian art, al-
most certainly taking the Viking Bamberg Casket as
his direct model.
Te Bamberg Casket, ofen called the Casket of
St. Kunigunde, is now in the Bayerisches National-
museum in Munich (Inv. No. MA 286; oak, ivory,
paper, bronze, gold, iron, quartz; height 13.3 cm,
width 25.7 cm; ill. 3). It entered the museum in 1860
from the collection of Josef Martin von Reider, hav-
ing prior to that been for many years used (like many
similar Viking caskets) as areliquary in the Church of
St. Stephan in Bamberg (Viking Trade and Settlement
in Continental Western Europe 2010). Otto Hupp must
surely have been familiar with the museum collection,
including the Bamberg Casket, since he not only lived
in Munich but collaborated with Gabriel von Seidl, the
architect of the new building, erected in 18941899.
Te Bamberg Casket is undoubtedly one of the
most famous examples of Scandinavian (Norwegian)
mediaeval art, repeatedly mentioned in the literature.
Interest even spread to Russia, as is demonstrated by
the presence in the Hermitage collection of a plaster
copy (Inv. No. 2; painted plaster; height 13.5 cm,
width25.5cm; ill.4).
We do not know of any other caskets of this kind,
similar in form and decorative programme, and we
can thus be reasonably certain in asserting that it was
Hupps model when he designed the case for the address
to Wilhelm II.
According to the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, the
casket dates from the late 10th century, and there has
been general unanimity amongst scholars in their stylis-
tic analysis: it is decorated in the Mammen style, charac-
terised by a combination of vegetable and animal orna-
ment, incorporating images of mythological beasts.
Otto Hupp adhered quite closely to the caskets form,
with its low four-sloped lid, the expressive dragon fg-
ures on the ridges dividing it into sections. At the cen-
tre, below afat piece of rock crystal, is an image of the
Imperial eagle in opaque enamel (ill.5), and along the
perimeter are four medallions with views of the city.
Te vegetable ornament that replaced the interlace
of the original is engraved on metal (silver) bands that
divide the surface of the case into sectors and run along
the upper and lower edges. Providing his own interpre-
tation of the mediaeval object, the crafsman rejected
the idea of alock.
Te surface of the case, like that of the Bamberg
Casket, is covered with carved ivory plaques of difer-
ent shapes (square on the side walls and of irregular
form on the lid). In each section the crafsman placed
fgures of fantastical and real birds and beasts against
a background woven of fnely worked up fower, inter-
lace or geometrical ornament. Similar (but not identi-
cal) characters are to be seen on the original, but there
Ill.3. Bamberg Casket (Casket of St.Kunigunde). Norway. Late 10th century.
Bayerisches Nationalmuseum
Ill.4. Plaster copy of the Bamberg Casket. Te State Hermitage Museum
134 135
Ill.5. Address to Wilhelm II from the Congress of German Towns. Detail of the lid
they are more stylised and the scaly surface of each
beast seems to blend in with the punched ground of
each plaque, making it hard to pick out the individual
elements (ill.6). Hupp did not seek to imitate the Scan-
dinavian original, but took the general form and created
a free decorative interpretation, introducing elements
such as the German eagle that clearly indicate its spe-
cifc purpose.
Hupps Neo-Scandinavian case was not a unique
phenomenon and there was a wider tendency to look
to Viking art in the second half of the 19th century, at
the height of the Historicist style. Te Hermitage, for in-
Ill.6. Plaster copy of the Bamberg Casket. Detail of the lid
stance, has aScandinavian Service (Inv. Nos. -11892
11894) produced in the 1850s by the French silversmith
Alexandre Gueyton, which also applies afree treatment
of Scandinavian ornament.
During the last third of the 19th century there was
afurry of archaeological expeditions. Te results of ex-
cavations in Norway in 1867 and the 1880s did much
to contribute to agrowth of interest in Viking culture
(Te Arts & Crafs Movement in Europe & America
2004). Tis provided fertile soil for arevival style ofen
known in the history of art as the Dragon Style. It was
particularly infuential on Norwegian furniture makers
and silversmiths. Lars Kinsarvik and Johan Borgersen
adorned furniture with carved dragon heads, a motif
that also featured in the works of master jeweller Da-
vid Andersen: the decoration of a tankard in the Los
Angeles County Museum of Art combines character-
istic mediaeval Scandinavian ornament and engraved
scenes from the life of St. Olaf, while the handle is
crowned with the fgure of adragon. Asalt cellar from
the same museum, the work of Marius Hammer, recalls
aViking ship in shape.
Bearing in mind the strong economic and cultural
links between Germany and the Scandinavian lands,
among them Norway, at the end of the 19th century
there can be no surprise that German jewellers took
up the Neo-Scandinavian style. In around 1900 the
royal jewellers to Wilhelm II, Sy and Wagner, which
also presented a gif to mark the Kaisers anniversary
(a staf), had been inspired to repeat in silver another
celebrated Scandinavian monument, the Gandersheim
Casket (Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Brunswick).
Tis was not aquestion of stylisation, however, but of
repetition, copying the form and decoration of even
the tiniest details.
It is thus evident that in turning to mediaeval Scan-
dinavian art crafsmen could either produce precise
copies or take it as the starting point for new interpre-
tations of subjects, ornament and motifs. Otto Hupp
chose this latter approach, stylisation, in producing the
case for the address.
Before looking at the diferent historical style em-
ployed for the address itself we should frst look at the
nature of the object.
Te address consists of four sheets bearing congrat-
ulatory text and the arms of the towns and cities that
were members of the Congress. Te frst page of the
address bears the inscription: To his Majesty Kaiser
136 137
Wilhelm II, King of Prussia, on the twentieth anniver-
sary of his rule from the Congress of German Towns
15 June 1913 [Sr Majestt dem Kaiser Wilhelm II.
Knig von Preussen zum fnfundzwanzigjhrigen
Regierungsjubilum. Der Deutsche Stdtetag. 15 Juni
1913]. Above this there was originally a coat-of-arms,
now lost (ill. 7), but the inventory indicates that they
were already missing when the object arrived in the
Hermitage. Tanks to the illustration in the Hohen-
zollern Jahrbuch, however, we know that these were
the Imperial arms of Germany an eagle in opaque
enamel surrounded by the chain of the Order of the
Black Eagle (ill.8). Te Kaisers crown sat atop the ea-
gles head while the eagle itself held the standards of
the German Kaiser and the King of Prussia. To one
side were the arms of the Hohenzollern and the Burg-
Ill.7. Page of the Address to Wilhelm II from the Congress of German Towns
grave of Nuremberg, on the other the arms of the Mar-
grave of Brandenburg.
Te frst full spread is of two pages, one of them
agold plaque, bearing, beneath the image of the Impe-
rial eagle, a Latin inscription: Sub umbra Alarum tuar-
um protege nos [Beneath the shelter of your wings pro-
tect us]. On the second page is the congratulatory text
fromCongress representatives.
Te Congress of German Towns was formed in1905
and still exists today. By 1913 it included 174 towns,
the arms of which appeared on the remaining pages
ofthe address (ill.9).
Te gold plaques of the frst spread are framed with
ivory, engraved with hunting scenes, with bears and
wolves, birds and even aunicorn. Te subject of the hunt
unfolds against a background of vegetable ornament
Ill.8. Page from the Address to Wilhelm II from the Congress of German Towns.
Published in: Hohenzollern Jahrbuch 1913: ill.between pp. 80 and 81
138
Ill.9. Page from the Address to Wilhelm II from the Congress of German Towns
combining tendrils and fowers (ill.10). Similar motifs
can be found in other works by Hupp, such as the Cer-
tifcate of an Honorary Citizen of Hannover presented
to Fieldmarshal-General von Hindenburg in 1915.
In 1913 Otto Hupp published anthologies of his
typefaces, fgures of animals and all kinds of orna-
ment, which demonstrate his interest in the art of the
Renaissance. Having completed his studies in Dssel-
dorf, Hupp moved to Munich, where there was a par-
ticularly strong interest in the art of the Renaissance
in artistic circles at the end of the 19th century; artists
in the Bavarian city gave new resonance to grotesque
ornament in their interpretations of Renaissance mo-
tifs. But the treatment of the vegetable ornament (the
small trefoil leaves on long winding stems) that covers
the ivory plaques reveal that the artist was also inspired
by German sixteenth-century ornamentalists such as
Heinrich Aldegraver and Peter Fltner.
Tus the decoration of the address to Wilhelm II is
a harmonious combination of the features of two artis-
tic revival styles, the Neo-Scandinavian and the Neo-
Renaissance.
REFERENCES
Te Arts & Crafs Movement in Europe & America 2004
Kaplan, Wendy (ed.). Te Arts & Crafs Movement in Europe &
America: Design for the Modern World. 18801920. New York,
2004.
Festpredigt 1913
Festpredigt 25 jahr Regierungs Jubilum unseres Kaisers und
Knigs Wilhelm II. Berlin, 1913.
Hohenzollern Jahrbuch 1913
Hohenzollern Jahrbuch. 1913.
Lange 1940
Lange, Wilhelm H. Otto Hupp: das Werk eines deutschen Meisters.
Berlin, 1940.
Otto Hupp 1984
Otto Hupp: Meister d. Wappenkunst 18591949 : Ausstellung
desBayerischen Hauptstaatsarchivs, Mnchen, 6. Dezember 1984
3. Februar 1985. Neustadt a. d. Aisch, 1984.
Viking Trade and Settlement in Continental Western Europe 2010
Klse, Iben Skibsted (ed.). Viking Trade and Settlement in Con-
tinental Western Europe. Copenhagen, 2010.
Ill.10. Page from the Address to Wilhelm II from the Congress of German Towns. Detail
140 141
In 1975, the Hermitage Expert Purchasing Commis-
sion acquired two portraits of anonymous individuals
for the museum: Portrait of aLady (Inv. No. -7787;
clear dimensions of the oval 21 17.2 cm, framed
28 23.7 cm; signed and dated: P. Sokolov 1840) and
Portrait of a Young Man (Inv. No. -7788; clear di-
mensions of the oval 20.817cm, framed 2823.7cm;
signed and dated: Sokolov 1846). Both portraits are by
the same artist, painted in watercolours with added
gouache and white pigment and encased in identical
velvet frames worn out by use; they have never been
published (ills. 1, 2). Te portraits look like they may
be paired, although their datings would place a gap of
six years between them; one of the signatures includes
the artists initial, while the other only gives his surname.
Te artists signatures are calligraphically precise.
From the start, this distinct calligraphy along with the
stylistic manner of the painting raised doubts as to its
attribution to Pyotr F. Sokolov. At present, when most
of his works have been thoroughly studied, and nearly
all of them published (at least those kept in Moscow
and St. Petersburg museums and most of private collec-
tions), and atable containing samples of his signatures
for diferent years has been compiled, it would be logi-
cal to revisit the two unpublished portraits with their
careful signatures and painting manner so untypical of
Sokolovs work.
It is well known that the artists style, the design of
his portraits and, of course, his signature underwent
some changes over time. Judging by the sitters dress,
these portraits were painted in the mid-1840s. But at
that time, and indeed some time earlier, the style of
Sokolovs portraits was very diferent; the signatures
looked diferent as well. It is only in his early works
that the artist put his frst initial before his surname.
Later, in the 1820s, Sokolov would sign his watercol-
ours with his surname alone, occasionally using Ro-
man characters.
In the 1840s, the artist preferred to use the Russian
version of his name, spelled in large bold letters; he of-
ten gave the dating of the portrait and never used the
initial P [Russian ] (for Pyotr) before his surname.
Te carefully written signatures and date on the por-
traits are diferent from the artists signatures from the
1840s. All of this leads to the conclusion that they were
deliberately inserted at a later date in imitation of his
earlier signatures (ill.3).
It has already been mentioned that neither portrait
accords with the general style of Sokolovs works from
that period. Despite the change that the artists man-
ner underwent in the 1840s (his brushstrokes were be-
coming more delicate and less obvious, while the gen-
eral design was becoming more ornamental), Sokolov
never used such smooth brushstrokes which hardly
betray the movement of the brush. His watercolour
strokes would never conceal the underlying pencil
lines; his portraits nearly never have the pastose man-
ner achieved by the addition of white pigment in fn-
ishing the ornaments on the garments, nor there ever
were dots in the corners of the sitters eyes. Moreover,
Sokolovs portraits always have more individual char-
acteristics, they are more emotional and more diverse
in their design. Even his so-called salon portraits re-
tain alyrical feel.
GALINA PRINTSEVA
A NEW ATTRIBUTION FOR TWO PORTRAITS FROM THE HISTORY
OF RUSSIAN CULTURE DEPARTMENT
As for the portraits under consideration, their tech-
nique and the presentation of the sitters are close to the
manner of Woldemar (known in Russia as Vladimir)
Hau (18161895), a follower of Sokolov. Hau has a re-
fned and careful manner, but his works are somewhat
drier and less impassioned than those by Sokolov. Te
Ill. 1. Woldemar Hau. Portrait of Ekaterina Stolypina (?). 1844
Te State Hermitage Museum. First publication
Ill. 2. Woldemar Hau. Portrait of an Unknown Man. 1846 (?).
Ill. 3. Samples of the signatures of the artist Pyotr Sokolov. Published in: (Sokolov 2003: 176, 177, Nos. 2, 4, 12, 13)
Portrait of an Unknown Lady
from the Kurakin Family. 1817
Portrait of P. Ryumina. 1847 Portrait of A. Stieglitz. 1847 Portrait of N. Muraviev. 1824
external stasis, the clichd positions, certain aloofness
in the look of the sitter and a typical sideways glance
are all characteristic of Haus approach. Finally, the col-
our scheme with nearly invisible blending of hues, es-
pecially in the details of the faces and the background,
thick sagging drops of paint on the hair, long V-shaped
142 143
brushstrokes at the transition between the dress and
the background, are typical Hau features. Te attribu-
tion of these portraits to Hau is further confrmed by
their comparison with the latters signed paintings.
1
Furthermore, the investigation of the portraits un-
covered more evidence in support of the Hau attribution.
Te photo archive of Grand Duke Nikolay Mikhailovich
contains a photograph of a female portrait by Sokolov,
which nevertheless bears the signature reading W.Hau
1844 (Department of the History of Russian Culture;
List of Non-Inventoried Items No. 100; ill.4). Te sug-
gestion that Hau copied Sokolovs 1840 watercolour in
1844 seems highly implausible. First of all, the portrait
does not look like a copy: it is too carefully executed
and has an individual manner; secondly, on the rare oc-
1
Cf. the portraits of Grand Duchess Ekaterina Mikhailovna
(State Russian Museum, Inv. Nos. -27894, -27895), Princess Maria
Vyazemskaya-Bek (State Russian Museum, Inv.No.-27905), Grand
Duchess Maria Nikolayevna with her children (State Russian Muse-
um, Inv.No.-667), Count Vladimir Musin-Pushkin (State Russian
Museum, Inv.No.-12309), etc.
casions when Hau did copy Sokolovs portraits he iden-
tifed them as copies.
2
Te portraits in question were studied at the Phys-
ics Lab at the State Russian Museum on 19.10.1979 by
S.Rimskaya-Korsakova, aleading expert in radiography
and art history, who confrmed that they were identical
to the paintings by Hau used for reference.
Te Expert Conclusion reads as follows:
Te portraits (Inv. Nos. -7787, -7788) which
bear pencilled signatures Sokolov 1846 and P. Sokolov
1840, were studied under visible luminescence and
under a microscope (magn. 24x). Te comparison of
the portraits with works by Sokolov selected as sam-
ples from the collection of the State Russian Museum
(Inv. Nos. -22719, -22717) has revealed a number
ofcritical diferences in their individual technique.
Namely, the sample works by Sokolov retain aclear-
ly visible pencil drawing both of the faces and the ac-
cessories (i.e. the watercolour does not fully obscure
the pencil lines). Sokolov does not as arule use white
pigment, relying on the colour of the paper instead. On
the other hand, the comparison of the portraits under
analysis with sample pieces by Hau (Inv. Nos. -27894,
-27895, -667, -12309) has uncovered a consid-
erable similarity of their individual manner. For in-
stance, in Haus portraits the eyes are painted with
white overtones, and the watercolour lines follow the
pencil drawings precisely, nearly entirely concealing
the latter. Portrait of a Man from the State Hermitage
(Inv. No. -7788) has traces of erased letters above
the inscription Sokolov 1846.
Te study of the paintings allows us to arrive at the
following conclusions:
1. Te portraits from the State Hermitage collec-
tion can be unambiguously dated to the middle of the
19thcentury on the basis of the materials used (the pa-
per and the set of pigments).
2. Sokolovs signatures are most likely late.
3. Tere are many indications that Sokolovs author-
ship is in dispute.
4. Te portraits share alot of common features with
works by Hau.
S. Rimskaya-Korsakova, Head of the Physics Lab,
theState Russian Museum.
2
Cf. the portrait of Countess Emilia Musina-Pushkina, a copy
of Sokolovs watercolour by Hau, which is signed W.Hau cop. 849
(State Russian Museum, Inv.No.p-8439).
Ill. 4. Woldemar Hau. Portrait of Ekaterina Stolypina (?). 1844.
Photograph from the collection of Grand Duke
Nikolay Mikhailovich. Te State Hermitage
Museum. First publication
Tis means that the two portraits purchased as wa-
tercolours by Pyotr Sokolov should be re-classifed as
works by WoldemarHau. Te attribution is confrmed
by the expert analysis undertaken on 27.04.2012 by Ser-
gey Khavrin, Deputy Head of the Department of Exam-
ination and Authentication of Works of Art at the State
Hermitage: Conclusion. Te portraits were painted at
diferent times, which is borne out by the diferences in
paper and pigments. Both portraits show signs of the
original artists signature being removed and replaced
later, in pencil, in a diferent area than the original in-
scription. Te traces make it impossible to reconstruct
the original signature, but the high-quality archival
photograph of the Female Portrait makes it possible to
attribute them to Hau.
Who is depicted in the Hermitage portraits by
Woldemar Hau? Te photo archive of Grand Duke
Nikolay Mikhailovich proves useful once again. It con-
tains two photographs of watercolour portraits of two
diferent women painted by Hau, with inscriptions on
the back of both images stating that the person shown
is Princess Vera Golitsyna, ne Stolypina. One inscrip-
tion (in pencil, using post-reform spellings; cf. Depart-
ment of the History of Russian Culture; List of Non-
Inventoried Items No. 100) was made on aphotograph
of the Hermitage portrait in question. As we have seen
before, the photographed portrait was signed by Hau
and dated to 1844 (see ill.4).
Te inscription on the second photograph comes
from a 1843 portrait by Hau (Department of the His-
tory of Russian Culture; List of Non-Inventoried Items
No. 98; ill. 5) is made in the hand of the person who
probably annotated many photographs of portraits
for the Grand Duke. It is written in ink, using pre-
reform spellings: Princess Vera Arkadievna Golitsy-
na, ne Stolypina, wife of Pr[ince] David Fyodorovich
Ill. 5 Woldemar Hau. Portrait of Vera Stolypina. 1843.
Photograph from the collection of Grand Duke
Nikolay Mikhailovich. Te State Hermitage Museum.
First publication
Ill. 6. Woldemar Hau. Portrait of Vera Stolypina
(Princess Golitsyna afer Marriage). 1846.
Te Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow
145
Golitsyn. Afer waterc[olour] by Hau. In the top lef
part of the page, the location of the original is stated
as At Vyazemskys. It is noteworthy that all the pho-
tographs of portraits from the Vyazemsky collection
were annotated in the same sweeping handwriting and
using the same ink. Another confrmation of the fact
that the photo of the portrait from the Vyazemsky col-
lection does indeed show Vera Stolypina comes from
her portrait from the Pushkin State Museum in Mos-
cow (Inv.No.-13098; watercolour, gouache; ill.6).
Te Moscow portrait, both signed and dated, was
painted by Hau in 1846, which makes it a later copy
ofthe 1843portrait.
Tus, the note on the reverse of the frst photograph
does not accord with the person shown, and the female
portrait purchased by the Hermitage cannot be a por-
trait of Vera Golitsyna (Stolypina).
Vera Stolypina is ofen mentioned in memoirs of her
contemporaries. She came from the large upper-class
Stolypin family, relatives of Mikhail Lermontov; she
was acousin to the poets mother and asister to Alexey
Stolypin-Mongo, a famous relative and friend of Ler-
montovs.
Afer graduating from the Smolny Institute, she was
noticed by the Imperial family and immediately made
her appearance at the court at the age of 18. Soon she
became a friend of Grand Duchesses Olga and Alex-
andra, daughters of Nicholas I, and spent all her time
in their company. Te presence of beautiful Vera at the
court and her participation in court festivities is docu-
mented in the letters of Nicholas I to his heir (Perepiska
2008: p. 336).
Woldemar Hau painted nearly all the members of
the Stolypin family: Veras parents, her sisters, brothers,
and many of her cousins. (It is curious that the Stolypin
portraits are not mentioned among works by Sokolov,
including those whose location is unknown.)
Hau painted the portraits of Vera Stolypina in 1843
and 1846. At the same time he probably painted other
members of her family as well. Te comparison of the
Hermitage portrait with the portraits of Vera Stolypina
reveals afamily resemblance, making it possible that the
portrait in question in fact shows one of her sisters.
Tere were three Stolypin sisters: Maria, Vera, and
Ekaterina. All of them were very beautiful. Tere exists
a portrait of Maria Stolypina (18191889; Bek by her
frst husband and Vyazemskaya by her second one) by
Hau, painted in 1838 and held at the State Russian Mu-
seum (Inv.No.-27905). It is possible that the Hermit-
age portrait is that of the third sister, Ekaterina (1824
1985). Her life is less well known. Unfortunately, we
have been unable to uncover any portraits of Ekaterina
Stolypina by Hau, and so we are unable to confrm that
the watercolour is indeed her portrait. All we can say is
that the portrait shows alady from the Stolypin family.
As for the male portrait, we have to remain in the
realm of guesswork. Rejecting the attribution to Sokolov
and re-attributing the portrait to Hau leaves room for
conjecture that the young man depicted may also have
been amember of the numerous Stolypin family.
Tus, the study of the portraits has led us to the fol-
lowing conclusions so far: the portraits are undoubt-
edly by Woldemar Hau and were painted in the 1840s;
they probably show Princess Ekaterina Stolypina and
another member of the same family.
REFERENCES
Perepiska 2008
-
I. 18381839 [Perepiska cesarevia Aleksandra
Nikilolajevia s imperatorom Nikolajem I. 18381839]. Moscow,
2008.
Sokolov 2003
. 17911848.
. , -
[Pjotr Fjodorovi Sokolov. 17911848.
Russkij kamernyj portret. Iz kollekcyj muzejev Moskvy, Sankt-
Peterburga i astnyx sobranij]. 2003. Moscow: Pushkin State Mu-
seum of Fine Arts.
Te State Hermitage possesses seven daguerreo-
type portraits from the family archive of the Princes
Yusupov. Afer the Yusupov collection was national-
ised, they were sent to the State Museum Fund of the
Leningrad Department of the Chief Directorate for
Academic, Art and Museum Institutions under the
Russian Commissariat of Education; in 1928, they
were transferred to the History and Household De-
partment of the State Russian Museum, and in 1941,
they were added to the newly-founded Department of
the History of Russian Culture at the State Hermitage
Museum as portraits of unknown persons. Tis ar-
ticle aims to fnd an attribution for three out of seven
ofthe above-mentioned portraits. In our opinion, the
daguerreotypes were made in the late 1840s early
1850s and portray Prince Nikolay Borisovich Yusupov
Junior. Tis attribution is unequivocally supported
bythe extensive range of existing portraits of Nikolay
Yusupov, primarily by his photographs, which are well
represented in the Hermitage collection.
Te frst daguerreotype that could be attributed was
the Portrait of an Unknown Man with a Violin, as it was
recorded in the entry book of the Historical and House-
hold Department of the State Russian Museum (State
Hermitage, Inv. No. -27802; ill. 1). Te surviving
original frame made it possible to date the photograph
to the second half of the 1840s, while a detailed study
of the furnishings and accessories used by the photogra-
pher proves that it was made in Joseph Weningers studio.
It was more dif cult to fnd out who the young man was,
as the photographer made him sit far from the camera,
so that his facial features were not very distinct. However,
NATALIA AVETYAN
DAGUERREOTYPE PORTRAITS OF PRINCE NIKOLAY YUSUPOV
the violin that the sitter was holding set our enquiries on
the right course. Te Yusupovs were a musical family;
Prince Nikolay (18271891) was an accomplished vio-
linist, an author of several academic treatises on the his-
tory and theory of music, and a composer whose works
were performed in the Bolshoy Teatre in St. Petersburg
and in the Grand Opera in Paris. He dedicated one of
his best-known works, Te Love Song, to his teacher
and close friend, the Belgian violinist and composer
Henri Franois Joseph Vieuxtemps (18201881). His
contribution to music was acknowledged both in Rus-
sia and in Europe; he was an honorary member of the
Musical Academy of Rome and the Paris Conservatoire.
His passion for music was the reason why Yusupov is
shown holding a violin in several extant painted and
photographic portraits. Te earliest of these is a por-
trait painted by Christina Robertson in 1840 (State Her-
mitage, Inv. No. -1434; 1840; oil on canvas; ill. 2),
when Yusupov was thirteen years old. But this portrait
is clearly insuf cient for a comparison between the face
of the Prince and that of the unknown man with a vi-
olin from the daguerreotype. It was necessary to fnd
other portraits of Nikolay Yusupov, but it turned out that
there were no known photographs of him taken before
the mid-1850s. Te only solution was to search for more
painted portraits of the Prince.
Te author of this article has been able to trace three
portraits of Prince Yusupov: one of them was paintedby
GerasimKadunov (State Hermitage; Inv.No. -968;
early 1850s; oil on canvas; ill. 3), and the other two
by the Italian artist Vincenzo Petrocelli (State Her-
mitage; Inv. No. -914; 1851; oil on canvas; ill. 4;
146 147
Ill. 1. Joseph Weningers workshop. Portrait of Prince Nikolay Yusupov. Daguerreotype.
Second half of the 1840s. Te State Hermitage Museum
Ill. 2. Christina Robertson. Portrait of Prince Nikolay Yusupov. 1840.
148 149
Arkhangelskoye country-house museum; 1854). Tey
give a good impression of the Princes characteristic fa-
cial features: a slightly elongated head tapering down-
wards; a somewhat heavy, pronounced chin, expressive
if slightly bulging eyes. But it is hardly possible to base
any conclusions solely on the painted portraits; thus, the
1851 portrait by Petrocelli shows Yusupov without his
familiar moustache (which he probably did not start to
wear until the mid-1850s), and the Prince looks quite
diferent from the man we know from later portraits.
An unexpected fnd came in the shape of a photo-
graphic print pasted into one of the Yusupov family al-
bums currently at the Hermitage (Inv. No. -15307).
Tis photograph, which shows Nikolay Yusupov at ap-
proximately the same age as the unknown man with
a violin, was made from a lost daguerreotype by We-
ninger (ill. 5). Te similarity between the persons shown
in both is quite striking. Tus, one of the daguerreo-
types published herein can now be entitled the Portrait
of Prince Nikolay Yusupov. Along with the copy of the
Ill. 3. Gerasim Kadunov. Portrait of Prince Nikolay Yusupov. First half of the 1850s.
Ill. 4. Vincenzo Petrocelli. Portrait of Prince Nikolay Yusupov. 1851.
150 151
study the advances in paper photography, and returned
to St. Petersburg in the same year. Tis means that the
daguerreotype showing the group of three men was
made between 1847 and 1850.
Te name of the person shown in the third da-
guerreotype remained unknown for a long time. De-
spite belonging to the extensive Yusupov collection,
itwas recorded at the Hermitage simply as a Male Por-
trait (State Hermitage; Inv. No. -27803; ill. 7).
Te man was identifed on the basis of photographic
portraits of Nikolay Yusupov made on paper in the late
1850s early 1860s. Tey show the facial features famil-
iar from his later iconography: large bulging eyes and
an expressive gaze (see: -15263, -15264
(ill.8), -9951, -12460); some of them show
Yusupov with a beard. Te painting that serves as the
unknown daguerreotype that we have discovered, it is
one of the earliest photographs of the Prince.
A study of the early photographs of Prince Yusupov
made it possible to identify him in a Group of Tree
Men (as the daguerreotype was entitled in the entry
book of the Historical and Household Department),
aphotograph taken in the St. Petersburg studio of Carl
Dauthendey (State Hermitage; Inv. No. -27818;
ill. 6)
1
. Nikolay is standing on the right and is wearing
a students uniform, which he wore until he graduated
from the Faculty of Law at St. Petersburg University in
1850. Tis fact makes the dating of the photograph more
precise: in 1847, Carl Dauthendey went to Leipzig to
1
Te photograph was attributed to the Carl Dauthendey studio
by Galina Miroliubova (Sankt-Peterburg v svetopisi 2003: 42).
Ill. 5. Unknown photographer. Portrait of Prince Nikolay Yusupov. Albumen print.
Copy of a daguerreotype by Weninger from the second half of the 1840s.
Ill. 6. Studio of Carl Dauthendey. Group portrait. Daguerreotype. Prince Nikolay Yusupov is standing rightmost.
Second half of the 1840s. (no later than 1850). Te State Hermitage Museum
153
closest analogue to the Hermitage daguerreotype in
terms of the time of its making is the above-mentioned
portrait by Petrocelli (Arkhangelskoye country-house
museum), painted in Italy in 1854. It is impossible to
ascertain who made the daguerreotype as there are no
surviving labels, stamps or any other marks of author-
ship. Its style also cannot be confdently matched to
any of the photographic studios known to us. In the
1850s, Yusupov was spending much of his time abroad,
so the portrait may well have been made by a Western
master. Given that the production of daguerreotypes
in most European photo studios was gradually wound
down afer 1855, the Hermitage print should be dated
to c. 18541856.
Te extensive collection of photographic portraits
of Prince Nikolay Yusupov, which was carefully pre-
served as a family archive before becoming part of the
Hermitage collection, highlights the important role
ofthe new art among the Princes many artistic endeav-
ours. He was not content merely to be photographed
bythe best masters of the time, but tried his own hand
at amateur photography afer the mid-1850s. In 1858, he
brought a camera from his European journeys; it was
at this time that he also started collecting rare prints
made by accomplished photographers in diferent gen-
res (Savinskaya 2009: 5859). Nikolay Yusupov was able
to inspire his interest in photography in other members
ofhis family, who kept it until the early 20th century.
REFERENCES
Savinskaya 2009
Savinskaya, Lubov [ ].
.
[Between Two Worlds. Te Forgotten Collector
Nikolay Borisovich Yusupov Junior]. [Nae na-
sledije]. 2009. No 92.
Sankt-Peterburg v svetopisi 2003
- 18401920- [Sankt-
Peterburg v svetopisi 18401920-x godov]. Exhibition catalogue.
Ill. 8. Unknown photographer. Portrait of Prince Nikolay Yusupov.
Albumen print. First half of the 1860s.
Ill. 7. Unknown photographer. Portrait of Prince Nikolay
Yusupov. Daguerreotype. C. 18541856.
Te collection of Russian paintings at the State Hermit-
age contains two paired portraits: one shows an elderly Gen-
eral wearing the uniform of the Akhtyrsk Hussar Regiment
(Inv. No. -227; oil on canvas; 70.4 57.6cm; ill. 1) and
the other probably shows his wife (Inv. No.-1298; oil
on canvas; 71 58 cm; ill.2). Both of them were received
by the Hermitage from the collection of the History and
Household Department of the State Russian Museum in
1941 (via the State Museum of Ethnography) as portraits
of unknown man and woman. Te stretchers ofboth por-
traits have museum labels with inscriptions inink: Strogan.
p[alace] m[useum] and the numbers (263for the male por-
trait, 264 for the female portrait), as well as numbers in
pencil: No. 16 and No. 17 respectively.
Te Hermitage possesses rich collections of paintings
and applied art from the Stroganov Palace, as well as the
photographic albums of the Stroganov family. It is the lat-
ter that served as the starting point in the search for the
people shown in the portraits which are published here.
Soon, we discovered two prints from the photograph-
ic portrait of an unknown General which were made in
Sergey Levitskys studio. One of them, the size of a visit-
ing card, was pasted in the album which belonged to an
unidentifed person (Inv. No. -17278); the other, of
the same size, was pasted on the companys headed paper
bearing the name Levitsky and a pencilled note on the re-
verse side reading: An old Hussar General of the Akhtyrsk
Regiment (Inv. No. -18024; ill.3). Judging by the fur-
nishings typical for Levitskys studio, the print was made in
the second half of the 1850s. Te comparison of the photo-
graphic prints to the painting shows that the former served
as the basis for the latter.
YURY GUDYMENKO
PORTRAITS OF DMITRY AND ADELAIDA VASILCHIKOV FROM THE DEPARTMENT
OF THE HISTORY OF RUSSIAN CULTURE
Te next stage of the search was astudy of the history
of the Akhtyrsk Regiment and the lives of its commanders.
Te only possible candidate was Cavalry General Dmitry
Vasilchikov (17781859). Despite the fact that the General
in the photograph looks quite elderly, his face is broadly
similar both to the portrait of General Vasilchikov painted
in the 1820s for the Military Gallery of the Winter Pal-
ace (Inv. No. -8009; ill. 4) and to the watercolour por-
traits of 1837 and 1847 by Vladimir Hau (State Hermitage
Inv.No.-9423; ill. 5, and the Institute of Russian Litera-
ture at the Russian Academy of Sciences, Inv. No. -424
-6135/7). His wide face, well-developed frontal bones,
small and deeply set eyes with alow line of the eyebrows,
high cheekbones, a characteristic thin, slightly crooked
nose, thin lips make it possible to recognise General
Vasilchikov in the portrait of him as ayoung man painted
in the studio of George Dawe, in Haus watercolours, and
in the photograph taken shortly before his death.
Certain facts of Vasilchikovs biography confrm this
attribution. Dmitry Vasilchikov was a member of a no-
ble family from the Pskov Province. In 1794, he became
Wachtmeister (Sergeant) in the Cavalry Regiment of the
Life Guards and rose to Cornet afer two years. In 1802, he
was made Colonel. In 1807, he fought against the French
at Guttstadt and Friedland. Between 28 March 1811 and 1
June 1815 he was the Commander of the Akhtyrsk Hussar
Regiment. Vasilchikov took part in the battles of Saltanovka,
Borodino, Vyazma. He was made Major General on 26 De-
cember 1812. He fought in the campaigns of 18131814 and
distinguished himself at the Battle of Leipzig. Afer 28 De-
cember 1816, he was in charge of the 1st Division of the Uh-
lans. On 16 December 1822 he was dismissed from service
154
because of poor health, but retained the right to wear his
uniform. In 1830 (or 1832 according to some sources) he
entered court service in the rank of Privy Councillor and
was appointed Ober-Jagermeister (Chief Master of the
Hunt) at the court of the Emperor. In 1838, he was made
Actual State Councillor. He was amember ofthe Construc-
tion Committee in charge of the building of St. Isaacs Ca-
thedral in St.Petersburg. On 30 May 1858, to mark the end
of the construction and the consecration of the cathedral,
he was honoured by being transferred to the Army; hewas
assigned to the Akhtyrsk Hussar Regiment and made
aGeneral of Cavalry. We believe that the photograph from
the Levitsky studio was taken to mark this occasion.
In the painted portrait in question, Vasilchikov is shown
with the following decorations (which are not always pre-
cisely shown): the cross of the Order of St. George third
class on his neck; the stars of the Orders of St.Andrew the
First-Called and St.Vladimir frst class on his breast; in the
ribbon bar on his breast (lef to right): the cross of the Or-
der of St.George fourth class, the dark bronze medal com-
memorating the war of 18531856, the medal marking the
consecration of St.Isaacs Cathedral (?), the sign of the Order
of the White Eagle, and two more medals commemorating
the War of 1812 and the capture of Paris on 19 March 1814;
below the ribbon bar is the award for 50 years of exemplary
service. Te photograph contains asimilar set of decorations.
Tus, the military decorations and the facial similari-
ties between the persons shown in the portrait by Dawe
and the watercolours by Hau make it possible to confrm
that the Hermitage portraits (both the photograph and
the painting) do indeed show Dmitry Vasilchikov. In this
case, it is also possible to identify his wife shown in the
second painted portrait. She is Adelaida Vasilchikova, ne
Apraksina (17851851), General Vasilchikovs second
wife (m. 1804). She was the daughter of Pyotr Apraksin
(17281812) and Elizaveta Razumovskaya (17491813).
Te Vasilchikovs had four daughters: Elizaveta (1805
1890), Sophia (1809?), Ekaterina (1811?), and Tatyana
(18231880), who married Count Alexander Stroganov
(18181864); afer Dmitry Vasilchikovs death in 1859, the
couple inherited his estate in Volyshevo. In 1860, the ar-
chitect Mikhail Makarov was invited to renovate the es-
tate. He built a stately home and an English farm there
(he was made Academician for the latter). It is possible
Ill. 2. Anonymous artist. Portrait of Adelaida Vasilchikova.
Late 1850s early 1860s (?).Te State Hermitage Museum.
First publication
Ill. 1. Anonymous artist. Portrait of Dmitry Vasilchikov.
Late 1850s early 1860s (?). Te State Hermitage Museum.
First publication
Ill. 3. Levistskys Photography Studio.
Portrait of Dmitry Vasilchikov. Photograph. C. 1858.
Ill. 4. George Dawe. Portrait of Dmitry Vasilchikov.
Before 1825. Te State Hermitage Museum.
Military Gallery, Winter Palace
that the matching portraits of the Vasilchikov couple were
intended for the new house at Volyshevo, so that the new
owners could honour the memory of the former masters
of the estate.
When the construction of a new brick house began
in 1895 to replace the old wooden one, Maria Stroganova
made anumbered register of all the possessions of the es-
tate and alist of their locations in the rooms (see Kuzne-
tsov 2008: 255). Tese must be the numbers we can see on
the stretchers of the Hermitage portraits: No. 16 on the
portrait of General Vasilchikov and No. 17 on the portrait
of his wife. It is also possible that the numbers refer to
the time when the portraits were kept in the Stroganov
Palace-turned-museum in 19191925 (the paper labels on
the crossing of the stretchers are areminder of that time).
Te features of the painted portraits of Dmitry and
Adelaida Vasilchikov suggest that they were produced
at the same time, to match each other. Teir author still
remains anonymous.
1
REFERENCE
Kuznetsov 2008
Kuznetsov, S. [ .]. .
[Dvortsy i doma Strogonovyx (sic.): Tri veka
istorii]. Moscow; St.Petersburg, 2008.
Translated By Maria Artamonova
1
Te author is grateful to A. Kibovsky for his advice and help
during the preparation of this article.
Ill. 5. Vladimir Hau. Portrait of Dmitry Vasilchikov. 1837.
156 157
In 1973 excavations by I. Dubov in aViking Age set-
tlement near Bolshoye Timeryovo (Great Timeryovo,
in the Volga region near Yaroslavl) turned up a hoard
of silver kufc coins dating from the 8th and 9th centu-
ries. Tis is now in the Numismatic Department of the
Hermitage Museum. Small groups of coins continued
to be found and allocated to the Hermitage right into
the early 1990s. Today the hoard consists of 2,763 whole
coins and fragments. Te latest coin is an Abbasid dir-
ham struck in 251AH (865). Te most likely date for the
concealment of the hoard is the late 860s and the 870s.
A collection of graf ti on kufc coins from Eastern
European and Scandinavian hoards published by I.Do-
brovolsky, I. Dubov and Yu. Kuzmenko includes eleven
dirhams with graf ti discovered as part of the Great
Timeryovo Hoard (Dobrovolsky, Dubov, Kuzmenko
1991: 135136, 164165, cats. 1424), of which four
come from the period of the Umayyad Caliphate. Work-
ing with the whole complex of Umayyad dirhams from
the hoard, this author discovered graf ti on four more
coins and was able to draw up aproposed new interpre-
tation for the graf to on both sides of one coin previ-
ously published in the collection (Dobrovolsky, Dubov,
Kuzmenko 1991: cat. 14).
Of the newly identifed graf ti, two can be defnitely
stated to be Arabic.
Inv. No. ---21153 (ill. 1). Umayyad Cali-
phate, Junday Sabur, 91 AH (709/710). Dirham. Silver.
Diameter 27 mm. Weight 2.84 g. On the obverse, in
the feld above the frst line of the symbol of faith, is
a graf to drawn with a fne needle, consisting of the Ill. 2. Graf to on coin Inv.No.---21153
VYACHESLAV KULESHOV
NEW INFORMATION ON GRAFFITI ON UMAYYAD COINS
FROM THE GREAT TIMERYOVO HOARD IN THE HERMITAGE COLLECTION
Ill. 1. Dirham. Umayyad Caliphate, Junday Sabur, 91AH.
Great Timeryovo Hoard. Inv.No.---21153.
Arab letters ..- (h, mm, ? dhl or dl), correctly ex-
ecuted and linked (ill. 2). Te script is close to naskh.
Most interestingly, the letter dhl in the graf to is linked
to the letter mm in the epigraphic circular relief leg-
end, situated at that part containing the phrase .' ,.,
b-ismi-llhi in the name of Allah. We might therefore
interpret the meaning of the graf to as aplay on the ex-
isting letter mm in the legend (in early epigraphic kuf
script this is aperfect circle in both its fnal and original
position), which is open to continuation by hand to
form the name ..< Muhammad. Te additions are also
meaningful when read independently, as they form the
word ..- hamd meaning praise or glory.
Obverse Reverse
phate, Wasit, 123 AH (740/741). Dirham. Silver. Diam-
eter 25 mm. Weight 1.49 g. Fragment: half of acoin. On
the reverse in the feld above the frst line of the legend is
agraf to drawn with afne needle, consisting of the Arab
letters ... (lm, lm, h) correctly executed and linked
(ill.4). Kuf script. Te graf to represents the expression
. to Allah. In determining the date of the graf to we
should ask if there is any signifcance in the placing of
the . in the precise position established in the epigraph-
ic cannon for dirhams of the Caliphate at the start of the
Middle Abbasid period (from the 830s) above the frst
line of the legend in the feld on the reverse. We cannot
exclude the possibility that the graf to . was added to
fll in an element considered to be missing from the point
of view of the second third of the 9th century.
Te following paired graf to is here frst interpreted
as Arabic.
phate, Dimashq, 95 AH (713/714). Dirham. Silver. Di-
ameter 27 mm. Weight 2.48 g. Two graf ti very simi-
lar in appearance on the obverse and reverse (ills. 6, 7),
interpreted by I. Dobrovolsky, I. Dubov and Yu. Kuz-
menko as interlace ornament (Dobrovolsky, Dubov,
Kuzmenko 1991: 6667, fgs. 30, 2). Tey reproduced
both graftti vertically, even though they relate to the
horizontal lines of the legend on the coin itself. Tis au-
thor would like to propose that they be read as identical
Arabic inscriptions, in which we recognise, without any
dif culty, the Muslim name
_,
Yahya with the prefx
,
,
thus conveying the grammatical instrumental form by
Yahya:
_-,
. Script close to naskh.
Tese two graf ti have no clear ethno-linguistic iden-
tifers but are surely not lacking in semantic meaning.
Ill. 3. Dirham. Umayyad Caliphate, Wasit, 123AH. Fragment. Great
Timeryovo Hoard. Inv.No.---21232. Te State Hermitage
Museum
Ill. 4. Graf to on coin Inv.No.---21232
Ill. 5. Dirham. Umayyad Caliphate, Dimashq, 95AH.
Ill. 6. Graf to on the obverse of coin Inv.No.---21159
Ill. 7. Graf to on the reverse of coin Inv.No.---21159
Obverse Reverse
Obverse Reverse
159
phate, al-Jazira, 130 AH (747/748). Dirham. Silver. Di-
ameter 24.5 mm. Weight 2.53 g. On the obverse in the
feld between the second and third lines of the inscrip-
Ill. 8. Dirham. Umayyad Caliphate, al-Jazira, 130AH.
Ill. 9. Graf to on coin Inv.No.---21150
Ill. 11. Graf to on coin Inv.No.---21181 Ill. 10. Dirham. Umayyad Caliphate, Wasit, 86AH.
Obverse Reverse
Obverse Reverse
Among the Hermitages rich stores of European gold
coins the selection of coins of the Kingdom of Sweden
forms a compact yet representative group. Te 172 items
cover nearly all nominals (save proofs) cast in gold be-
tween 1568 and 1920. A particular place is occupied by
a Hungarian gulden (ungersk gyllen) of King Eric XIV,
the issue of which in 1568 marked the start of the regu-
lar issue of Swedish gold coins.
1

Eric XIV (15331577, reigned 15601568)was one
of the most mysterious of all Swedish rulers (ill. 1). Te
eldest son of Gustav I (Gustav Vasa) by his marriage
to Catherine of Saxen-Lauenburg, he was the frst heir
to the throne under the new law on the succession
passed in 1544. He received a superb education and
spoke four languages, played musical instruments and
took an interest in the sciences and astrology.
2
Unfor-
tunately, Erics health was badly afected by his early ad-
diction to opium (taken initially to relieve the pain of
migraine headaches): over the years he was increasingly
subject to fts of irrational aggression, caused by psycho-
logical disturbance and a persecution complex. Moreo-
ver, he was unable to forgive himself for his personal in-
volvement in the cruel murder of members of the Sture
1
XVIXVIII . [Western
European Coins. 16th 18th Centuries. Sweden]: 101, cat.No.200.
Manuscript catalogue in the Numismatic Department of the State
Hermitage.
2
Eric chose to call himself Eric XIV, apparently preferring the
number fourteen for astrological reasons. According to the chronicle
of Olaus Magnus. Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus [Te His-
tory of the Northern Peoples], published in 1555, when Eric was still
Crown Prince, there were just eight rulers real or legendary with
the name Eric. Te King probably considered the number fourteen to
be a bringer of good fortune (Lagerqvist, berg 2002: 35).
ELENA YAROVAYA
A RARE HUNGARIAN GULDEN OF ERIC XIV IN THE HERMITAGE COLLECTION.
SWEDENS FIRST GOLD COIN
Ill. 1. Domenicus Verwilt. Eric XIV. 1560. Oil on canvas.
Nationalmuseum, Stockholm
family. Erics foreign policy was aimed at expanding
the borders of his kingdom into the Baltic. In 1561 he
took Estland, leading to war with Denmark and confict
with Lbeck and Poland, which then unfolded into the
Northern Seven Years War (15631570). Te domestic
situation was aggravating due to the permanent tension
tion agraf to incised with aneedle, formed of various
intersecting vertical and diagonal lines (ill.9). It is hard
to qualify this graf to as text as no individual symbols
can be seen.
Inv. No. ---21181 (ill. 10). Umayyad Ca-
liphate, Wasit, 86 AH (705). Dirham. Silver. Diameter
25.5 mm. Weight 2.14 g. On the obverse in the very cen-
tre of the feld, running across the second line, is agraf -
to made with afne needle, composed of several straight
lines, three of which are relatively clear: a vertical line
with two shorter slightly tilted lines to right (ill.11). In-
terpretation of this graf to as the Scandinavian rune r
is inhibited by the lack of alink between the two tilted
lines, which would allow us to unite them into asingle
graphic gesture, the right part of the r (in the form of
a line curving to right with a sharp break), in relation
to the straight trunk. In this case the rune r might be
interpreted as an abbreviation of the ancient Icelandic
regin gods: we should recall that when expressed with
another word (the ancient Icelandic go), this concept is
that most frequently found in Scandinavian and Eastern
European textual graf ti on coins.
Te Arabic needle inscriptions are of considerable
importance since, however strange it may seem, they
are the least frequently occurring types of graf ti on ear-
ly mediaeval Oriental coins. Such graf ti can be found
on coins Inv. Nos. ---21153, ---21232
and ---21159. Te graf ti on two of these
(Inv. Nos. ---21153 and ---21159) are
of particular value in that they are palaeographical
monuments of handwriting known as classical naskh
that can be reliably dated to no later than the second
third of the 9th century: traditionally it has been said
that this script only became fully formed somewhat
later, at the end of the 9th century.
REFERENCE
Dobrovolsky, Dubov, Kuzmenko 1991
Dobrovolsky, I., I. Dubov, Yu. Kuzmenko [ .,
., . ]. .
[Graf ti na vostonyx
monetax. Drevnjaja Rus i sopredelnyje strany]. Leningrad:
Leningrad State University, 1991.
160
between Eric and his fathers sons by other wives, John
(later John III) and Charles (later Charles IX) (Anders-
son 1951: 156167; Grin 1997: 210224; Lagerqvist,
berg 2002: 3435).
Erics attempts to conclude a dynastic marriage were
unsuccessful: Elizabeth Tudor (later Elizabeth I) and
Mary Queen of Scots both rejected him. In 1565 he met
Karin Mnsdotter (15501612), daughter of a soldier,
who was to become Queen of Sweden for just 87 days.
Te issue of the gold gulden coincided with Erics
of cial marriage to Karin and her coronation, held in
Stockholms main cathedral on 4 July 1568. Te couple
already had children, who were declared legitimate afer
their wedding.
Description of the coin (ill. 2):
Sweden. Eric XIV (15601568). Hungarian gul-
den of 1568. Gold. Fineness 958. Diameter 23.5 mm.
Weight4.13 g. Inv. No. --A 5983.
Mnzmeister Hans Hjer (Menzinsky, Serrestam
1994: 92).
Obverse: In a beaded border a bust image of the
King with a long beard, wearing armour, with a laurel
wreath, facing right. Beneath this the date: 1568. Circu-
lar legend: ERIC 14 D G REX SWECIE [Eric XIV,
ByGods will King of Sweden].
Reverse: In a beaded border, in the suns rays, the tetra-
grammaton (four Hebrew letters for the name of God,
Yahweh or Jehova). Below, a sceptre emerging from the
clouds, foating above a fortress on the sea shore. Circular
legend: DAT CVI VVLT [Gives to whom He chooses].
Te Kings profle is plain and somewhat imperson-
alised. Particular attention is drawn to the laurel wreath,
traditional badge of royalty of the Roman emperors.
A certain individuality is given by the long pointed
Swedish-style beard. Te costume consists of a Renais-
sance ruf and an armoured shoulderpiece, which is giv-
en fne linear treatment. Te image on the gulden dif-
fers from traditional portraits of the King on large silver
nominals of the 1560s, where Eric is shown half-length
in profle, holding a sword in his right hand and the orb
in his lef, wearing a Swedish royal crown, with the arms
of the kingdom on the reverse of the coin.
Te motif on the reverse of the gold gulden, the scep-
tre emerging from the clouds, foating above a fortifed
port, had already been used by Eric XIV earlier, on sil-
ver three-mark coins in 1562. Tus the King emphasised
that he had received his power from God, not through
elections like his predecessors (Lagerqvist 1995: 150).
Because of wear to the die used for the reverse of the
Hermitage example, we can only hazily see the fortifed
wall and tower (on the site of the modern city of Gte-
borg) below the sceptre. lvsborg Fortress, founded by
Gustav Vasa, held particular signifcance for Eric, for it
was there that the Prince learned of his fathers death and
thus that he had become King (Jnson, Lagerqvist1975:
45). Te legend on the reverse is the personal motto of
Eric XIV and comes from the Old Testament, evidence
of the Lutheran faith that had taken root in Sweden. Te
phrase JEHOVAH DAT CVI VULT [God gives to
those whom He Himself chooses] comes from the Book
of Daniel (4:17): to the intent that the living may know
that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and
giveth it to whomsoever He will, and setteth up over it the
basest of men (our emphasis E. Ya.).
Te weight of this coin is unusual, varying between
4.1 and 4.17 g, too large for European gold coins, which
in the middle of the 16th century had an average weight
of 3.1 to 3.46. In value, the coin was equal to seven sil-
ver marks (Menzinsky, Serrestam 1994: 92). Te coins
name, Hungarian gulden, derives from the fact that
the gold used for the coin was 23.5 carat, according to
the model of Hungarian gold coins.
It is generally thought that the die was carved by
Mikael Hohenauer, who was active in the 1560s at the
Stockholm Mint, although there is no evidence for his
authorship, since the coin lacks his monogram (Ras-
musson 1973: 98).
All in all just 5,032 of these Hungarian gulden were
issued, using a total of 25.8 kg of pure gold. We even
know the precise date on which issue commenced,
2 August 1568 (Menzinsky, Serrestam 1994: 92). Te
coins were issued in four lots over the course of August
and September. Four dies were made for the obverse,
two for the reverse (clearly the die for the obverse suf-
fered greater wear). Te last issue was on 24 September,
Ill. 2. Sweden. Eric XIV (15601568). Hungarian gulden 1568. Gold.
Obverse Reverse
and fve days later Eric and his family were arrested by
order of his brothers John and Charles.
Scholars have been unable to reach any agreement
regarding the purpose of the issue. Four main reasons
have been put forward for such a large and unexpected
emission of gold coins by Eric in 1568, which we sum-
marise here.
1. To pay for the wedding celebrations.
2. To pay for the upkeep of his personal guard, in or-
der to put down the palace rebellion led by John and
Charles.
3. To introduce regular issue of gold coins in Sweden to
replace Lbeck and Danish gulden, since worsening rela-
tions with Denmark and the break with Lbeck had efec-
tively cut of the fow of Lbeck and Rhenish gold coins.
4. To assert the transfer of power by inheritance afer
the birth of an heir to the throne, Crown Prince Gustav
(15681607).
1
Te author considers it likely that it was a combina-
tion of all these factors that led to the issue of fve thou-
sand Hungarian gulden in the period AugustSeptem-
ber 1568.
Today just fourteen of these rare coins are known,
three of them in private collections, three in the Kung-
liga Myntkabinettet in Stockholm, and single examples
in various museums.
Scholars have repeatedly asked where such a large
number of coins could have disappeared to. Accord-
ing to one theory, Eric gave the gold to his brothers to
buy the life of himself and his family, and they melted
it down to make their own gold coins (John III reigned
1568 to 1592, Charles IX 1604 to 1611). Another says
that the King found time to hide his treasure in Stock-
holm Castle before he was arrested, and the hoard per-
ished when the castle was engulfed in fames in 1697
(Sveriges och dess forna 1996: 41).
Te Hermitage gulden came from the collection of
the important numismatist Jacob Reichel, who prob-
ably acquired it at an auction in Scandinavia between
1844 and 1848. It entered the Hermitage Mnzkabi-
net with 86 other Swedish gold coins in 1857. Reichel
himself declared the coin to be extremely rare (allocat-
ing it the fourth grade of rarity) (Die Reichelsche Mn-
1
Te fate of the Crown Prince was not happy: his uncle, Charles
IX, sought to establish relations with Muscovy and sent him to the
court of Boris Godunov to marry the Russian rulers daughter, Ksenia.
Te wedding did not take place as the groom refused to convert to
Orthodoxy. As punishment he was exiled to Kashin, near Tver, where
he died in 1607 (Lagerqvist 2002: 35).
zsammlung 1842: 148, No. 226). Te Hermitage example
is in superb condition, with no signs that it was ever in
circulation, and it is the only one of the fourteen surviv-
ing coins to show this particular combination of dies.
Despite the fact that the Hungarian gulden was
never in circulation, it was Swedens frst gold coin in-
tended for regular issue. From 1568 all the successive
rulers of Sweden issued their own gold coins, known as
ducats. Although the gold standard was introduced rela-
tively late in Sweden, in 1873, gold played an important
role in the countrys currency, particularly in the 18th
and 19th centuries.
REFERENCES
Andersson 1951
Andersson, Ingvar. [ .].
[Istorija vecii]. Translated from the Swedish into Russian
byN.Karintsev. Moscow, 1951.
Die Reichelsche Mnzsammlung 1842
Die Reichelsche Mnzsammlung in St.Petersburg. 1842. Vol. V.
Grin 1976
Grin, Vivian [ ]. [Bezumnyje ko-
roli]. Rostov-na-Donu; Moscow, 1997.
Hemmingson 1976
Hemmingson, Bengt. Svenska rariteter p Eremitaget i Lenin-
grad. Skandinavisk numismatisk. Stockholm, 1976. No. 2: 1415.
Jnson, Lagerqvist 1975
Jnson, Lars I., Lars O. Lagerqvist. Erik XIVs mynt med Gte-
borgsmotiv. Gteborg, 1975.
Lagerqvist 1995
Lagerqvist, Lars O. ldre Vasatid. In: Myntningen i Sverige 995
1995: Numismatiska meddelanden XL. Svenska numismatiska
Freningen. Stockholm, 1995: 125180.
Lagerqvist, berg 2002
Lagerqvist, Lars O., N. berg. Kings and Rulers of Sweden. Boda
Kyrkby, 2002.
Menzinsky, Serrestam 1994
Menzinsky, H., Sonny Serrestam. Kung Eriks frsvarsmynt
ungersk gyllen 1568. Svensk Numismatisk Tidskrif. Stockholm,
1994. Maj, No. 4: 9295.
Rasmusson 1973
Rasmusson, Nils L. Mikael Hohenauer i Prag och Mikael Ho-
henauer i Stockholm. Numismatiska meddelanden. Stockholm,
1973. Vol. XXXI: 91103.
Sveriges och dess forna 1996
Sveriges och dess forna besittningars guldmynt och riksdaler frn
Gustav I till Carl XVI Gustav. Samling Julius Hagander; text och
bilagor: Lars O. Lagerqvist. Bern, 1996.
162 163
MARIA MARSHAK
AMERICAN BANKNOTES FROM 18101823 IN THE HERMITAGE COLLECTION
Ill.1. Package in which the paper banknotes were kept Tere are fewer than a hundred American
banknotes in the Hermitage collection at present, but
this small number can still serve to illustrate the devel-
opment of the monetary system in the United States of
America. About half of the banknotes date back to the
18th century, and the rest were printed between 1863
and the mid-20th century. Until recently, there were
no banknotes from the period between 1810 and 1858
in the collection, as banknotes were issued by a num-
ber of individual banks at that time rather than printed
by the state. In the US, these are known as Obsolete
Notes, and occasionally also referred to as broken
banknotes. Te text printed on them usually copies the
traditional text of a cheque or a promissory note: Te
President, Directors and Co. of the bank (name) prom-
ise to pay (the name of the recipient was flled in by
hand) or bearer on demand... (handwritten date and
signatures). For this reason, such banknotes were not
accepted as currency either in the mid-19th or in the
early 20th century and were accordingly not included
in bond collections.
It is only in the 1990s that private banknotes and
other types of private money started to be included in
the collections of bonds and added to museum numis-
matic departments. As late as 1998, the 9th edition of
the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money listed only
a few United States banknotes from 18101817 for the
whole period between 1810 and 1858, and had no sec-
tion on Obsolete Notes at all, despite including similar
issues by private Canadian banks. At present, the notes
issued by private United States banks from the time be-
tween the 1810s and the 1850s are well represented on
the antiquarian market. Articles and books dedicated to
them are being published (Bowers 2006). It is believed
that the interest in the Obsolete Notes was sparked by
the sale of paper banknotes from the archives of the
American Bank Note Company, the producer of cur-
rency and bonds in the period between 1990 and the
early 2000s.
Te collection of banknotes at the Numismatic De-
partment of the State Hermitage only goes back to the
1920s, the time when it became clear that it was impos-
sible to organise exhibitions of contemporary money
without using paper currency, since it was the staple of
monetary circulation all over the world between 1914
and 1923.
1
It was no longer feasible to consider them a
mere substitute for the real money made of gold and
silver.
Te literature on the history of economics and the
banknote catalogues does not link the mass production
of paper money in the US with currency circulation
processes. Te Hermitage used to adopt the same ap-
proach to the American banknotes in its keeping. Tis
is why seven American banknotes from 18101823,
1
Te need to acquire paper notes for the Numismatic Depart-
ment is confrmed by the following letter by Boris Legran, the then
Director of the Hermitage, to the Kaluga Museum:
Out 1657. 8.VI.31. To the Kaluga State Museum. It has come
to the attention of the St[ate] Hermitage that the Kaluga Museum
possesses a large collection of paper banknotes of diferent countries
and nations. Since the St[ate] Hermitage is in great need of the above
for its exhibition illustrating the development of currency, it kindly
requests the Kaluga Museum to send some of the items from its col-
lection (Archive of the State Hermitage Museum, Fund1, Register 5,
Folders 1191, 1931, f. 239).
acquired by the museum a long time ago, did not be-
come part of the Numismatic Department until 2009
(Inv.Nos.---5868---5874; see Appendix).
Te history of their journey to the Hermitage can be
traced from the notes on the sheet of paper that they
were wrapped in (ill.1). Te banknotes were acquired by
the Imperial Public Library no later than 1852, accord-
ing to a note in French: 9 billets de banque amricains et
franais gravure sur acier d la Bibliothque Impriale
publique. 1852 [9 American and French banknotes en-
graved on steel from the Imperial Public Library. 1852];
from there, they were transferred to the Print Room:
Ila ete remis par Mr. Mralt
1
, pour le Cabinet dEstampe
[It[i.e. the package] was handed over via Mr Mralt to
the Print Room].
Te receipt below states: 1852. 15 August. Received
by N. Utkin
2
. Tis is how the banknotes came to be
inthe Hermitage Prints Room.
Afer that, they were meant To be transferred to Nu-
mism. (signature illegible), but they were evidently not
wanted by the Mnzkabinet, as there was no collection
1
Mr Mralt is Eduard Muralt (18081898), thecurator of theo-
logical literature at the Imperial Public Library and a scholar of Byz-
antine history. In 1840, he went to work at the Hermitage Library and
was involved in studies of ancient coins, and between 1858 and 1864
he was working at the Mnzkabinet (Spassky 1970: 156, 158).
2
Nikolay Utkin (17801863) was a prominent engraver, who
served as curator of prints at the Hermitage between 1818 and 1860
(Rusakov 1990: 143).
of paper currency in existence in the 19th or early 20th
century. Te last note reading To be transferred to the
Coin dep. with receipt (signature) was made by Tatyana
Karyakina
3
, curator of the Print Room, afer 1928, which
is confrmed by the black oval stamp reading 1928
on the reverse side of all the banknotes. Tese stamps
are present on all the paper money transferred from
the Hermitage Print Room. Paper items were never
stamped at the Numismatic Department.
It is likely that the package containing banknotes
was transferred to the Numismatic Department from
the Print Room as supplementary materials, so there is
no receipt for it.
Te seven American banknotes were printed for
seven banks located in diferent cities, although they
were engraved on steel in the same style and by the
same company: Murray, Draper, Fairman & Co., which
operated in Philadelphia between 1810 and 1823 (Kra-
nister1989:297299; Doty 2006:3). Tere is a company
brand on each note.
Money surrogates of this type were produced by
thousands of banks in what is now the United States
of America and Canada (Rothbard 2009: 6288). Vari-
ous intricate engravings were used in their design as
a protection against forgery and as a decorative de-
vice. Te notes were printed by several companies.
Te frst such company was created in 1795 in Phila-
3
On Tatyana Karyakina (19001970) see (Rusakov 1990:
145, 151).
164 165
Ill.2. Samples of identical oval frames
Ill.3. France. Assignat 50 sous 1793, series No. 2819. Paper. Engraving on copper plate, dry stamps.
Dimensions: 73 85 mm. Inv. No. ---5866
delphia by Robert Scott (who had previously worked
at a mint). His colleague John Draper formed a joint
venture with George Murray and Gideon Fairman in
1810, and it was their company that printed all seven
Hermitage notes. Murray, Draper, Fairman & Co. be-
came one of the most famous print shops as it was al-
ways ready to embrace innovations (Narbeth, Hendy,
Stocker 1979: 3134 (types of engraving), 4143 (the
American Bank Note Company)). Teir most valu-
able move was the addition of two more partners: Asa
Spencer and Jacob Perkins. Te former was the inven-
tor of atype of burelage technology which made it pos-
sible to produce complex geometric patterns. A more
important factor of the companys success was a pat-
ent for siderography, a special technology of engraving
on steel, which was invented by Perkins in 1799. It is
referred to in contemporary sources as siderography
or metallography (Alekhov 2001; Voznesensky 2006:
350, 353355).
Te idea behind the new technology was to make
individual letters, vignettes, and frames separately and
then to arrange them on the printing block, which was
used to make prints on a plate of sof steel. Te fnal
plate was hardened and used to make the required
number of copies. Engraving a copper printing plate
of this complexity would take several months. Te
production of the steel plate, on the other hand, took
about three days, and it could always be exactly repli-
cated, if required. Besides, hardening the steel printing
plate made it possible to increase the number of prints
from 5,000 to 30,000. As a rule, these banknotes are
not a rarity.
Six out of seven American banknotes currently at
the Hermitage feature allegorical fgures holding tools
typical for the specifc regions. One of the notes has
a portrait of George Washington afer whom the bank
was named. Te design of the banknotes contains iden-
tical elements. For instance, three of them feature a cor-
nucopia (see Appendix, cat. nos. 1, 4, 7).
Te blank banknotes in question were most prob-
ably engraved in 18151823, as all the extant simi-
larly designed notes date back to that period. Teir
design includes the same frames, ovals, and fonts. For
instance, complex frames with foral patterns which
surround the numbers showing the nominal value are
identical (ill.2). Many elements of the vertical frames
are exactly replicated as well. Te prints of composite
printing plates have the same inserts (frames), which
are supplemented with various background designs,
inscriptions, etc. Tis efect was achieved by using
Perkins invention, which made it possible to use the
same design elements many times for making diferent
printing plates.
Te recognition of this technology which could foil
forgers is further proved by the fact that in 1819, Per-
kins moved to England and soon created a company
called Perkins Bacon & Co., which was commissioned
to make banknotes for the Bank of England, as well as
postage stamps. It was this company that printed the fa-
mous Penny Black, the worlds frst postage stamp.
Te company that started out as Murray, Draper,
Fairman & Co. changed its name many times. Te frst
change was to M.D.F.B. & Co. (incorporating the let-
ter B, which stood for the name of J.B. Bacon, Perkins
son-in-law). Tere were several subsequent changes re-
fecting the change of owners. Tis company was one
of six which jointly formed the American Bank Note
Company in 1858. It is well known that that patents
and technology of Murray, Draper, Fairman & Co. had
an important role in the history of American currency
production. Firstly, its technology was used to create all
the banknotes issued by the American Bank Note Com-
pany; and secondly, it is this company which printed the
frst US banknotes featuring the famous American eagle
(Hessler 1986:17971801).
It is logical to assume that the banknotes were ac-
quired by the Public Library as samples of the art of
engraving (using Perkins 1799 patent). In the mid-
19thcentury, Russia was planning to issue its frst post-
age stamps. Te possibility of using a foreign company
was being considered (Vorobyeva 2007: 64). It was the
American Bank Note Company that held the patent to
the technology of siderography which could make this
venture possible, and it was this company that was even-
tually selected as a partner.
The Numismatic Department contains one more
item which is related to the introduction of the
American technology at the factory of the State Bond
Company. This is an album of 104 pages entitled Fine
Arts, which contains samples of American banknotes
and accompanying engravings (Mnzkabinet... 2002:
99; cat.no.278). It was presented to the Russian Em-
peror Alexander II by the American Bank Note Com-
pany in 1860, following the signing of the agreement
with the company on 14/26 July 1859 (Alekhov 2001:
No. 1, 36).
Te role of the print samples featured in the album
in the creation of the design of Russian credit notes
made afer 1866 is worthy of a separate study. Suf ce it
to say that the album remained in Alexander IIs private
library, which, in our opinion, shows that the Emperor
was interested in promoting new technologies.
A comparison between the seven Hermitage bank-
notes with the credit notes made by the State Bond
Company makes it clear that more complex techniques
were used to make Russian notes, and that the Russian
and American stylistic approaches were radically dif-
ferent. Tus, the American banknotes could be of inter-
est mainly as an example of a special mass production
technology which ofered a high degree of protection
from forgery.
It has already been mentioned above that the pack-
age with American blank banknotes also contained two
French assignats or payment orders from the time of the
French Revolution (Timoshina 2003; ills. 3, 4). Clear-
ly, they were included in the package destined for the
Public Library in order to emphasise the technological
advantages of the American engravings. Tere were
166 167
Ill.4. France. Assignat 25 livres 1793, series No. 3935. Paper. Engraving on copper plate, dry stamps.
Dimensions: 73 128 mm. Inv. No. ---5867
1. Te State of North Carolina. City of Raleigh. Te State Bank of North
Carolina. 10 dollars, 181..., blank cheque.
Tin white paper without watermarks, sheet cut unevenly. Engraving on
steel. Dimensions: 73 177 mm. Inv. No.---5874.
Obverse side. Text in the centre reads: Te President and Directors / of the
STATE BANK of NORTH CAROLINA promise / to pay on demand at the (space
to be flled in by hand) Bank at (space to be flled in by hand) / TEN dollars to
(space to be flled in by hand) or bearer / Raleigh (space to be flled in by hand)
181 (space to be flled in by hand) / TEN (nominal value marked over a black
patterned background) / (space to be flled in by hand) Cash
r
. (space to be flled
in by hand) Pres
t
. / Murray, Draper, Fairman & Co.
Above the text there is an image of an allegorical female fgure dressed in
classical robes leaning against a pedestal. Tere is a cornucopia and a plough at
her feet. She holds a scroll in her right hand and an oar in her lef. Te nominal
value X is replicated on the pedestal; in the background is the sea with a sailing
ship. A spinning wheel is shown to the lef of the pedestal.
Above the text, to the lef of the image is the letter A; the nominal value 10
is given in Arabic numerals in a black oval with a foral pattern; then . To the
right of the image, there is a ; then, in the black oval with a foral pattern, the
Roman nominal value X is given against the background of the Arabic numer-
als 10; then the letter A.
Along the lef side, a complex patterned frame with ovals, in which the
nominal value TEN is printed in white over a black background. Along the
right side, a complex patterned frame with circles, in which the place of issue
NORTH CAROLINA is printed in black letters over a white background.
Reverse side. Overprint: 1928.
A P P E NDI X
Catalogue of American Banknotes
already 49 French assignats in the Hermitage collection;
they were on display at the Showcase Exhibition of the
Numismatic Department in the 1930s (Zograf 1939: 7).
Te handwritten catalogue of the Numismatic Depart-
ment (Nos. 377, 378, 383) mentions that the bonds were
displayed at the exhibition.
Both the American and the French banknotes were
made in the technique of engraving, but their artistic
level was not suitable for the collection of the Public
Library, which was both actively expanding and dis-
playing its collection of prints in the middle of the
19th century. For the same reason, Nikolay Utkin did
not record their transfer to the Hermitage. Both col-
lections were acquiring objects of fne art, while these
particular specimens, as we have seen above, were not
such objects and were interesting as illustrations of the
technique of making stamps and banknotes.
At present, both the economic historians and the nu-
mismatists acknowledge that the American banknotes
of 18101823 are among the types of paper money
which are a must for any museum collection. Te sev-
en banknotes in question have now taken their proper
place in the collection of the Numismatic Department
of the State Hermitage.
168 169
2. Te State of South Carolina. City of Charleston. Te Planters & Mechan-
ics Bank of South Carolina. 10 dollars, 18..., blank cheque.
Obverse side. Text in the centre reads: Te President Directors & C
o
/ of
the Planters & Mechanics Bank of South Carolina / promise to pay (space to
be flled in by hand) or bearer on demand Ten dollars. / Charleston (space to
be flled in by hand) 18 (space to be flled in by hand) / TEN (the nominal
value given against the background of a black rectangle which overlays the
Freemason symbols, the pair of compasses and masons tools) / Cash
r
. (space
for signatures) Pres
t
.
Above the text there is an image of a young man leaning against a plough;
he is wearing late eighteenth-century early nineteenth-century clothes.
Above the text, to the lef of the image is the letter B; the nominal value10
is printed in Arabic numerals in an ornamented oval with a foral pattern
over a white background; then __. To the right of the image, there is a __;
inthe black oval with a foral pattern, the Roman number X corresponding to
the nominal value; then the letter B.
right side, a complex patterned frame with circles, in which the place of issue
CHARLESTON is printed in black letters over a white background.
3. District of Columbia. City of Washington. Te Bank of Washington.
5dollars, 18..., blank cheque.
Obverse side. Text in the centre reads: Te Bank of Washington / promises to
pay to (space to be flled in by hand) or bearer on / demand Five dollars / City
ofWashington (space to be flled in by hand) 18 (space to be flled in by hand)/
Cash
r
. FIVE (against a black oval) (Space to be flled in by hand) Pres
t
.
Above the text there is a portrait of George Washington in an oval frame
surrounded by a composition of military trophies, scrolls, and a globe. Under
the portrait, the inscription reading M.D.F.B. & Co.
1
Above the text, to the lef of the image in a black patterned oval is the Ara-
bic number 5 corresponding to the nominal value; then __. To the right of
the image, there is a letter D, then the Roman number V corresponding to the
nominal value in an oval foral wreath.
nominal value FIVE is printed in white over a black background. Along the
right side, a complex patterned frame with circles, in which the words Incorpo-
rated by Congress are printed in black letters over a white background.
1
Tis blank was defnitely the latest to be produced, as the frm logo (M.D.F.B. & Co.)
includes the new partners initial (B); the presence of the letter M (Murrays initial) provides the
terminus ante quem for the dating, as the banknote must have been issued before 1823, the year
of Murrays death.
170 171
4. Te State of Virginia. City of Richmond. Te Bank of Virginia. 50 dollars,
18..., blank cheque.
o
. / of the
BANK of VIRGINIA promise to pay / to (space to be flled in by hand) or bearer
on demand FIFTY dollars. / Richmond the (space to be flled in by hand) of
(space to be flled in by hand) 18 (space to be flled in by hand) / Cash
r
. (space
for signatures) Pres
t
. / Murray, Draper, Fairman&C
o
.
Above the text is an image of an allegorical female fgure dressed in classical
robes sitting on vessels from which water is pouring out; there is a cornucopia
at her feet. In her right hand, she is holding an oar with a Phrygian cap over it.
Above the text, to the lef of the image there is a letter C; then the Arabic
number 50 corresponding to the nominal value in a black oval over a white
background; then __. To the right of the image, __; the nominal value 50
in an oval with a foral pattern; the letter C.
nominal value FIFTY is printed in white over a black background. Along the
right side, a complex patterned frame with circles, in which the words BANK
OF VIRGINIA are printed in black letters over a white background.
5. District of Columbia. City of Alexandria. Te Bank of Potomac. 10 dol-
lars, 18..., blank cheque.
o
. / of
the Bank ofPotomac promise / to pay (space to be flled in by hand) or bearer
on demand Ten dollars. / ALEXANDRIA (space to be flled in by hand) 18
(space to be flled in by hand) / Cash
r
. TEN (in a black patterned oval) Mur-
ray, Draper, Fairman & Co. (along the lower rim of the oval; space for sig-
natures) Pres
t
.
Above the text there is an image of a covered cart pulled by four horses
along a countryside street. Above the drawing, there is an inscription reading
Chartered by Congress.
Above the text, to the lef of the image there is a letter C; then, then the
Arabic number 10 corresponding to the nominal value in a black oval with
aforal pattern; then __. To the right of the image, __; the Roman number
X corresponding to the nominal value in a black oval with a foral pattern; the
letter C.
right side, a complex patterned frame with circles, in which the words BANK
OF POTOMAC are printed in black letters over a white background.
172 173
6. Te State of Maryland. City of Baltimore. Te Farmers & Merchants
Bank of Baltimore. 50 dollars, 18..., blank cheque.
Obverse side. Text in the centre reads: THE President AND Directors / of
the FARMERS & Merchants Bank of BALTIMORE promise / to pay (space to
be flled in by hand) or bearer on demand Fify dollars. / BALTIMORE (space
to be flled in by hand) / Cash
r
. (space for signatures) Pres
t
. / Murray, Draper,
Fairman & Co.
Above the text is an image of a reclining allegorical female fgure dressed
in classical robes holding a sickle in her right hand; behind her is unhar-
vested wheat, bales of cargo and barrels.
Above the text, to the lef of the image in a patterned oval there is the Arabic
number 50 corresponding to the nominal value printed in white over a black
background; then __. To the right of the image, the letter A; the Roman
number L corresponding to the nominal value printed in white over a grey
background with black Arabic numerals reading 50 surrounded by a foral
wreath.
nominal value FIFTY is printed in white over a black background. Along the
right side, a complex patterned frame with circles, in which the words FIFTY
DOLLARS are printed in black letters over a white background.
7. Te State of Maryland. City of Baltimore. Te Farmers & Merchants
Bank of Baltimore. 100 dollars, year not marked, blank cheque.
Tin white paper without watermarks, sheet cut unevenly. Engraving
onsteel. Dimensions: 73 177 mm. Inv. No.---5869.
Obverse side. Text in the centre reads: Te PRESIDENT & DIRECTORS of
the / Farmers & Merchants Bank of Baltimore / promise to pay (space to be flled
in by hand) or bearer on demand / One Hundred DOLLARS. BALTIMORE
(space to be flled in by hand) / Cash
r
. (space for signatures) Pres
t
. / Murray,
Draper, Fairman & Co.
Above the text is an image of a reclining allegorical female fgure dressed
in classical robes sitting on a chest and leaning against a bale of cargo. Tere
is a cornucopia at her feet. She holds a trident in her right hand and a sheaf
of wheat in her lef. Tere is a sailing ship in the background.
Above the text, to the lef of the image in a patterned oval there is the Arabic
number 100 corresponding to the nominal value printed in black over a white
background; then the letter A. To the right of the image, __; then the Arabic
number 100 corresponding to the nominal value printed in white in a black
foral wreath.
nominal value 100 is printed in white over a black background. Along the right
side, a complex patterned frame with circles, in which the words One Hundred
are printed in black letters over a white background.
175
REFERENCES
Alekhov 2001
Alekhov, Anatoly [ ]. :
1866 [AmericaRussia: Credit Notes
of 1866]. [Numizmatieskij
almanax]. 2001. No. 1: 3338; No. 2: 3241.
Bowers 2006
Bowers, Q. David. Obsolete Paper Money Issued by Banks in the
United States 17821866. Atlanta: Whitman Publishing, 2006.
Doty 2006
Doty, Richard G. When Money Was Diferent. A Look Back-
ward. Common Place. 2006. Vol. 6, No. 3 (April). URL: http: //
www.commonplace.org (last access: 01.03.2012).
Hessler 1986
Hessler, Gene. Paper Boon. Te Numismatist. 1986. (September).
Kalinin 2002
Kalinin, Vitaly [ ] (ed.). -
: [Mintskabinet v Novom
Ermitae: katalog vystavki]. St. Petersburg, 2002.
Kranister 1989
Kranister, Willibald. Te Moneymakers International. Cambridge,
1989.
Narbeth, Hendy, Stocker 1979.
Narbeth, Colin, Robin Hendy, Christopher Stocker. Collecting
Paper Money and Bonds. New York, 1979.
Pick 1998
Pick, Albert. Standard Catalog of World Paper Money. Krause
Publications, 1998.
Rothbard 2009
Rothbard, Murray [ ].
[Istorija denenogo
obraenija i bankovskogo dela v SA/A History of Money and
Banking in the United States] (in English 2002. Quoted from the
Russian translation). Chelyabinsk, 2009.
Rusakov 1990
Rusakov, Yury [ ]. [Print
Room]. In: : [Ermita.
Istorija i sovremennost]. Moscow, 1990: 142152.
Spassky 1970
Spassky, Ivan [ ]. .
[Nu-
mismatics at the Hermitage. A Short History of the Mnzkabinet,
the Numismatic Department].
[Numizmatika i epigrafka]. 1970. T. 8.
Timoshina 2003
Timoshina, Nadezhda [ ]. -
[Te Story
Told by French Assignates from the Ivanovo Museum]. -
[Numizmatika]. 2003. No. 1, 2227.
Vorobyeva 2007
Vorobyeva, Olga [ ].
[Te Long Road to a Postage Stamp]. [Vodjanoj
znak]. 2007. No. 5, 6265.
Voznesensky 2009
Voznesensky, Sergey [ ].
,
18181918 [Pervyje sto let istorii Ekspedicii Zagotovlenija Gosu-
darstvennyx Bumag, 18181918]. St. Petersburg, 2009.
Zograf 1939
Zograf, Alexander [ ]. :
[Otdel numizmatiki: kratkij putevodi-
tel]. Leningrad, 1939.
In 2006the Hermitage Museum embarked on what
is now an annual tradition, marking the birth of Gaius
Cilnius Maecenas (between 74 and 64 8 BC). Amem-
ber of the Emperor Augustus close circle, this Roman
aristocrat was entrusted with various important state
tasks, including those of a political and diplomatic na-
ture, but it is for his generous patronage of poets, art-
ists and musicians that his name Maecenas has gone
down in history.
Despite Maecenas fame, the exact year of his birth
has not been established. Nonetheless, the day, 13 April,
is recorded in an ode by Horace, To Phyllis (Horace,
Odes, Book IV: 11), allowing succeeding generations
to celebrate his memory on this day. Te frst Birthday
of Maecenas in the Hermitage was held with great cer-
emony in the Large Italian Skylight Hall. Giovanni Bat-
tista Tiepolos magnifcent canvas Maecenas Presenting
the Liberal Arts to Emperor Augustus was moved from
its usual location in the next room for afew hours and
set up on an easel and cases were placed nearby, con-
taining gifs made to the Hermitage Museum during the
preceding year. In the presence of famous fgures from
the arts and culture, museum employees and the press,
Mikhail Piotrovsky greeted some of the modern patrons
(for whom in the Russian language the word is maece-
nas) who are following the example of their legendary
predecessor.
One of the donors was Alexander Ebralidze, aSt. Pe-
tersburg businessman, whose gif had been bought for
the Hermitage in Germany. It consisted of two extremely
important examples of Russian miniature hardstone en-
graving. We must emphasise that the word miniature,
ofen used to describe the art of glyptics one of the
most ancient forms of artistic creativity is in this case
meant in its most literal sense. Only by pressing one-
self up to the case with a magnifying glass, comparing
the tiny gems, plaster casts nearby and enlarged photo-
graphs of them all, was it possible to pick out the details
and truly appreciate the beauty of these semi-precious
stones: the noble simplicity of the concept, the purity of
the engraved lines, the classical forms so familiar from
Ancient models, both showing male fgures, one stand-
ing, one seated.
It was in 1996, ten years before the presentation in
St. Petersburg, that I learned there were Russian gems
in the Galerie Westphal, at 11-a Rielstrasse in Berlin-
Charlottenburg. I was at a symposium devoted to en-
graved gems of the 18th and 19th centuries in Imperial
residences, organised by Ingrid Szeiklies-Weber, then
chief curator of the Mnzkabinet in Munich.
1
She had
recently produced adescription of asmall collection of
gems, consisting of 62 cameos and intaglios, acquired
at auction in London (Sothebys 1994) by the gallerys
owner, Volker Westphal. Te auction catalogue pro-
vided almost no information, describing lot 189 simply
as Collection of gold and gem set fragmentary jew-
els. 17th century and later. Te brief entry picked out
just two engraved gems, concentrating most attention
on other objects that the author clearly found of more
interest. Te lot went for 1,725, well over double its
reserve price of 600 to 800 pounds, eloquent evidence
1
I would like to take this opportunity to express once more my
thanks to Dr Szeiklies-Weber for this information.
JULIA KAGAN
THE LONG ROAD HOME.
TWO RUSSIAN INTAGLIOS ACQUIRED IN BERLIN
NEW ACQUISITIONS
176 177
that the buyers included those far better informed than
the catalogues author. It was there that Volker West-
phal made his acquisition, going on to invite Szeiklies-
Weber, a well-known specialist in glyptics, to produce
anew description, with the purpose of selling the whole
complex as asingle unit.
At that time, however, I did not see the gems
brought from London. It was only in spring 1999 that
I got to see them in Berlin-Charlottenburg, attached in
neat rows to boards, both intaglios and cameos. Most
of them were Western European but my eye was imme-
diately drawn to several Russian pieces: cornelian he-
raldic intaglio seals and apair of intaglios with fgures
engraved in highly polished dark brown sard (ills.1,2).
Both gems bore the signatures of Russian engravers
from the Academy of Arts of the frst decades of the
19th century, Nikolinko and Shcherbayev, written in
reverse in the manner traditional for concave engrav-
ings intended for use as aseal (i.e. to be stamped into
wax or other material).
One glance was suf cient to comprehend that the
gems in question were extremely rare: their quality
was extremely high, created in the best traditions of
the Academy school; they were in superb condition
and bore the authors signatures. Even the largest col-
lection of glyptics in the world, that in the Hermitage,
with its many thousands of gems, including most of the
known Russian examples, contains just afew compara-
ble pieces. Tey can be counted not in hundreds or even
dozens, but in single numbers, and it is unclear how the
two pieces in Berlin had made their way onto the vast
reaches of the European art market. Te reason for the
rarity of such gems is to be found in the history of the
art form as it developed in Russia, ahistory that we shall
set out as briefy as possible, citing some statistics that
speak for themselves.
During the last third of the 18th century the en-
gravers working in St. Petersburg, at court and in the
Academy of Arts, were nearly all foreign. Te class for
engraving on steel and hardstones had been in exist-
Ill. 1. Gerasim Stepanovich Nikolinko. Apollino.
Intaglio. Russia. First quarter of the 19th century.
Ill. 2. Nikolay Ivanovich Shcherbayev. Seated Soldier (Mars?).
Intaglio. Russia. First quarter of the 19th century.
ence since 1764 but the results had been poor. Ten in
1800, at the suggestion of the President of the Academy,
Alexander Sergeyevich Stroganov (although the initia-
tive came from Emperor Paul I himself), the teaching of
the both disciplines was reorganised in the Medal Class.
Te man responsible for the actual changes was Acad-
emician Carl Leberecht, who had arrived in Russia from
Germany in the middle of the 1770s.
Although it is usually said that the new class pro-
duced many new Russian engravers and thus created
a whole national school of carving in hardstones in
the frst half of the 19th century, the art form four-
ished for only abrief period, coinciding with amuch
wider fourishing of the arts and artistic culture in
Russia. Even in these extremely favourable conditions
glyptics continued to be in only limited circulation
(Maximova 1926: 3536; Kagan 2003: 331333). We
know the names of many graduates of the Academy
only from the medals they produced, with the other
aspect of their creative activity refected only in docu-
ments: those from the Academy of Arts itself, now in
the Russian State Historical Archive were published in
part by P. Petrov (Petrov 18641866), while fragments
of the material relating to the St. Petersburg Mint have
occasionally appeared in the specialist literature. In
terms of artefacts, apart from anonymous gems and
those produced by Leberecht himself (he was equally
prolifc in working with both metal and stone), there
are items that can be identifed with just seven artists
from the Academy. In fact, very few students gradu-
ated from the Academy as gem-engravers. Most of the
artists who combined both medal-making and gem-
engraving during their training and in their later ca-
reers either had aparticular interest in the art form or
they learned to engrave in stone solely because this
was seen as amark of the highest professional skill in
their alma mater. Most of the latter went on to neglect
or forget the skill.
Of the seven engravers by whom gems are known,
just two can be said to have almost entirely devoted
their careers to gem-engraving: Alexey Esakov, who
died young in 1815, and Pyotr Dobrokhotov, who ef-
fectively replaced Leberecht as head of the class during
the Germans latter years and continued afer his death
in 1827, until he himself died in 1831. Between them
Esakov and Dobrokhotov counted thirty years of crea-
tive activity, including their years of training, but even
taking into account their programme works, required
before they were given the title of Academician, the
Hermitage has just four gems by Esakov and eight by
Dobrokhotov, of which one is in the Department of
the History of Russian Culture and the attribution of
another, unsigned, is open to question. Tere are also
about ahundred seals with coats-of-arms produced for
private individuals attributed to Dobrokhotov that are
kept in the Numismatic Department, and it is clear that
he must have produced at least 300, perhaps even 400,
gems during his career.
It was the pupils of Esakov and Dobrokhotov who
continued to work for two decades afer their masters
death that laid the basis for all talk of aschool. If Esa-
kov and Dobrokhotov concentrated on gem-engraving,
their fve pupils can be described as engravers and
medal-makers (or medal-makers and engravers). Te
stone-engraving of two of them, Alexey Klepikov and
Alexey Lyalin, is known from three student works by
the frst and one by the second as well as their gradua-
tion programme works. By Ivan Shilov we have just two
portraits of Alexander I (one of them hidden beneath
the coronation medal of Nicholas I on the lid of agold
snuf ox by Ivan (Johan) Keibel in the Treasure Gallery)
and aportrait of Stroganov attributed to him. By Sergey
Rayevsky, who like Shilov fought in the defence of Rus-
sia against Napoleons invasion in 1812, there is just one
portrait of the Emperor. Asingle intaglio in the Hermit-
age, aHead of a Woman on cornelian (Inv.No.10660;
2.9 2.4 cm; ill. 3), represented the whole career of
Nikolay Shcherbayev, whose signature appears on one
Ill. 3. Nikolay Ivanovich Shcherbayev. Head of aWoman.
Intaglio (right) and cast. Russia. First quarter of the 19th century.
178 179
of the gems in Berlin. Prior to the discovery in the
Galerie Westphal, there were no known engraved gems
by Gerasim Nikolinko.
Tis brief history makes clear that the acquisition
of the signed intaglios in Berlin would not only signif-
cantly increase the small group of known Russian en-
graved gems but it would add another name to the list
of artists. Nikolinko may not be the most talented of the
eight, but his work contributes to the overall picture of
the development of glyptics in Russia. We could not let
slip this rare, not to say unique, chance to expand this
particular part of the museums collection.
Te frst approach to Herr Westphal, asking him to
sell the two gems to the Hermitage, met with arefus-
al. His reasons were understandable: by breaking up
the small collection, removing from it two of its few
signed works, its overall value would be reduced, as
would the likelihood that the remainder could be sold
as a single unit. All arguments put forward in an at-
tempt to persuade him that the rightful place of these
tiny works of art, almost forgotten by the world today,
was in the land of their creation, in Russia, were lis-
tened to politely, but with the same result. Herr West-
phal suggested that high-quality casts be made of the
intaglios, which required another trip to Charlotten-
burg. But on our next visit we were met with surpris-
ing news: greeting us at the entrance to the gallery, the
owner was pleased to declare that afer giving the mat-
ter much thought he was convinced of our arguments
and named a price of 5,000 dollars for each intaglio.
Afer consultation with specialists and experts on the
antiquarian market, it was agreed that this was a rea-
sonable price.
A careful search through archival and literary sources
undertaken on my return from Berlin, specifcally with
the purpose of adding to the miserly information about
the gems authors, did much to increase our knowledge
of the two mens biographies even if it threw no light
on the works in question themselves. Our report to the
Directors Of ce of the Hermitage explained the great
interest represented by this potential acquisition for the
museum.
Assured that a search would be made for a way to
buy the intaglios, we had nothing to do but wait. But dif-
fcult economic conditions did little to help us achieve
our aims: the museum felt the full force of the fnancial
crisis that hit Russia at the end of the 1990s. Charitable
sponsorship and patronage were only just starting to ap-
pear in Russia and the acquisition of works of art abroad
from aprivate individual was fraught with many almost
insuperable problems, not only for the museum but for
the seller.
Over the next fve years letters were exchanged but
their frequency declined. On his side Herr Westphal re-
af rmed his readiness to cede the gems to the Hermit-
age and despite the implacable rise of prices for Russian
art he kept to the sum originally quoted (translating it
into euros with Germanic precision down to the last
cent when the time came to make the purchase). Al-
though hope never died, it weakened with every passing
day and the story lef abitter taste.
Towards the middle of the frst decade of the new
century the situation started to change. Anew depart-
ment was set up in the Hermitage, the Sector for New
Acquisitions, expanding the potential of the Purchas-
ing Commission. Te new arrangements could not
but lead to more fexible relations with the owners
of works of art. Te situation was undoubtedly infu-
enced by a programme run jointly by the Hermitage
and the journal Patron of the Arts and Sciences MAE-
CENAS [ ],
which specifcally with the purpose of fnding po-
tential sponsors brought to the attention of wealthy
individuals and companies those works of art on the
market that were of interest to Russian museums.
Te frst success story was not long in appearing, as
the journal informed its readers: the acquisition for
the Hermitage of a drawing by Giacomo Quarenghi
showing the Triumphal Gates erected at St. Peters-
burgs Narvskaya Gate in 1814 (Sosnov 2006: 4647).
On the recommendation of the head of the Sector for
New Acquisitions, Victor Faibisovich, who never lost
his optimism that the Berlin gems could be acquired
perpetually repeating the words Iam convinced they
will come here, but we must just be patient! in that
same number the journal published material relating
to the two miniatures in Berlin (Russian Gems from
Berlin 2006: 49).
And the miracle happened! Just two months afer
publication the gems were presented in their new home!
Te good news was shared with the journals readers in
its following number: To be honest, neither the edito-
rial team nor the staf of the Hermitage expected such
rapid success for this project, and they could moreover
never have hoped that the longed-for gems could so
soon return home (Gems from Berlin 2006).
Ill. 4. Gerasim Stepanovich Nikolinko. Apollino.
Cast from the intaglio. Te State Hermitage Museum
It remains only to comment on the gems themselves
and summarise the biographical information about
their creators that we have at our disposal.
1. Apollino (ills. 1, 4)
Oval intaglio. Brown sard with pale areas, veins
and dark incrustations in the right side. 3.5 2.8 cm.
Silver-gilt setting. In the background, written in re-
verse, a vertical signature: [Nikolinko]
(Inv.no.12765)
Ingrid Szeiklies-Weber saw the naked fgure with
its somewhat elongated proportions as that of a young
athlete. Te youth, one arm thrown up behind his head,
the other resting on the trunk of abroken tree on which
hangs a quiver full of arrows, can easily be recognised
as that of the Classical marble statue known as the Apol-
lino (Small Apollo) in the Uf zi in Florence (ill. 5). Al-
though little is known about the early history of that
statue, it is identifed with the Apollo from the Villa
Medici which was engraved in 1684 for the Acadmie
Franaise in Rome by Nicolas Dorigny (Haskell, Penny
1982: 146148). Te Roman antiquarian Domenico de
Rossi included this print in his Raccolta di statue antiche
e moderne, for which the selection of engraved tables
was made by Paolo Alessandro Mafei (Rossi Mafei
1704: pl.XXXIX) (ill.6). Te statue was moved to Flor-
ence from Rome in 1769 or 1770 and afer restoration,
completed in 1771, occupied aplace in the Tribuna be-
hind the Medici Venus (and was sometimes attributed
to its supposed creator). In the 18th century the Apol-
lino was one of the most frequently copied of all Classi-
cal statues, but its popularity gradually faded.
Te frst gem-engravers to turn to the Apollino
would seem to be Giovanni Pichler, who reproduced it
in chalcedony in the late 1750s (Rollett 1874:30, No.35
(as the Medici Apollo)) (ill.7), and then the English en-
graver Nathaniel Marchant, who reproduced it in about
1761 in red cornelian (Seidmann 1987: at. 12, fg. 21)
(ill.8). Te gem by Pichler, who probably saw the origi-
nal statue, shows all his usual sofness of touch even in
the precise modelling, remarkable in the purity and f-
nesse of line as he transferred the sculptural model to
the miniature space of the gem.
Marchants Apollino was one of his early gems but it
is now lost, as are the sulphur casts he sent for competi-
tion at the Society of Arts (Seidmann 1984:65), but we
know what it looked like from areproduction in James
Tassies cabinet of casts of engraved gems (Raspe 1791:
No. 2883). Te slight diference in the placing of the
arms and legs indicates that Marchants point of refer-
ence was a somewhat diferent image to that used by
Nikolinko (Marchant could not have seen the original
sculpture at this point: although he spent sixteen years
in Rome, he arrived there only in 1772).
Te Hermitage intaglio returns to the Dorigny print
for the Rossi Mafei publication: it takes the same an-
gle and precisely reproduces the details, indicating that
it was Nikolinkos direct source. Tere can be no ques-
tion that Nikolinko would have had the opportunity to
see the print, for the publication entered the Hermitage
in 1776 from Naples as part of the library of Abbot Fer-
dinando Galiani, and the Academy students of the frst
decades of the 19th century would have had access to it
along with the rest of the Hermitage material. Nor can
we exclude that there was a copy in the library of the
Academy itself.
We shall leave aside Giovanni Pichler head of the
Italian school of glyptics during its last great period,
180 181
who frmly established the Neoclassical manner of
engraving but it is hard not to compare the works
by two artists divided by half a century: the English
Marchant, who later in Italy gained European fame and
did much to facilitate the spread of international Neo-
classicism in glyptics during the last third of the 18th
century, and the Russian Nikolinko, formerly known
only as amedal-maker, active in the early 19thcentury.
Although Marchant received a special prize from the
Society of Arts in London for his Apollino, an unbi-
ased comparison of the two gems gives the laurels to
the Russian author. At least part of our reason for this
assessment lies in the greater precision in setting the
fgure within the oval, the harmonious proportions,
the sense of blood pumping through the youths veins
and the attention to detail, but the diference also lies
in the contrasting approach to the Classical heritage,
born in another land in another age, and thus tinged
with romanticism.
Gerasim Semyonovich Nikolinko (Nikolenko) is
now known to have been born 7 December 1797; he
died afer 1850. In 1806 he enrolled in the Training
School attached to the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg.
In 1817 and 1818 he received silver medals second class
Ill. 6. Nicolas Dorigny. Apollino. Print. 1684. Published in:
Rossi Mafei 1704: pl. XXXIX
Ill. 5. Workshop of Paolo Triscorni. Apollino. Marble. Rome.
c. 1798. Copy from aClassical statue in the Tribuna of the Uf zi,
Florence. Te State Hermitage Museum
in the Medal Class for modelling from nature and in
1818 the second gold medal for afgure carved in stone,
showing Teseus tossing aside the stone beneath which
are hidden his fathers weapons and a certifcate frst
class with a sword (Petrov 1864: vol. 1, p. 568 (there
mistakenly named Semyon); 1865: vol. 2, pp. 106, 118,
123, 124; Kondakov 1914: vol. 2, p. 264). From 1820he
was amedal-maker and master copyist at the St. Peters-
burg Mint.
In the Numismatic Department of the Hermitage is
a copy of medal No. 17 from the historical series In
Commemoration of the Wars of Askold Against the
Poles and Drevlyans (Inv. No. 9189), on the
reverse of which is aname tag with the initials K.G.N.
(to be interpreted as copied by Gerasim Nikolinko)
(Iversen 1874: 20; Shchukina 2002: 39, No. 456).
2. Seated Soldier (Mars?) (ills. 2, 9)
Four-sided intaglio with corners cut of. Dark brown
sard with reddish layers. 2.6 2.3 cm. Silver-gilt set-
ting. In the background, in reverse, avertical signature:
[Shcherbayev] (Inv.No. 12764)
Tired from his military duties, the helmeted Ancient
god, hero or warrior has sat down upon arock, casting
Ill. 7. Giovanni Pichler. Apollo.
Rome. Late 1750s. Cast from an intaglio.
Ill. 8. Nathaniel Marchant. Medici Apollo (Apollino).
Britain. c. 1761. Cast from an intaglio.
Ill. 9. Nikolay Ivanovich Shcherbayev. Seated Soldier (Mars?).
Cast from an intaglio. Te State Hermitage Museum
182 183
of his chlamys or cloak, dropping his sword down to
the ground by his leg, his shield leaning against the oth-
er and supported with one hand. As was noted by Ingrid
Szeiklies-Weber, this motif is ofen found on Classical
gems depicting a variety of subjects. Indeed the pose
and general setting and selection of attributes are found
in images of the seated Achilles (ill. 10) and Heracles
Ill. 10. Seated Achilles. Cast from an intaglio.
Ill. 11. Seated Hercules. Cast from an intaglio.
Ill. 12. Achilles before an Urn with the Ashes of Patroclus.
Cast from an intaglio with the false signature
of the engraver Pamphilos. Te State Hermitage Museum
Ill. 13. Achilles with aCithara.
Cast from an intaglio by the engraver Pamphilos.
Ill. 14. Apollo with aCithara. Cast from an intaglio.
Ill. 15. Diomedes with the Palladium.
Cast from an intaglio.
Ill. 16. Ajax or Mars Climbing down from aRock.
Cast from an intaglio. Te State Hermitage Museum
(ill.11), of Achilles mourning (ill.12), Achilles or Apol-
lo playing the cithara (ills. 13, 14), Diomedes with the
palladium (ill. 15), Ajax or Mars climbing down from
arock (ill.16) etc. Te list of examples could be contin-
ued. Szeiklies-Weber saw here the frst of these subjects,
but it seems to us that the fgure is more likely to repre-
sent Mars, hero of the last one.
Ill. 17. Mantle clock Te Vigil of Alexander the Great. Bronze.
From the original by Pierre-Philippe Tomire. Russia. 1830s 1840s.
It has not proved possible to identify adirect proto-
type for the gem in any of the accessible sources se-
ries of casts from engraved gems, engraved publica-
tions or new iconographical works of reference. Yet
throughout the Classical and post-Classical age the
image made its presence felt many times, now more
strongly, now only faintly, not only in glyptics but in
the most varied art forms both in Europe and in Rus-
sia. In European art we might mention several of Mi-
chelangelos ignudi who appear in asimilar pose on the
vaults of the Sistine Chapel, and a fgure on the man-
tle-clock made to amodel by Pierre-Philippe Tomire,
Te Vigil of Alexander the Great (ill. 17), as well as an
image of Mars in Tomires design for another clock
(ill. 18); Russian examples include the fgure of the
Prince in the monument to Minin and Pozharsky in
Moscow (ill. 19). Sitters posed in just this way to be
drawn by students in classes at the Academy and to
artists in their studios. Without a precise model for
Shcherbayevs gem, we should suggest that while not
inventing anew scene the artist was certainly capable
of creating an independent variation on an established
compositional scheme, however unlikely that might
seem in astudent of the Academy.
184
Nikolay Ivanovich Shcherbayev, medal-maker, en-
graver of gems and coin dies, was born 8 May 1797,
less than a year before Nikolinko, the son of a court
Kafee Schenk or cofee cupbearer. Te date of his
death is unknown. Like Nikolinko, in 1806 he enrolled
in the Training School attached to the Academy of Arts
in St.Petersburg. Studying in the Medal Class, in 1820
he received asecond silver medal and in 1821 asecond
gold medal for the programme To carve in stone Ul-
ysses returning from Troy (Petrov 1864: vol.1, p.568).
For some unknown reason he graduated as an artist
of the art of medal-making three years later than
his contemporary but with a certifcate second class
Ill. 18. Pierre-Philippe Tomire. Design for amantle clock with
afgure of Mars. Pen and ink drawing. France. 1810s 1820s.
Ill. 19. Ivan Petrovich Martos. Monument to Minin
andPozharsky. 1818. Moscow
and with asword (Petrov 1865: vol. 2, pp. 161, 162;
Kondakov 1914: vol. 2, p. 280). Archive documents
supplement this information: immediately afer his
graduation Shcherbayev also entered the St. Peters-
burg Mint (Russian State Historical Archive, Fund 570,
Register 13, No. 44, f. 29) but in 1823 was allocated to
the Heraldry Of ce of the Senate (Russian State His-
torical Archive, Fund 570, Register 13, No. 46, f. 13,
14), then two years later, in 1825, by request of the
Ministry of Finances, to the Tifis (Tbilisi) Mint (Rus-
sian State Historical Archive, Fund 1263, Register 1,
No.. 414, f. 587589). On his return to the St. Peters-
burg Mint in 1835, with the rank of Gitter-Verwalter
X Class in the Mining Of ce, he again worked in the
medals section there (Russian State Historical Archive,
Fund 570, Register 13, No. 55, f. 32).
Six years have passed since that frst memorable
day when the Hermitage marked the birth of Maecenas.
Te celebrations have become a frmly rooted tradi-
tion. Te intaglios of Gerasim Nikolinko and Nikolay
Shcherbayev entered into the everyday life of the mu-
seum, surrounded by other engraved gems of the Rus-
sian school. Tat life has brought new understanding:
the tentative identifcation of the supposed fgure of
Achilles as a warrior, perhaps Mars, and the identif-
cation not only of the model but the direct source for
the gem with astanding fgure. Perhaps this seems rela-
tively insignifcant to the reader, but it adds new detail
to the overall picture still to be written of the history
ofRussian glyptics.
REFERENCES
Gems from Berlin 2006
: [Gems: Home from Berlin].
[Pokrovitel iskusstv
i nauk MECENAT]. 2006. No. 4, April: 5.
Haskell, Penny 1982
Haskell, F., Nicholas Penny. Taste and the Antique. Te Lure
ofClassical Sculpture 15001900. New Haven; London, 1982.
Iversen 1874
Iversen, Yu. [ .]. ,
[Slovar
medaljerov i drugix lic, imena kotoryx vstreajutsa na russkix
medaljax]. St. Petersburg, 1874.
Kagan 2003
Kagan, Julia [ ].
: [Materials on
the History of Russian Glyptics: Alexey Esakov and Pyotr Do-
brokhotov]. In: :
. 75- .. (19261995) [Iz istorii
mirovogo iskusstva i kultury: sb. statej k 75-letiju Yu.A. Rusa-
kova (19261995)]. St. Petersburg, 2003: 331372.
Kondakov 1914
Kondakov, S. [ .]. -
. 17641914 [Jubilejnyj
spravonik Imperatorskoj Akademii xudoestv. 17641914].
[St.Petersburg, 1914]. 2 vols.
Maximova 1926
Maximova, M. [ .]. XVIII XIX-
: [Reznyje kamni XVIII i XIX
vekov: putevoditel po vystavke]. Leningrad: Te State Hermitage
Museum, 1926.
Petrov 18641866
Petrov, P. [ .].
-
[Sbornik materialov dlja is-
torii Sankt-Peterburgskoj Akademii xudoestv za sto let jejo
suestvovanija]. St. Petersburg, 18641866. 3 vols.
Raspe 1791
Raspe, R. Descriptive Catalogue of aGeneral Collection of Ancient
and Modern Engraved Gems, Cameos as well as Intaglios, Taken
from the most Celebrated Cabinets in Europe, and Cast in Coloured
Pastes, White Enamel and Sulphur by James Tassie, Modeller. Lon-
don, 1791. 2 vols.
Rollett 1874
Rollett, H. Antonio, Giovanni und Luigi Pichler. Wien,1874.
Rossi Mafei 1704
Rossi, D. de, P. A. Mafei. Raccolta di statue antiche e moderne.
Rome, 1704.
Russian Gems from Berlin 2006

[Russian Gems from Berlin can also Return to their Homeland].
[Pokrovitel iskusstv
i nauk MECENAT]. 2006. No. 3, February: 49.
Seidmann 1984
Seidmann, G. A very Ancient, Useful and Curious Art: the So-
ciety of Arts and the Revival of Gem-Engraving in Eighteenth-
century England. Part II. Journal of the Royal Society for the
Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. 1984.
December: 6466.
Seidmann 1987
Seidmann, G. Nathaniel Marchant, Gem-Engraver. 17391816.
Te Walpole Society. 1987. 53: 5105.
Shchukina 2002
Shchukina, E. [ .].
XVIII XX [Monogrammy i podpisi
narusskix medaljax XVIII naala XX veka]. Kiev, 2002.
Sosnov 2006
Sosnov, A. [ .]. [Te Return
of Quarenghi].
[Pokrovitel iskusstv i nauk MECENAT]. 2006. No. 3, February:
4647.
Sothebys 1994
Sothebys, London. European Sculptures and Works of Art. Turs-
day, 21 April 1994.
186 187
In March 2011, the State Hermitage was given
a German medal commemorating the 175th anniver-
sary of the Battle of Hagelberg; it is made of tombac
(Inv. No. 16290; diam. 40 mm; weight 38.13 g; ill. 1).
Its obverse side
1
depicts the central part of the monu-
ment erected on the place of the battle with the follow-
ing inscription in German: ZUR ERINNERUNG | AN
DIE | DEUTSCH-RUSSISCHE | WAFFENBRUDER-
SCHAFT | IM GEFECHT BEI | HAGELBERG | AM27.
AUGUST 1813 [In memory of the German and Rus-
sian brotherhood in arms in the battle of Hagelberg on
27 August 1813]. Tere are two lines of text under the
image, which read: KULTURBUND DER DDR | FG
NUMISMATIK BELZIG
2
[Te Cultural Association of
the GDR. Numismatics Section. Town of Belzig]. Te
circular German inscription along the rim reads: 175.
JAHRESTAG DES GEFECHTS BEI HAGELBERG.
18131988 [175th anniversary of the battle of Ha-
gelberg 18131988]. Te dates are separated from the
legend by oak branches. On the reverse side, in the
centre, there are half-length full-face portraits of the
two generals who commanded the allied forces. On
the lef is Karl von Hirschfeld, and on the right is Al-
exander Chernyshev. Von Hirschfeld isshown wearing
a generals uniform of the 1810 design (Kntel, Kn-
1
Despite the fact that descriptions of this medal made for Ger-
man auctions name the side with the portraits as the obverse side,
the author believes that it is the more informative side that has to be
considered obverse: the side which names the year when the medal
was struck and the information about the commemorated event and
the commissioner.
2
FG stands for Fachgruppe.
tel, Sieg 1985:20, Abb.5, b) with insignia of the Order
Pour le Mrite and the Order of the Black Eagle. Gen-
eral Chernyshev is wearing a Russian infantry generals
uniform of the 1808 design (Zvegintsev1973: table233,
No. 3961) with several foreign awards on his chest, as
well as the insignia of the Russian Order of St.George
and what is probably the Order of St.Alexander Nevsky.
3

Te circular inscription along the rim reads: GENERAL
VON HIRSCHFELD GENERAL TSCHERNYSCHEW
[General von Hirschfeld. General Chernyshev].
Karl Friedrich von Hirschfeld (ill. 2), a Prussian In-
fantry General, was born in 1747 in Mnsterberg; in
1762, he entered military service in the Brandenburg
Infantry Regiment. He later became a companion of
3
Te artist failed to get the picture of the order quite right: the
sign of the cross with swallows tail arms is not found in the list of
General Chernyshevs awards.
Ill.1. Medal commemorating the 175th anniversary
of the battle of Hagelberg. Te State Hermitage Museum.
First publication
NIKOLAY VVEDENSKY
A MEDAL COMMEMORATING THE RUSSIAN AND PRUSSIAN BROTHEHOOD IN ARMS
Duke Eugen of Wrttemberg. For the storming of the
Overtoom feches during the Dutch campaign of 1787,
von Hirschfeld was awarded the highest Prussian mili-
tary decoration, the Order Pour le Mrite. In the same
year, he became one of the adjutants of the Duke of
Brunswick and distinguished himself repeatedly during
the Rhine campaigns. In 1798, Colonel von Hirschfeld
became the Commander of the First Battalion of the
Guards, and in 1801 he was made Major General and
appointed the superintendant of the city of Potsdam.
He took part in several campaigns during the Napole-
onic wars. He was taken captive by the French afer the
battle of Jena and Auerstedt (1806) and was kept in the
fortress of Magdeburg, from which he was released in
1807. Between 1809 and 1813, he was the superintend-
ant of Brandenburg and showed himself as an excellent
organiser during the formation of the Brandenburg
Landwehr or militia. He was in charge of the Prussian
troops at the battle of Hagelberg (27 August 1813). Afer
the defeat of Napoleons army, von Hirschfeld served as
the military governor of the fortress of Magdeburg until
his retirement in 1815. He died of a stroke on 11 Oc-
tober 1818 and was buried in the Brandenburg Cathe-
dral (see Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie 1880: 472 f;
vonHirschfeld 1922).
Alexander Ivanovich Chernyshev (ill. 3) was born
on 10 January 1786 in the family of a Senator, Lieuten-
ant General Ivan Chernyshev and EvdokiaChernysheva
(ne Lanskaya). He was home-schooled and received
the rank of Chamber Page at the Imperial Court. He
served at the Chevalier Guard Regiment and had his
baptism of fre at the battle of Austerlitz. During the
Franco-Austrian war of 1809 he was a volunteer scout
in the French army (Zheltoborodov 2008: 213). Afer the
signing of the Treaty of Schnbrunn, he stayed in Paris
as an envoy of the Russian Emperor and a military and
diplomatic agent. Afer he was called back to Russia in
1811, Chernyshev served at the Court of Alexander I
and was soon sent to Field Marshal Kutuzov and Admi-
ral Chichagov to announce to them the general plan for
the march of the Russian troops to Berezina. At the same
time, afer he had arrived at the Danube Army, Cherny-
Ill.2. Johann Ferdinand Krethlow, afer the painted original
byGeorg Friedrich Adolph Schner. Portrait of Prussian Lieutenant
General Karl Friedrich von Hirschfeld. 1810s.
Chisel and stipple engraving. Te Russian National Library
Ill.3. George Dawe. Portrait of Alexander Chernyshev.
No later than 1825. Oil on canvas. Te State Hermitage Museum
188 189
shev was sent by Chichagov at the head of a light cavalry
squadron riding from Brest to the Duchy of Warsaw in
order to act behind the lines of the Austrian corps com-
manded by Schwarzenberg. Tis was the beginning of
Chernyshevs guerrilla career; he was in charge of both
small detachments and much larger troops; the event
where he distinguished himself most was the storming
of the town of Kassel in 1813. He was in charge of the
Russian troops during the events discussed in this article.
He was a member of AlexanderIs retinue from 1815; he
became a member of the committee for the welfare of
the Don troops. Chernyshev was at the Emperors side
when Alexander I died in Taganrog. On 25 November
1825, he was sent to the 2nd Army which he made swear
allegiance to Nicholas I. In January 1826, he was a mem-
ber of the Investigative Commission which was in charge
of the Decembrists uprising case. In 1848, Chernyshev
was made Chairman of the State Council of the Russian
Empire. Emperor NicholasI made him a Prince and ap-
pointed him the Commandant of the St. Petersburg 1st
Uhlan and the Kabardin Jger Regiments. He remained
Chairman of the State Council until his death on 20 June
1857 in the town of Castellamare di Stabia, near Naples
(see Sovetskaja vojennaja enciklopedija 1980: 461; Glin-
ka, Pomarnatsky 1981: II. 1; Levinson-Lessing 1981: 261;
cat.no.7907).
As for the actual battle which is commemorated by
the medal, it has given rise to a certain toponymic mix-
up. Kersonovskys History of the Russian Army reads
as follows: Te march to Berlin was a disaster. On
11 August, Oudinot with some of his troops acciden-
tally came across Bernadottes army at Grobeeren and
was defeated. <...> Girard sufered another defeat on
the 15th [of August] at Gabelsberg, while Davout, see-
ing it, retreated to Hamburg, where he remained during
the campaign (Kersnovsky 1992: 273) (my emphasis
N.V.). A diferent spelling of the name of the battlefeld
is given in the translation of a work by German Gen-
eral Heinz Wilhelm Guderian: a battle of Hagelsberg
of 1813 (Guderian 2005) (my emphasis N. V.). As
we can see, one work gives the towns name as Gabels-
berg, while the other calls it Hagelsberg. Te legend on
the medal clearly spells the place Hagelberg. It becomes
evident that both the references in the literature refer to
the same event in question afer we study the progress
of the battle.
Let us turn to the map: Gabelsberg is found in Ba-
varia, about 65 km from Munich. Tis means that it
cannot be the site of the military operation we are in-
terested in, since it is known for a fact that the fghting
was going on not far from Berlin. Hagelsberg, which has
been re-named into the village of Mikhailovo afer 1947,
lies 115 km to the east of Kaliningrad (formerly Knigs-
berg). Tis place cannot be the site of the battle for the
same reason. Te only suitable place is that named on
the medal, i.e. Hagelberg. It is located near the town
of Belzig in the district of Potsdam, less than 100 km
from Berlin.
Te battle of Hagelberg itself is overshadowed by the
more momentous battle of Dresden, which took place
on the same day, 27 August 1813. Tis was where the
main forces of the hostile powers were concentrated at
the time. Tis is the reason why the battle which is of
interest for us occupies such a modest place in history.
In July and August 1813, the United Kingdom, Swe-
den, and Austria joined the anti-Napoleonic coalition.
Tey had at their disposal up to half a million soldiers
divided between three armies. Austrian Field Marshal
Karl Schwarzenberg was appointed Commander-in-
Chief of the allied army, while the general leadership
of the campaign was in the hands of the council of
three monarchs: Alexander I, Franz I, and Frederick
William III. Napoleon had an army counting 440,000
soldiers at his command. Te Allies defeated the newly-
formed French army in the battles of Grobeeren and
the Katzbach River, which did not prevent Napoleon
from commanding Marshal Oudinot to re-take Berlin.
By August 1813, the disposition in the area around
Berlin was as follows. On 24 January, General Girard
with 10,000 soldiers was sent from Magdeburg to the
aid of Marshal Oudinots Berlin army. At the same
time, Crown Prince Karl Johan of Sweden, who was
in command of the Northern Army, ordered General
von Hirshfeld, whose division was stationed in the area
of Saarmund, to hasten to the aid of von Puttlitz, who
was hard pressed near the town of Burg. Te Landwehr
division commanded by von Hirschfeld joined with
Puttlitzs detachments on 26 August near the town of
Grzke (about 50 km north-east of Burg and about
12 km north-west of Hagelberg). Tere it was decided
to attack General Girards corps, which, afer Oudi-
nots defeat at Grobeeren, was bivouacked between
Hagelberg and Lbnitz in order to be able to retreat
towards Magdeburg at any time. General Hirschfelds
corps was stationed on the 26/14th [of August] be-
tween Reckahn and Goltzow, intending to attack the
Ill.4. Plan of the battle of Hagelberg
rearguard of General Girard, who was then on the
march from Ziesar to Brck; the enemy, however, was
moving so fast that it was not at all possible to appre-
hend him (Sankt-Peterburgskije vedomosti 1813: 771).
On 25 August, General Chernyshev and his Cossacks
captured the town of Belzig. General Girard, having
spent the night in Lbnitz, sent a strong force to Belzig
on the next day, but was repelled by Russian troops
(Moskovskije vedomosti 1813: 1923). Around noon on
27 August, eleven squadrons of Colonel von Bismarck
overthrew the French combat outpost that was not
expecting any military action in this direction. Mean-
while, von Hirschfeld occupied the estates of Gross and
Klein Glien and the Hagelberg height.
At the start of the onslaught it began raining so heav-
ily that the gunpowder got wet and it was impossible to
use frearms. Te Prussian militia attacked the enemy
with their bayonets and the stocks of their guns. Tis
gave the battle its later name, the battle of stocks at
Hagelberg (Kaufman 2008: 219).
190 191
Ill.5. A necklace of miniature medals dedicated to battles and signifcant events of the war of liberation of 18131815.
Inv. No. 24157. Zoomed out. Te State Hermitage Museum
Ill.6. Medal commemorating the battle
in the area between the towns of Lbnitz and Belzig.
Fragment of the necklace (Inv. No. 24157). Zoomed in.
At the same time, General Chernyshevs cavalry
launched a successful attack on the enemy from the
direction of Belzig. Te Cossack regiment
1
attacked
one of the infantry columns numbering about 1,000
men, who were mostly captured and the rest scattered.
Te Prussian infantry was in need of rest afer the hard
marches; but General Chernyshevs Cossacks were in
hot pursuit of the enemy. General Benkendorf, having
forestalled the enemy, was on the 27/15th [of August]
already in Grzke. It is likely that only a few men out
of the seven thousand-strong corps of General Girard
shall succeed in taking cover in Magdeburg and Wit-
tenberg (Moskovskije vedomosti 1813: 19231924)
(ill.4).
Te actions of the Russian cavalry led to the mass de-
fection of the French allies to the Anti-Napoleonic Coa-
lition, lifing the danger of a new capture of Berlin. Te
Prussian militia, or Landwehr, which was looked down
upon by the regular Prussian army and which was dis-
missed as rabble by Napoleon, had proved their worth.
Te Moskovskije vedomosti newspaper wrote: Afer mil-
itary action was resumed, the enemy army, which was
opposed to the allied Northern army, had lost in excess
of 12,000 men. According to the generals dispatches, up
to 7,000 captives are in our hands, including 250 of c-
ers, numbering many colonels and lieutenant colonels
(Moskovskije vedomosti 1813: 1924).
However, Guderian states, with reference to Molt-
kes taktisch strategische Aufsatze, that it was not the
bayonet attack that pre-determined the outcome of the
battle of Hagelsberg, but vice versa: the bayonet attack
was a success because the outcome of the fghting had
already been determined (Moltke, 57) (Guderian 2005:
50). However things stood, nothing can detract from
the joint victory of the Russian and Prussian soldiers,
who fought shoulder to shoulder many times in difer-
ent world wars.
Te German people remember the valour of the
Prussian militia shown in the battle of Hagelberg. Me-
morials on the site of the battle remind us of the brav-
ery of those who fought there in August 1813. Te frst
of them was erected on the order of King Frederick
William IV in 1849. Even before that, soon afer 1815,
the medal-maker Daniel Friedrich Loos produced a
series of 63 miniature medals commemorating the
battles and notable events of the war of liberation of
1
One cavalry regiment consisted of about 350 men at the time.
18131815 (Sommer 1981: 124126). All of these med-
als are present in the collection of the State Hermitage
Numismatic Department. No. 10 in the series is a med-
al commemorating a battle which was fought between
the towns of Lbnitz and Belzig (Inv. No. 8950;
silver; diam. 15 mm; weight 1.45 g). Te obverse side
shows Victoria, the goddess of victory, with a fery
sword inher right hand and a victors wreath in her lef.
Te circular inscription along the rim reads: GOTT
SEGNETE DIE VEREINIGTEN HEERE [God Blessed
the Allied Troops]. On the reverse side, there is a ten-
line text: ZWISCHEN | LUBNITZ | UND | BELZIG |
DURCH| TSHERNISCHEF | UND | HIRSCHFELD|
D 27 AUG | 1813 [Between Lbnitz and Belzig
Chernyshev and Hirschfeld 27 August 1813] (Iversen
1883: 318). Tere is a similar medal in the necklace of
193
43 medals from the series (Inv. No. 24157; silver;
round medals: diam.15 mm, oval medal: 17 20mm;
weight 100.58 g; ills.5, 6).
To mark the 175th anniversary of this event, the
Belzig Numismatic Society issued a commemorative
medal in 1988. Tanks to a gif from Oleg Belov, one of
such medals is now at the State Hermitage Numismatic
Department. Te medal does not have any signifcant
artistic value
1
, but it is a tribute to an unjustly forgotten
fragment of Russian history and the bravery of Prus-
sian and Russian warriors, who fought together against
acommon enemy. Moreover, the medal is an interesting
addition to the collection of historic personae at the Nu-
mismatic Department of the State Hermitage.
References
Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie 1880
Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie. Leipzig, 1880. Bd. 12.
Glinka, Pomarnatsky 1981.
Glinka, Vladislav, Andrey Pomarnatsky [ ,
].
[Vojennaja galereja Zimnego dvorca]. Leningrad, 1981.
Hirschfeld 1922
von Hirschfeld, Walter. Die Familie von Hirschfeld. Hannover, 1922.
Guderian 2005
Guderian, Heinz Wilhelm [ ].
! [Vni-
manije, tanki! Istorija sozdanija tankovyx vojsk]. Trans. into Rus-
sian by. O. Mylnikova. Moscow, 2005.
Iversen 1883
Iversen, Yuly [ ].
[Medali v est
russkix gosudarstvennyx dejatelej i astnyx lic]. St. Petersburg,
1883. Vol. 2.
Kaufman 2008
Kaufman, K. [ .]. -
- [Te Battle of
Hagelberg as an Example of Russian and Prussian Brotherhood
in Arms]. In: . .
1
Leipziger Mnzhandlung und Auktion Heidrun Hhn does not
name the medallist when placing the same model on the auction. Te
medals must have been commissioned privately by the Belzig Numis-
matic Section.
. : II . .,
195- . -
, 35 2007 . [Borodino i napoleonovskije vojny.
Bitvy. Polja sraenij. Memorialy: materialy II Medunarod. konf.,
posvjaennoj 195-letiju Borodinskogo sraenija. Borodino,
35sentjabrja 2007g.]. Mozhaysk, 2008.
Kersnovsky 1992
Kersnovsky, Anton [ ].
[Istorija Russkoj armii]. Moscow, 1992. Vol. 1.
Kntel, Kntel, Sieg 1985.
Kntel, R., H. Kntel, H. Sieg. Farbiges Handbuch der Uniform-
kunde. Stttgart, 1985. Bd. 1.
Levinson-Lessing 1981
Levinson-Lessing, Vladimir [- ]
(ed.). : [Zapadnjoevro-
pejskaja ivopis: katalog]. 2nd edition. Leningrad, 1981: State
Hermitage. Vol. 2.
Moskovskije vedomosti 1813
[Moskovskije vedomosti]. Moscow,
1813. No. 74, 13 September.
Sankt-Peterburgskije vedomosti 1813
- [Sankt-Peterburgskije vedo-
mosti]. St. Petersburg, 1813. No. 71, 5 September.
Sommer 1981
Sommer, Klaus. Die Medaillen des Kniglich Preussischen
Hof-Medailleurs Daniel Friedrich Loos und seines Ateliers. Osna-
brck, 1981.
Sovetskaja vojennaja enciklopedija 1980
[Sovetskaja vojennaja encik-
lopedija]. Moscow, 1980.
Zheltoborodov 2008
Zheltoborodov, Alexander [ ]. -

1813 . [Partizanskije dejstvija legkoj kavalerii russkoj
armii v xode kampanii 1813 g.]. In: -
. . . : -
II . ., 195- -
. , 35 2007 . [Borodino
i napoleonovskije vojny. Bitvy. Polja sraenij. Memorialy:
materialy II Medunarod. konf., posvjaennoj 195-letiju
Borodinskogo sraenija. Borodino, 35 sentjabrja 2007 g.].
Mozhaysk, 2008.
Zvegintsev 1973
Zvegintsev, Vladimir [ ].
1812 [Russkaja armija v 1812 godu]. Paris, 1973.
In 2011 the joint archaeological expedition of the
State Hermitage and the Institute of History and Cul-
tural Heritage (National Academy of Sciences, Kyrgyz
Republic) continued exploratory works on a Buddhist
monument (Buddhist temple) discovered in2010 at the
Krasnaya Rechka site in the Chu Valley, 35 km east of
Bishkek. Te most prominent fnd was a painted clay
sculpture of a seated Buddha. Tis discovery, widely dis-
cussed by the academic community as well as local and
international media (Reuters, Associated Press, Xinhua),
makes a remarkable contribution to our understanding
of the history of Buddhism in Central Asia. Te present
preliminary report highlights the key outcomes of the
feldwork conducted by the expedition.
Te Krasnaya Rechka site is the largest mediaeval
town in the Chu Valley. Te central part of the town
(100 ha) comprises two shahristans and a vast area to
their west including its western and southern exten-
sions and a suburban area (rabad) enclosed within
a long wall encompasses an area of approximately
20km
2
. At present most scholars agree with the hypoth-
esis proposed by Valentina Goryacheva and Karl Bay-
pakov, who identifed Krasnaya Rechka with Navekat
(Nevaket) known from Arab and Persian written
sources. Te frst accurately dated source mentioning
the town is a Sogdian prenuptial agreement (711 AD)
from the Devashtich Archive found on Mount Mugh
(Livshits 2008: 23). Chinese sources refer to the town
as Xincheng (Xin Tangshu, 1975, vol. 4: 1150),
a loan translation of its Sogdian name meaning New
town. Stratigraphic data obtained from the site suggest
that its lower layers may date back to the 8th century
or even earlier (Torgoev, Kolchenko 2010: 308310).
In2011 the expedition continued stratigraphic study of
the lower layers in Pit 15. Some remains of Horizon D
(and a Trgesh coin) were found under Horizon . Tis
could indicate that Horizon D, which is the oldest one
identifed so far, may not be dated to earlier than the
late 7th early 8th century.
Before focusing on excavation fndings, let us briefy
review the past archaeological research into Buddhist
monuments of the Semirechye (Zhetysu) region.
Numerous Buddhist sites discovered at the turn
of the 20th century in Afghanistan and Xinjiang
(Xinjiang-Uyghur Autonomous Region, Peoples Re-
public of China) generated interest in the pre-Islamic
past and the transmission of Buddhism in Central Asia.
Since the 1920s, considerable material evidence has
been obtained of the spread of Buddhism in the Central
Asian region including modern Kyrgyzstan
1
.
Most Buddhist sites in the Semirechye area lie east of
the Chu Valley, Kyrgyzstan. Very few Buddhist objects
have been found in the western part of the Chu and in
the Talas Valleys, whilst in that region and in lands fur-
ther west Buddhist architectural remains are completely
absent (Baypakov, Goryacheva 2008:258).
According to Valentina Goryacheva, Svetlana Peregu-
dova and arl Baypakov, there are seven Buddhist struc-
tures scattered across the Chu Valley, all of which have
been dated from the 6th 7th century to the 10th cen-
tury. However, the actual number of genuine Buddhist
1
On the history of Buddhism in the regions of former Central
Asian USSR republics see (Stavisky 1998; Mkrtychev 2002).
ASAN TORGOEV, EVGENY KIY, VALERY KOLCHENKO, OLGA VIKTOROVA,
RAISA KAZIMIROVA, ALEXEY KULISH
A NEWLY DISCOVERED BUDDHIST MONUMENT IN THE CHU VALLEY
(NORTHERN KYRGYZSTAN)
ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS
194 195
structures may be lower. Te frst and second Buddhist
temples in Ak-Beshim explored by Leonid Kyzlasov and
Leonid Zyablin, respectively, as well as the frst temple
in Krasnaya Rechka studied by Pyotr Kozhemyako and
Goryacheva are positively Buddhist religious structures.
Goryacheva and Peregudova interpreted the so-called
second Buddhist temple in Krasnaya Rechka as a Mani-
chean shrine, but their hypothesis was rightly criticised
in (Litvinsky 1996: 192193), and one should suppose
that this temple is Buddhist as well.
Explored by Alexander Bernshtams expedition in
1940 and believed to be the frst Buddhist monuments
at this site, the so-called chapel and monastery in Ak-
Beshim present signifcant challenges for interpretation.
Tese structures can hardly be regarded as Buddhist
given the following evidence.
Te published description and plan of the chapel
have no direct analogies in Buddhist religious architec-
ture (Mkrtychev 2002: 9293). Te only indication for
the Buddhist origin of the structure is the abundance of
stone and clay sculpture fragments. The fragments were
mainly retrieved from the northern and eastern corridors,
none were recovered in situ and were often mixed-up
and scattered among debris (Chu Valley 1950: 52). The
fragments are relatively small and do not provide any
clear indication of the general sculptural composition.
Indeed, no complete sculptures (intact or reconstructed)
have been found. The artefacts and architectural inu-
ences found at the chapel site complicate any inter-
pretation of its function. According to the available pub-
lished materials, the structure was built of Karakhanid
type bricks (Chu Valley 1950: 51), whereas the sculp-
ture fragments resemble Chinese Tang dynasty objects
and roof eave end tiles are analogous with those com-
monly found at eighth- and ninth-century sites. One
possible explanation for the obvious chronological gap
between the sculpture fragments and the construction
itself may be that the fragments were used in the later
period building as flling material for the fooring and
may have originated from an earlier ruined Buddhist
structure located nearby. Te low walls (0.40.5m), the
absence of wall plaster and the protruding brick course
at the northern wall, which Bernshtam interpreted as
a ledge-banquette, may indicate that the chapel may
have been the foundation of a building dating from the
Karakhanid period. Neither the walls nor the foor of
this building have survived, yet the small narrow cubi-
cles uncovered in the central part of the sub-foor struc-
ture could be interpreted as chests lowered from that
foor; the contents of one of the chests confrm that they
may have been used for household purposes (Chu Val-
ley 1950: 52).
Objects recovered from the monastery adjacent
to the chapel also show that earlier sculptural frag-
ments did infltrate into the later strata. Te sculptural
fragments recovered are clearly older than the mon-
astery and may have been brought there for the same
purposes as those retrieved from the chapel. Moreover,
the somewhat chaotic layout of the excavated buildings
seems characteristic of the unprofessional workman-
ship that is seen in residential structures built during
the Karakhanid period. It therefore seems likely that
these structures carried a residential function.
Another supposedly Buddhist monument is a poor-
ly preserved structure located on the completely erased
tortkul (size 67 68m) to the northeast of Novopavlo-
vka Village, discovered during the archaeological sur-
vey preceding the construction of the Big Chu Canal.
Goryacheva and Peregudova interpreted this structure
as the Klyuchevskoye Gorodishche monastery (Gorya-
cheva, Peregudova 1996: 183). Indeed, it is quite pos-
sible that the tortkul was located within the vicinity
of the Klyuchevskoye Gorodishche (referred to as the
Chola-Kazak site by Bernshtam). Excavations con-
ducted during the survey yielded a clay sculpture and
some murals; however, the specifcs regarding the lo-
cation and archaeological contexts of these fnds were
not mentioned in the subsequent report. It does not
have photos of any of the sculptures and the illustrative
material was limited to two drawings of painted stucco
fragments; one of which is a depiction of rosettes (Chu
Valley 1950, table LXXVII). Te tortkul fnds were not
limited to Buddhist objects and included a tandoor,
some fat-bottomed Islamic vessels, baked bricks, ce-
ramic water pipes and a dastarkhan (Chu Valley 1950:
92), most likely dating from the Karakhanid period.
Strata containing these materials may have been super-
imposed over the Buddhist site or located nearby. Te
excavated contexts and spatial relationships of these
objects to the sculpture and murals remain unknown.
Adding further doubt to the structures Buddhist in-
terpretation are some key problems: the buildings ar-
chitectural plan cannot be reconstructed, the structure
cannot be dated to a defnite period and the exact origi-
nal location of the sculpture and murals is unknown.
Considering these issues, it is very dif cult to interpret
the complex as a Buddhist monastery (for details see
(Chu Valley 1950: 9293)).
Te interpretation of the Novopokrovka 2 site as a
Buddhist monastery by Goryacheva et al. is equally dis-
putable. Boris Stavisky questioned the interpretation
on grounds that the only exploratory activity on the
site was the excavation of trial trenches undertaken by
Kozhemyako (Stavisky 1998: 132133). The discovery
of Buddhist bronze gurines on the site during a re-
cent construction of a cultural centre does not neces-
sarily indicate that a Buddhist monastery once stood
there. Continuous excavations since 2004 have failed
to yield any structures or objects which could allow us
to identify the whole site as a monastery. Some Bud-
dhist religious structures may have existed in the area;
however, no remains of these were found. Terefore it
would be appropriate to regard Novopokrovka2 as just
one of the locations where Buddhist religious objects
have been found (bronze Buddhist fgurines were also
found in Voroshilovskoye and at the Kenbulun site near
Kenbulun Village).
Te architectural complex that has been the focus of
the present authors excavations at Krasnaya Rechka is
undoubtedly Buddhist.
Te ruins of the Buddhist temple are located in the
western part of the settlement. Te temple forms part
of a larger architectural complex that is centered on
alarge pyramidal mound (ill.1). Baypakov and Gorya-
cheva describe the complex as follows: the western
extension is dominated by a complex of buildings with
a rounded hill in the centre. Te complex is surround-
ed with walls on four sides and bounded on the east
by two other large hills referred to by Kozhemyako as
a citadel (Baypakov, Goryacheva 1989: 71). In fact,
the complex with the pyramidal mound in the centre
is located in what Bernshtam called the southern ex-
tension, and not in the western extension as claimed
by Baypakov and Goryacheva (Chu Valley 1950: 12).
On the north, the southern extension abuts the
southern wall of the western extension. Te wall had
been demolished before 1954 and was not plotted on
Kozhemyakos plan (Kozhemyako 1959: 66, fg. 1) but
is present on the plan dating from 1940 (Chu Valley
1950, table VIII). However, the surviving remains of
the southern wall of the western extension can still
be traced, with a deep and wide ravine in front, sepa-
rating them from the walled complex in the southern
extension.
Te complex is cut across from south to north by
a deep irrigation ditch (aryk) with uneven crumbling
edges. In some places the aryk bed is paved with con-
crete slabs; there is a ferroconcrete sluice in the north-
ern part of the ditch; however, they were presumably in-
stalled afer the ancient channel of the aryk (plotted on
the 1940map) had been widened. Te aryk divides the
complex into two parts, with most of the ruined struc-
tures and the pyramidal mound located on the west-
ern side of the ditch, and two other separate mounds
(northern and southern) lef on the eastern bank (see
ill. 1). Te feet of the mounds nearly converge on the
central axis of the pyramidal mound along the EW
line. Te southern mound has an irregular oval-shaped
plan and is larger than the northern mound. Two deep
converging depressions were found on the top of the
mound. Te northern mound, where excavations have
been ongoing since 2010, has an egg-shaped plan and
is somewhat extended along in the NS directions, with
a deep oval depression located in its centre. Te area to
the north of the mound is relatively fat except for faint
traces of a rampart, which may have been the northern
wall enclosing the complex. No conspicuous elevations
or depressions are distinguishable apart from a conical
hollow (possibly of recent origin) opposite the north-
western sector of the mound that has had its base visibly
eroded by the aryk.
Tese prominent features in the landscape of Kras-
naya Rechka attracted archaeologists to explore them.
Excavations on the central pyramidal mound were frst
conducted by Bernshtam in 1938 when a trench was
excavated cutting across part of the hill on its north-
west narrow trench on its western side (Goryacheva
2010:97).
In 1997 the joint Kyrgyz-Japanese expedition head-
ed by Goryacheva and Kat Kyz partly re-unearthed
Kozhemyakos trench and found some solid adobe
brickwork. A small ofset part of the southern ram-
part eroded by the aryk was cleaned up and no walls
were found there. A base fragment of a large hum and
a human shin bone were found at the foor level. Te
section clearly showed well-structured debris, possi-
bly ruins of a vaulted structure composed of large-size
adobe bricks
1
.
1
Te description of the clean-up procedure is based on san
Torgoevs diary. Te illustrative material is held in the Department
of History and Cultural Studies, Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University
named afer BorisYeltsin.
196 197
Krasnaya
Rechka site.
Location
of Pits 5b, 5c, 17
Horizontal spacing: 1 m
2011
All heights are given in the Baltic System.
Pit 5c
Pit 17
Pit 5b
0 20 m
N
S
ll. 1. Topography of the southern extension and the locations of pits in 20102011
At the same time, a trench of unknown origin dat-
ing from before 1984 was cleaned up crossing the
southern rampart of the site (excavation code -5)
and was found to contain nothing but adobe debris
with just a few unremarkable pottery fragments. Te
trench was reopened, registered in feld records and
conserved in 2004
1
. In2004an adobe structure looking
like a collapsed arch was detected on the eastern side
of the trench. Tis fnd showed the need for in-depth
exploration of the site. Te section was re-excavated,
deepened and extended northward in 2007 by Gory-
acheva
2
, exposing a wall which extended along the EW
axis and was built of square (4142414210cm)
and rectangular bricks (403010cm) with 78cm
layers of mortar between courses. It was the only wall
unearthed in this trench; its northern faade is slanted
at a 60 angle, the lower part of the southern faade is
visibly eroded. A section of Period 2 restored brick-
work made of long adobe bricks (4222810cm)
abuts the northern faade
3
.
Tentatively at frst and more confdently aferwards,
Goryacheva interpreted the pyramidal mound as a Zo-
roastrian temple, possibly associated with funerary
rites (Baypakov, Goryacheva 1989: 75; Goryacheva
2010: 9697). Goryacheva adduced as evidence a simi-
lar structure from Kurgan-tepe, Miankealeh Peninsula
(partially explored by Galina Pugachenkova) which
comprised a tall stepped platform and a small hall sur-
rounded by corridors. Pugachenkovas arguments for
interpreting the structure as a temple were convincingly
refuted by ValentinShkoda, who claimed that the small
size of the structure and the lack of space for collective
gatherings detract from its function as a public temple
(Shkoda 2009: 66). Te large amount of multi-layered
fred clay daub on the north-western side of the Kras-
naya Rechka pyramidal mound (Goryacheva 2010: 96)
may well have resulted from later use of the hill, e.g.
during theKarakhanid period when it may have served
1
Stevens, Tarsis. Report autumn campaign 1 September 30Octo-
ber 2004: 14 (Te manuscript is held in the Archive of the UNESCO
Of ce in Bishkek).
2
Goryacheva, Valentina, Asan Torgoev, Philipp Rott.
2007 . [Otjot o raskop-
kax na gorodie Krasnaja reka 2007g./ Report on the Excavations
on the Krasnaya Rechka Site in 2007]: 1416. (Te manuscript
is held in the Institute of History, National Academy of Sciences,
Kyrgyz Republic).
3
Ibid: 1618, fg. 96, , b.
as a beacon tower. In addition, evidence of ceramic pro-
duction dating to the 10th century (at the earliest) was
found on the site in 20102011.
At present the interpretation of the hill as a fre-
worshipper temple appears dubitable. Following the
discovery of a Buddhist temple on the site, one may
safely suggest that the central pyramidal mound is
alarge stpa and the whole complex is the largest Bud-
dhist monastery in Semirechye. Te supposition that
the pyramidal mound may have been a stpa was frst
proposed by Kozhemyako. Te same hypothesis was
articulated by Kat Kyz in1997 when Kozhemyakos
pits were reopened.
Excavations on the northern mound started in 2010.
Te site was classifed as endangered: bordering on aclo-
ver feld in the east, it is eroded in the west by spring melt
water fowing down the aryk and the depression in the
centre of the mound has been intermittently employed
by modern farmers for the burial of cattle. Te depres-
sion may have been lef from undocumented excavation
feldworks or is the decayed form of a trial trench made
by Vasily Radlov, who in the summer of1869 conducted
the frst archaeological explorations in Krasnaya Rech-
ka. In the profle of the present authors main EW baulk,
it is clearly visible that the spoil heap of this trial trench
was located on the eastern side of the site and it is rep-
resented by a 0.6m layer located directly under the turf
surface.
Prior to the excavations, the mound hiding the re-
mains of the Buddhist temple was divided into squares
and, additionally, into four equal sectors. Baulks were
created in latitudinal and meridian directions converg-
ing in the centre of the depression on top of the mound.
In 2010 feldwork was conducted in the south-eastern
sector of the building: a segment of the shrine and two
sections of the circumambulatory corridor in its eastern
and southern galleries were explored (ill.2). During the
nal period of its existence the entrance to the shrine
was situated in the east and was fairly wide. The whole
area of the shrine contained adobe debris which may
have been the remains of the roof (see ill. 2). Contem-
poraneous with the nal period of the temple was an
eastern vestibule (?) that provided an entrance to the
shrine and access to the northern and southern sections
of the eastern gallery of the circumambulatory corridor.
In 2010 the southern section of the eastern gallery of
the corridor was fully unearthed. Access to this section
from the side of the vestibule may have been through
198 199
an arch which rested on two prominent supports that
survive today (see ill. 2).
Stamped curls of hair belonging to a large sculpture
(ill. 3) similar to those recovered from the frst Bud-
dhist temple in Krasnaya Rechka (Baypakov, Gorya-
cheva 1989, insert 22, below) were found among the
deposits on the upper foor level at the entrance to the
southern section of the eastern gallery. Tis fnd, to-
gether with the fairly large fragments of red clay sculp-
ture retrieved from the southern gallery of the corri-
dor, enabled us to identify the structure as a Buddhist
temple a supposition fully confrmed during the
2011 excavations in the south-western sector where
aclay Buddha statue was discovered.
Excavations in the southern gallery of the temple
helped to clarify the construction history of the build-
ing which can be divided into at least three construction
periods.
In the frst period, the building was constructed
from square adobe bricks (size 404140418cm)
and may not have had a circumambulatory corri-
dor around its perimeter. Te building rested on an
adobe platform constructed from the same type of
bricks. A wall built of rectangular adobe bricks sized
44 22 8 cm was added from the south to the out-
er wall of the shrine during the second construction
period. Another adobe wall (brick size 5254 26
2712cm) was added later to the wall of the second
construction period. A foundation of pakhsa (rammed
clay) blocks was constructed opposite, on which acir-
cumambulatory corridor was built of bricks of the
same dimensions.
Ill. 2. Layout of the unearthed sections of the temple
726.80
726.42
727.22
728.21
727.23
727.69
725.15
725.75
724.93
728.32
727.96
726.15
726.94
725.15
Te interior of the shrine was mostly formed dur-
ing the frst construction period and clearly underwent
some minor repairs at a later stage. At present just the
southern and western walls of the shrine have been par-
tially unearthed. A small altar room (1.05 1.40m) is
located inside the western wall (in the middle or slightly
of-centre to the south). Niches divided by partitions
into two compartments were constructed in the south-
ern and northern walls c. 1 m above the foor. Te parti-
tions ends shaped in semi-oval half-columns covered
with stamped decorations (pearl and diamond pattern).
Te half-columns possibly rested on apple-shaped bases.
Te niches may have held lamps and presumably served
as places where worshippers could leave their oferings.
Te fgure of a seated Buddha sized 9015484cm
was located at the rear section of the altar room
(ills.4, 5, 6).
Te sculpture was preserved in situ to about of
the torso (see ills. 5, 6). Te legs under the folds of the
dress are crossed in the lotus position (padmsana) and
have sufered only minor damage. Te outlines of the
destroyed feet are clearly visible (see ill. 4). Te lef fore-
arm, covered with garment folds ending in volutes, rests
on the lef leg. Te hand, broken of at the wrist, was not
found. A fairly broad relief band, presumably represent-
ing garment folds, sweeps over the crossed legs. Two re-
lief bands depicting the garment (ribbons?) can be seen
on the pedestal at the feet of the sculpture. Te bands
coil into a palmetto-like pattern at the point where the
legs intersect.
Te Buddha statue is mounted on a 18cm thick rec-
tangular pedestal which oversteps to the niches by more
than 15 cm. Te exact projection of the pedestal can
only be determined afer the interior of the altar room
has been completely unearthed; however, we chose to
postpone such exploratory activities to ensure better
preservation of the sculpture.
Te statue was made on a frame of reed stems
bound together by ropes. Te statue probably had
a wooden core judging by the hole (ca. 15 cm in di-
ameter) lef by the central wooden pillar which can be
distinctly seen from above. Te sculpting technology
is most visible on the section where the lef hand was
lost, with a shallow depression indicating where the
Ill. 3. Sculptural remains of the Buddha statues curls of hair found in 2010 in the vestibule of the shrine
0 20 cm
200 201
Ill. 4. Seated Buddha sculpture in the altar room
0
20 cm
decomposed reed or wooden frame would have sup-
ported the fgures wrist. Te frame was frst covered
with a modelling layer consisting of brownish clay
which was later covered with a shell of red sculpture
clay to shape the outer parts of the statue.
Te sculpture was covered with a thin coat of white
primer; the bonding agent is yet to be identifed. Te
paint (red, orange, ochre, ultramarine and black) was
fairly well preserved albeit with some crocking, peel-
Ill. 5. Altar room and the Buddha sculpture
in the lotus position. Foreground: fragment of the torso
(viewed from the east)
ing and craquelure; the colours may also have changed
over time.
On the surface, the sculpture is covered with a net-
work of cracks and ruptures caused by plant roots and
small rodents. Te damage is particularly visible on its
lef side, where numerous roots have grown through
the garment over the arm. During conservation the
statue and the pedestal top were carefully unearthed
and strengthened with various consistencies of polybu-
tylmethacrylate solutions in acetone and subsequently
fxed with two layers of gauze (a technique developed
by the Laboratory for Scientifc Restoration of Mural
Painting, State Hermitage).
To the right of the sculpture, traces of feet were
found which presumably belonged to a fgure standing
beside the Buddha (possibly a bodhisattva). No similar
Ill. 6. Buddha sculpture (viewed from the north)
remains were found on the lef (likely due to the poor
state of preservation of this part of the sculpture).
Te niches are completely flled with broken sculp-
ture fragments. Tese included well preserved frag-
ments of the bodhisattvas (?) hands; one of them with
Ill. 7. Fragments of the bodhisattvas (?) hands
0 20 cm
1
0 20 cm
2
apetalous rosette (ill. 7, 1), the other is holding a faming
pearl in its palm (ill. 7, 2). In front of the Buddha statue,
some of its broken-of fngers and another fragment of
a hand with what looks like a ribbon draped over the
thumb were found. Te fragment is very similar to one
203
retrieved from excavations of a Kushan Buddhist mon-
astery (-25) in the centre of the Dalverzin-tepa site,
Southern Uzbekistan (Mkrtychev 2002, photo 13).
Te expedition considered the possibility of remov-
ing the Buddha statue and performing restoration and
conservation procedures in laboratory settings. How-
ever, with pressing time constraints, it was decided to
conserve the statue and some unearthed parts of the
temple on site. Te sculpture was encased within walls
of adobe bricks, backflled, packed in with adobe bricks
on top and then a fnal layer of spoil covered the casing.
Tis will ensure better preservation of the statue until
the next feld season when excavations on the Buddhist
temple are to be resumed.
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Te collection of ancient clay vases in the State Her-
mitage Museum can truly be said to be one of the most
famous in the world. At its heart are a series of acqui-
sitions of private collections made in the 19th century,
those of Pizzati, Laval and Campana. Since the creation
of the display of ancient vases in the New Hermitage and
the publication by Ludolf Stephani of the frst catalogue
in 1869, generations of museum keepers have devoted
their lives to a study of the collection (Stephani 1869;
Waldhauer 1914; Peredolskaya 1967; Gorbunova 1983;
Bukina 2012). Yet while Stephanis contribution to that
study has been rightly understood, thanks largely to his
catalogue, attention has never been drawn to the role
played by Stepan Gedeonov (ill. 1) in adding to and
studying the vase collections.
In his history of the Hermitage, Boris Borisovich
Piotrovsky noted that Stepan Alexandrovich Gedeonov
(18151878), frst Director of the museum (from 1863 to
1878), laid the basis for many of the traditions and rules
that were to remain in force for more than a century and
played his part in enriching the Hermitage with mas-
terpieces such as Raphaels Madonna Conestabile and
Leonardo da Vincis Madonna Litta (Piotrovsky 2000:
5154). Gedeonovs contribution to the development of
the Hermitage is also recognised in a dictionary of mu-
ANNA PETRAKOVA
STEPAN ALEXANDROVICH GEDEONOV AND VASES FROM THE CAMPANA COLLECTION
IN THE HERMITAGE: ON THE HISTORY OF THEIR ACQUISITION
1
Ill. 1. Stepan Gedeonov. 1860s. Collotype.
FROM THE HISTORY OF THE HERMITAGE
1
Tis article is based on the paper presented on 14 February 2011
at the Hermitage Readings in Memory of Boris Piotrovsky in the State
Hermitage Museum. Te author would like to thank the staf of the
Archive and the Department of Scientifc Restoration and Conserva-
tion, without whose assistance this research could never have been
conducted, and also Anastasia Bukina of the Department of Classi-
cal Antiquity, initiator of a more wide-ranging project to study the
acquisition of the Hermitages vase collections, and Catherine Phillips,
not just our translator but a collaborator in our research projects. Te
authors research in Italian museums, libraries and archives was made
possible by a grant and facilities provided by the Fondazione Ermitage
Italia in Ferrara.
204 205
seum employees during the Imperial period (Kachalina,
Marishkina, Yakovleva 2004: 4951). Without Stepan
Gedeonov we can be sure that the 565 (or 566) ancient
clay vases from the Campana collection, today amongst
the most keenly studied objects of the museum vase col-
lection, would have never been acquired.
A detailed study of Giovanni Pietro Campana (1808
1880) was published in 2001 by Susanna Sarti. Tis cov-
ered not just his biography but the sale of his collections
afer his arrest in 1857 for misuse of funds (Sarti 2001).
Much of her monograph is devoted to a commentary
on the catalogue of the collection (Cataloghi del Museo
Campana, s. a.)
1
, published in Italy during the prepara-
tions for and completion of the sales of diferent parts
of the collection, making extensive use of archive docu-
ments and museum catalogues to indicate which vases
have been acquired by the Louvre and which by the
Hermitage. In fact the Cataloghi Campana are a series of
separate parts, each described as Seria, which describe
in Italian and with varying degrees of detail the objects
in Campanas Museum. Sarti did not repeat the descrip-
tions provided in the Cataloghi Campana, simply giving
the objects number with an indication of its current lo-
cation: Louvre, Hermitage or vacant (if the location
had not been established). In some cases, where a vase
had been published, she referred to museum catalogues
and to inventory numbers. Tis author initially estab-
lished a number of errors in the attribution of vases to
the Hermitage and the identifcation of diferences be-
tween the of cial export permits from Italy and the vases
that arrived in Russia in 1861, leading us to dig further
into the history of the acquisition of the collection by the
Hermitage. A study of the archive documents brought to
light many previously unknown facts.
In the Russian State Historical Archive, for in-
stance, is a letter of 25 March 1852from Fieldmarshal-
1
Both the author and date of publication of the Cataloghi Cam-
pana remain open questions. Sarti writes: although the author, date
and place of publication are controversial, it is likely that they were
published in late 1857 or 1858, since there are allusions to Campanas
arrest and that the most likely date for the Catalogues is 1858, while
Campana was in prison the author is likely to have been either
Campana himself or someone writing under his direction, although
the book can be an assemblage of essays, written by several authors
(Sarti 2001: 61; Nrskov 2002: 62; Vases, bronzes, marbres et autres
antiques Dpts du muse du Louvre en 1875 2007: 61). Writing from
Italy on 12/24 August 1860, Gedeonov said that the Cataloghi Cam-
pana had been printed but were not yet available to the public, sug-
gesting that the printing took place nearer to 1860.
General Prince Pyotr Mikhaylovich Volkonsky
2
to
Ober-Hofmarshal Count Andrey Petrovich Shuvalov
3

(Russian State Historical Archive, Fund 472, Register
18 (10/942), Folder 42, 1852, f. 12), regarding the
despatch of Fidelio Bruni, head of the 2nd Department
of the Hermitage, to Paris with a credit of 150,000 sil-
ver roubles in order to purchase paintings from the
collection of the late Fieldmarshal-General Soult (on
which see further: Kagan 2002). Brunis instructions
were to travel on to Italy to look at various art collec-
tions there, according to a list compiled by Chamber-
lain Prince Grigory Volkonsky,
4
with a view to their
purchase.
A report from Count Shuvalov dated 26 July 1852
(Russian State Historical Archive, Fund 472, Register
18 (10/942), Folder 42, 1852, f. 34) sets out in detail
Brunis conclusions (the draf copy of Brunis own re-
port to Shuvalov is in the Hermitage: Archive of the
State Hermitage Museum, Fund 1, Register 2, Folder 47,
1852, f. 2326). Of the fve collections in Italy that he
felt to be worthy of attention, the second was as follows:
Mr Bruni found to be amongst the most marvellous
things in Rome the Museum of Marquis Campana,
celebrated throughout Europe, in the completeness and
richness of its archaeological and sculptural works, as
well as all its other ancient items, described in the cata-
logue compiled by the Marquis himself, as is clear from
his letter addressed to MrBruni, of which I attach the
original. Te catalogue mentioned is a two-volume
publication of just part of the Marquis collection, con-
sisting of bas-reliefs.
5
As for Campanas letter to Bruni,
its location is unknown. Te State Hermitage Archive
contains copies of two letters from the Marquis ad-
dressed to Bruni, but these are dated later, 30July and
6 September (Archive of the State Hermitage Museum,
Fund 1, Register 2, Folder 47, 1852, f. 2728, 3741).
Anumber of documents in the Hermitage Archive also
referred to a letter from Campana to Grigory Volkon-
2
Prince Pyotr Mikhaylovich Volkonsky (17761852), Minister
ofthe Imperial Court from 1826 until his death.
3
Count Andrey Petrovich Shuvalov (18021873), Ober-Hofmar-
shal of the Court from 1850.
4
Prince Grigory Petrovich Volkonsky (18081882), son of Pyotr
Mikhaylovich, attached to the Ministry of Foreign Afairs, Hofmeister
from 1862. Head of the Archaeological Commission established in
Rome in 1850.
5
Antiche opere in plastica discoperte, raccolte, e dichiarate da
G. P. Campana. Rome, 1851. Tere is a copy in the library of the
Department of Classical Antiquity.
sky dated 2 August 1851 which has not been found
as yet.
1
In the lef margin of the frst sheet of the re-
1
For instance, in a message from Grigory Volkonsky dated 12/24
March 1852 to the Minister of the Imperial Court Pyotr Mikhay-
lovich Volkonsky (State Hermitage Museum Archive, Fund 1, Regis-
ter 2, Folder 56, 1852, f. 29). Tis was probably the letter with which
Marquis Campana prompted Russian interest in his collection. To
judge by references to this lost letter the Marquis had ofered his
whole collection to the Russian representatives in Rome, giving sepa-
rate prices for each of its nine constituent parts.
port (ill.2) is a pencil note: What is the price for the
Campana collection? Tere is no more money to add
to that already allocated. It becomes clear from other
documents (Russian State Historical Archive, Fund
472, Register 18 (10/942), Folder 42, 1852, f. 5, 89;
Russian State Historical Archive, Fund 472, Register 18
(113/950), Folder 46, 1860, f. 614), which repeatedly
cite this text, that Emperor Nicholas I himself was the
author of the note.
Ill. 2. First sheet of the report of 26 July 1852 on Fidelio Brunis trip to Italy.
To lef is Nicholas Is comment. Te Russian State Historical Archive. First publication
206 207
Te scope of this article does not allow us to cover
in detail this frst unsuccessful attempt to acquire the
Campana collection,
1
but the death in the middle of the
negotiations of Pyotr Mikhaylovich Volkonsky, who
played an active role in discussions of the proposed ac-
quisition, inevitably led to delays, and discussions of the
price to be paid went on for several months. On 12No-
vember 1852 Volkonskys replacement as Minister of the
Imperial Court, Count Adlerberg,
2
handed over all the
paperwork including the catalogue of bas-reliefs to
Count Lev Alexeyevich Perovsky,
3
for him to give his
own opinion on the matter (Russian State Historical
Archive, Fund 472, Register 18 (113/950), Folder 46,
1860, f. 614). According to a document dated October
1860 it [his opinion] was not received (Ibid).
Te second attempt to acquire the Campana col-
lection for the Hermitage, eight years later, during the
reign of Nicholas Is son Alexander II, was crowned with
success: the contract was signed in 1861
4
and the fnal
payment made in 1864 (Russian State Historical Ar-
chive, Fund 472, Register 18 (113/950), Folder 46, 1860,
f. 292294). In proportional terms, the greater part of
the purchase was composed of ancient clay vases: the
correspondence permitting the export from Italy men-
tions 565 ceramic objects (vases and lamps), 139 bronze
items, 77 stone sculptures, one cameo and nine paintings.
Russia was amongst the frst of the world powers to
show an interest in acquiring the Campana collection.
Sarti tells us (Sarti 2001: 119) that in 1848 the collection
had been assessed by representatives of the British Mu-
seum, but nothing was acquired at that time. In Janu-
ary 1861 the South Kensington (now Victoria & Albert)
1
Tis is covered in detail in the book Bukina, Anastasia, Anna
Petrakova, Catherine Phillips. Greek Vases in the Imperial Hermit-
age Museum: the History of the Collection 181669, with Addenda et
corrigenda to Stephani, Ludolf. Die Vasensammlung der Kaiserlichen
Ermitage (1869). Oxford, 2012.
2
Count Vladimir Fyodorovich Adlerberg (17911884), Minister
of the Imperial Court afer the death of Pyotr Volkonsky in 1852.
3
Count Lev Alexeyevich Perovsky (17921856), statesman, from
1852 Chief Administrator of the Cabinet of His Majesty.
4
Te contract for the purchase was signed in early 1861 (Russian
State Historical Archive, Fund 472, Register 18, Folder 46, f. 21, 25,
26, 30) and in June that year part of the collection acquired for the
Imperial Hermitage was delivered to the Winter Palace (Archive of
the State Hermitage Museum, Fund 1, Register 2, Folder 16, f. 19).
Hermitage catalogues, such as that by Anna Peredolskaya and Ksenia
Gorbunova give an approximate date of acquisition for the Campana
collection as 1862, but that was in fact the year in which the vases
were arranged in the exhibition halls of the New Hermitage.
Museum purchased sculptures and majolica from the
Campana Museum for the sum of 6,000 pounds. Russia
paid 125,000 Roman scudi (approximately 165,000 silver
roubles) for its own part of the Campana collection in
1861 (Russian State Historical Archive, Fund 472, Reg-
ister 18 (113/950), Folder 46, 1860, f. 292294). It was
only afer this that the Louvre purchased the much of
the remainder of the collection with the exception of
the coins, some fragments of clay vases and stones bear-
ing inscriptions for 4,800,000 francs. What was lef was
largely acquired by two other museums: in 1862 by the
Royal Museums in Brussels, in 1871 by the Museo Ar-
cheologico Nazionale in Florence (Sarti 2001: 119120).
In 1852, the original intention had been to acquire
the whole of Campanas Museum for Russia, although
when it became clear that money was short negotiations
began to acquire just the fnest pieces. In the 1860s the
Russian representatives negotiated from the start for
the purchase of only part of the collection (which had
grown considerably since 1852), and this was agreed,
with payment divided into four tranches
5
(Russian State
Historical Archive, Fund 472, Register 18 (113/950),
Folder 46, 1860, f. 148149, 292294).
Te earliest mention of Gedeonovs name in connec-
tion with the Campana collection dates from 1852. He
was then one of three members of the Archaeological
Commission for the fnding of antiquities founded by
highest will in Rome in 1850,
6
which was entrusted
with conducting negotiations with the Marquis and the
Italian government (Russian State Historical Archive,
Fund 472, Register 18 (10/942), Folder 42, 1852, f. 89,
1011, 12). Gedeonov was invited to the Winter Palace
on 28 October 1852 at 11.30 am, together with Grigory
Volkonsky, head of the Commission, to discuss the ac-
quisition (Russian State Historical Archive, Fund 472,
Register 18 (10/942), Folder 42, 1852, f. 23). It had been
decided that all discussions should be top secret, since
any declaration that the Russian Government wishes to
buy something in Rome might lead to an increase in
the price and to the erection of various obstacles (Rus-
sian State Historical Archive, Fund 472, Register 18
(10/942), Folder 42, 1852, f. 2526).
5
Te frst payment was of 35,000 scudi, the remaining three
instalments were of 30,000 each in 1862, 1863 and 1864, plus 5 %
interest (Russian State Historical Archive, Fund 472, Register 18,
Folder46, 1860, f. 225226, 227).
6
Te Commission included Gedeonov, Grigory Volkonsky and
Constantino Squanquerillo (on the latter see: Karcheva 2002).
Ill. 3. First sheet of Stepan Gedeonovs letter of 12/24 August 1860 regarding the acquisition
of the Campana collection. Te Russian State Historical Archive. First publication
Gedeonovs position in 1852 was such that he could
not exert any infuence over the decision to acquire the
Campana collection, but by 1860 the situation was very
diferent. He was to be responsible for initiating the re-
vival of negotiations and he was the leading fgure in
the whole process, frst as assistant to the head of the
Archaeological Commission in Rome, then as head. In
the Hermitage Archive are two draf versions of a letter
from Gedeonov in Rome to the Minister of the Impe-
rial Court, Count Adlerberg, a letter which marks the
start of our history of the second attempt to acquire the
Campana collection for the Hermitage. Neither draf is
dated and one is stitched into papers relating to 1852
(Archive of the State Hermitage Museum, Fund 1, Reg-
ister 2, Folder 56, 1852, f. 14), the other into papers re-
lating to 1861 (Archive of the State Hermitage Museum,
Fund 1, Register 2, Folder 16, part 1, 1861, f. 1318).
Te letter had previously been dated 14 February 1861
(Davydova 2009: 52) but it was in fact compiled six
months earlier, as was demonstrated by the discovery
by this author of a third version of the letter bearing the
date 12/24 August 1860 (Russian State Historical Ar-
chive, Fund 472, Register 18 (113/950), Folder 46, 1860,
f. 14) (ill. 3). Te dating is confrmed by Gedeonovs
status as assistant to the head of the Archaeological
Commission, since he was to become head in 1861 (Pi-
otrovsky 2000: 224; Kachalina, Marishkina, Yakovleva
2004: 49). Gedeonovs letter recalls the attempted pur-
chase of 1852 and describes how the collection had been
enriched since then, noting that a commission had been
208 209
set up to run the sale, consisting of Visconti,
1
De Rossi
2

and Fabris,
3
and that a catalogue had been published
which, although not yet available to the public, had been
shown to him. Gedeonov stated that in order to bring
maximum beneft to the Hermitage: Mr Visconti, ut-
terly loyal to us, undertakes before the announcement of
the sale to create according to my recommendations the
1
Pietro Ercole Visconti (18021880), archaeologist and Papal
Prefect of Antiquities.
2
Giovanni Battista de Rossi (18221894), archaeologist, member
of the Pontifcia Accademia Romana diArcheologia.
3
Apparently the sculptor Giuseppe de Fabris (17901860). He is
not mentioned among the members of the commission on the sale of
the Campana collection by Sarti or Nadalini, who both write of the
sculptor Pietro Tenerani, de Rossi and Filippo Massani (director of
the Monte di Piet) (Sarti 2001: 119; Nadalini 2006: 285). It is pos-
sible that de Fabris formed part of the original commission, as men-
tioned in Gedeonovs letter of 22 August 1860, but had to be replaced
by Tenerani when he died.
lots intended for us to purchase (Gedeonovs own un-
derlining). Among other things, mention was made of
the best of the Ancient Greek and Etruscan vases and
it was noted that On going through diferent storage
rooms belonging to Marquis Campana many duplicates
were discovered this circumstance being complete-
ly hidden from the public, as one which might hinder
the sale of this collection renowned across Europe. We
must emphasise once more the reference to the newly
printed catalogue in August 1860.
Te fruitful collaboration between Visconti and
Gedeonov, for which Visconti later received the Order
of St. Anna, 2nd Class, with diamonds, and a diamond-
encrusted snuf ox (Archive of the State Hermitage
Museum, Fund 1, Register 2, Folder 16, part 2, 1861, f.
5556), produced a list, known today in two versions
one in the Hermitage Archive (Archive of the State Her-
mitage Museum, Fund 1, Register 2, Folder 16, part 1,
Ill. 4. First sheet of alist of objects selected from the Cataloghi Campana for acquisition by the Hermitage:
a draf. Archive of the State Hermitage Museum. First publication; b clean copy. Published in: (Sarti 200: pl. 40a)
a b
1861, f. 240241), the other in the Archivio di Stato di
Roma (Sarti 2001: pl. 40, ad) (ill. 4) and a manuscript
catalogue in French compiled by Gedeonov on the basis
of the Cataloghi Campana (Archive of the State Hermit-
age Museum, Fund 1, Register 2, Folder 16, part 1, 1861,
f. 241265). Te list in Rome, published by Sarti, is an
of cial permit to remove objects from the Campana col-
lection from Italy, with all the necessary stamps from
the relevant Italian state bodies. Yet some of the items
from the Cataloghi Campana that feature in the list are
now in the Louvre, while the Hermitage has items that
did not feature in the of cial export permit.
Te two lists, in the Hermitage and in the Rome
Archive, are both records of the numbers chosen by
Gedeonov and Visconti from the diferent sections of
the Cataloghi Campana. Although they are very alike
a closer study reveals that not all of the numbers co-
incide. Gedeonovs manuscript catalogue also difers
slightly fromthe lists. With the help and support of the
staf of the Archive and conservation laboratories of
the Hermitage Museum it was possible to unstitch the
body of papers relating to the Campana collection that
include the catalogue, making available for the frst time
many elements previously hidden by the binding pro-
cess. Tese included the numbers of the objects accord-
ing to the Cataloghi Campana written in Gedeonovs
hand to the lef of the main body of the text (ill. 5).
Gedeonov was not only directly responsible for se-
lecting vases from the Campana collection to be ac-
quired by the Hermitage and not only wrote the frst
Ill. 5. Sheet from Stepan Gedeonovs manuscript catalogue, in French, with numbers
from the Cataloghi Campana. Te Archive of the State Hermitage Museum. First publication
210 211
catalogue of the vases in French, but he also seems to
have embarked on a catalogue of the whole of the Cam-
pana collection back in 1852. In the Hermitage Archive
we fnd a manuscript document, Notice sur le Muse
dantiquits du Marquis Campana Rome. Compos de
neuf sections (Archive of the State Hermitage Muse-
um, Fund 1, Register 2, Folder 56, 1852, f. 1428), in
essence a brief catalogue or description of the Campana
Museum as it was at that point. Te previous sheets in
the fle (Archive of the State Hermitage Museum, Fund
1, Register 2, Folder 56, 1852, f. 813), consisting of cor-
respondence between Grigory Volkonsky and Stepan
Gedeonov on the one hand and the Minister of the Im-
perial Court on the other, make clear that this brief cata-
logue was the fruit of the collaboration of both Volkon-
sky and Gedeonov. Te purpose of this text would seem
to have been to provide information about the Museum
of Marquis Campana to the Emperor and his repre-
sentatives, in case Russia should manifest interest in ac-
quiring the collection (Archive of the State Hermitage
Museum, Fund 1, Register 2, Folder 56, 1852, f. 28v). At-
tached to the document is a list of prices for each of the
nine parts of the museum, as proposed by the Marquis
according to the lost letter of 2 August 1851. When the
sale actually took place, in 1861, Gedeonov immediately
published in Paris a French catalogue of that part of the
collection acquired by Russia (Gudonow 1861).
1
In
that text Gedeonov criticised the Cataloghi Campana.
2
Te clay vases were particularly marked out by Gede-
onov from the start. He mentioned them in his very frst
letters regarding the acquisition of the Campana collec-
1
Te Hermitage Archive has a full manuscript Russian transla-
tion of the Notice sur les objets dart de la Galerie Campana a Rome
aquis pour le Muse Imprial de lErmitage (Gudonow 1861) (Ar-
chive of the State Hermitage Museum, Fund 1, Register 2, Folder 16,
part 1, 1861, f. 264301). Tere is a note that a certain Solonitsyn
had received payment of 71.42 scudi for translation of Gedeonovs
text printed in Paris (Ibid, f. 190).
2
Le muse Campana Rome, amas prodigieux dlments di-
vers, de chefs-duvre et de pices mdiocres, na jamais t class
ni catalogu dune faon satisfaisante. La liste, imprime en langue
italienne, des numros que le composent, donne beaucoup dindica-
tions fautives et fourmille derreurs archologiques [Te Campana
Museum in Rome, a huge body of diverse elements, of masterpieces
and mediocre items, has never been adequately classed or cata-
logued. Te list, printed in Italian, of the pieces of which it is made
up provides many false pieces of information and is riddled with
archaeological errors] (Gudonow 1861:12). Te Russian trans-
lation repeats the criticism (Archive of the State Hermitage Museum,
tion and described the 565 (or 566) vases acquired in
his catalogue. In numerous letters in both Russian and
French he said that 250 of them were magnifcent or
superb, another 35 were unique, and expressed partic-
ular admiration for what is known today as the Queen
of Vases (the famous hydria with relief decoration
. 1659), although he called it the King. Gedeonov
wrote of the artistic qualities and great beauty of the
vases chosen by himself and Visconti for the Hermitage.
3

Gedeonov was not only the frst Russian specialist
to describe and assess the Campana vase collection but
he was the frst Hermitage employee to pay particular
attention to matters of conservation and storage: docu-
ments bearing his signature or mentioning his name
show that he was concerned not only with the transpor-
tation of the vases but with the temperature regimes in
the areas they were stored, matters of restoration and
aspects of display.
In October 1852, when the frst attempt was made
to purchase the Campana Museum, the Archaeological
Commission was entrusted not only with trying to re-
duce the price but 2) to take care, in the event of the
purchase of the museum, that the objects be correctly
transferred, carefully packed and sent to St. Petersburg
(Russian State Historical Archive, Fund 472, Register 18
3
Notre acquisition comprend: 1) 565 vases peints Grecs et
Etrusques; dont 250 de la plus grande beaut; dans le nombre les
35vases colossaux de Ruvo et de la Grande Grece, collection unique
et dont le muse mme de Naples nofre quune nombre tres infrieux
dchantillions et le Vatican seulement trois; enfn le clbre vase de
Cumes, bas reliefs dors, la merveille du genre; surnomm le roi
des vases; piece incomparable et de beaucoup suprieure au vase
mme de Portland, le joyau du Muse Britannique. Ces 565 vases
ont, en dehors de leux valeur artistique le mrite tres rare [underlined
by Gedeonov A. P.] dune conservation parfaite, je me suis attach
dans mes choix ne prendre que des pieces entieres sauf quelques
exceptions ou la beaut de lobjet a d lemporter sur toute autre
consideration [Our acquisition consists of: 1) 565 Greek and Etrus-
can painted vases; of which 250 are of the greatest beauty; among
them the 35 colossal vases from Ruvo and Magna Graecia, a unique
collection, even the museum in Naples having only a very inferior
number of examples of such pieces, and the Vatican only three; lastly
the celebrated Cumaean vase with gilded bas-reliefs, the marvel of
its genre, known as the king of vases, an incomparable piece and far
superior even to the Portland Vase, the jewel of the British Museum.
Tese 565 vases have, over and above their artistic value, the extre-
mely rare [underlined by Gedeonov A. P.] merit of being of perfect
conservation; in making my choice I limited myself to taking only
whole pieces, save a few exceptions where the beauty of the object
placed it above all other considerations](Archive of the State Her-
mitage Museum, Fund 1, Register 2, Folder 16, part 1, 1861, f. 2023,
letter dated 14/26 February 1861, Rome).
(10/942), Folder 42, f. 12; Archive of the State Hermit-
age Museum, Fund 1, Register 2, Folder 16, part 1, 1861,
f.5). A document in the Hermitage Archive dated 1861,
addressed To the Head of the 2nd Department of the
Imperial Hermitage, Full State Councillor Bruni by
Ober-Hofmarshal Shuvalov, reads as follows: Te as-
sistant Head of the 2nd Department of the Hermitage,
Koehne, informed me that during the placement of the
vases from the Campana collection on the stage of the
Hermitage Teatre Chamberlain Gedeonov discovered
that since this building is not heated the damp and cold
in the building might harm the said vases. For this rea-
son I humbly request Your Excellency to give the im-
mediate order that the vases be moved to rooms on the
3rd foor [i.e. 2nd foor] of the Old Hermitage building,
to the former fat of G. Grimm, adding that I have in-
formed the Head of the Imperial Winter Palace Military
General-Engineer Major Kube of the allocation of the
said rooms (Archive of the State Hermitage Museum,
Gedeonovs request was approved that same day
23November 1861 (Ibid, f. 54). His comments regard-
ing the conditions in which the vases were placed are
evidence not only of his professional museum skills
but of his far-sightedness: changes in temperature and
humidity are amongst the most common causes of the
collapse of the repaired vases (i.e. glued together from
fragments) acquired from private sellers in the 19th
century. Some of those in the Hermitage are in a truly
pitiful state (see above: Kamilla Kalinina, Anna Petra-
kova, Ksenia Chugunova, Olga Shuvalova, A Psykter
with Hetaerae in the State Hermitage Museum Collec-
tion: History, Questions, Future Possibilities).
Te Campana collection and all kinds of supplemen-
tary items (including pedestals and marble shelves) were
transported from Italy on three ships: the General Sale
of Sunderland (Russian State Historical Archive, Fund
472, Register 18 (113/950), Folder 46, 1860, f. 127128,
131132, 183), the Alberta (sometimes referred to as the
Albert in documents) and the Flavia (Ibid, f. 163, 168,
181). In charge of the despatch was Commerce Coun-
cillor I. Velikanov, owner of a marble quarry
1
and sup-
1
Te letter from Velikanov to Count Adlerberg of 6 April 1861 is
written on the headed paper of Velikanov and Co., dealers and com-
missioners, owners of marble quarries and an extensive sculptural
workshop in Carrara, of ces in Carrara, Florence and St. Petersburg
(Russian State Historical Archive, Fund 472, Register 18, Folder 46,
1860, f. 85).
plier of marble for new pedestals required to display the
Campana collection in St. Petersburg. On completion
of the work not only was Velikanov himself rewarded
but his wife received a pair of diamond earrings set with
pearls (Archive of the State Hermitage Museum, Fund
1, Register 2, Folder 16, part 1, 1861, f. 6566). Her par-
ticular contribution lay in that the Flavia, being built
specially to transport the Campana collection to Rus-
sia, was not ready in time, and she ofered the General
Sale of Sunderland as a replacement. It was the General
Sale which transported the greater part of the Campana
items (Russian State Historical Archive, Fund 472, Reg-
ister 18 (113/950), Folder 46, 1860, f. 70, 73, 85). Under
Velikanovs watchful eye the Campana collection was
moved from Rome to Civitavecchia (Ibid, f. 65, 68) and
Livorno (Ibid, f. 85, 181), then on to Kronstadt just out-
side St. Petersburg (Ibid, f. 112), and from there to the
city itself, to the landing stage right outside the Win-
ter Palace (Ibid, f. 118, 127128, 131132). Gedeonov
personally observed the unloading and placement of
the objects in the corridors around the Jordan Entrance
(Russian State Historical Archive, Fund 472, Register 18
(113/950), Folder 46, 1860, f. 131132, 200202; Ar-
chive of the State Hermitage Museum, Fund 1, Register
2, Folder 16, part 2, 1861, f. 15).
Since the sovereign had to view the new purchas-
es, wooden tables were made or adapted to support
500vases, along with 55 pedestals (some new, some sent
from Italy) (Archive of the State Hermitage Museum,
Fund 1, Register 2, Folder 16, part 2, 1861, f. 26, 28, 33).
Te work on these display surfaces cost 300 silver rou-
bles. A bill from the carpenter Pyotr Kotov, dated 8 No-
vember 1861, for carpentry work in the Nicholas Hall
for the ancient vases, tells us that 62 tables were made
at a price of 2 r.50 kop. to a total of 155 r., 25 new ped-
estals of diferent size at a price of 2 r. 50 kop. to atotal
of 62 r.50 kop., for reworking 8 old pedestals at aprice
of 2 r.25 kop. to a total of 18 r., in all 235 r.50kop. (Ar-
chive of the State Hermitage Museum, Fund 1, Regis-
ter2, Folder 16, part 2, 1861, f. 44). Another bill, from
the painter Ivanov, covered the painting of the tables
and pedestals in the Nicholas Hall for the ancient vases:
painted with ornament 62 tables for each 1 r. 25 kop.,
intotal 77 r.50 kop., painted 6 pedestals for each 50kop.,
in total 3 r., to a total of 80 r. 50 kop., monies already
received 12 r., therefore still due 68 r.50 kop. (Archive
of the State Hermitage Museum, Fund 1, Register 2,
Folder 16, part 2, 1861, f. 47).
212 213
Afer the Emperor had viewed the new acquisitions,
the vases were placed in their new home in the rooms
on the ground foor of the New Hermitage. Gedeonov
commissioned glass domes to go over the most precious
vases from the Campana collection, as is clear from an
invoice of 2 September 1861 in the Hermitage Archive.
Addressed to Gedeonov by the glazier Verzekalov, it
records items supplied: for a whole large round glass
dome 40, for covering boards with velvet 4, for two
domes measuring 17 and 7.5 vershki
1
16, for a small
dome 4, in total 64 roub (Archive of the State Her-
1861, f. 41). Some of these domes are still to be found
1
One vershok is equal to 4.45 cm.
in the Department of Classical Antiquity in the Her-
mitage (ill. 6).
Stepan Alexandrovich kept control of the unpack-
ing and arranging of the vases, the climate control re-
gime, and any restoration that might be required: he
sent two restorers from Rome, Bute and Depoletti, to
accompany the collection and carry out any necessary
work when the objects were unpacked in St. Petersburg.
Tis is clear from a number of documents, among them
a letter from Gedeonov dated 30 January 1862 (Rus-
sian State Historical Archive, Fund 472, Register 18
(113/950), Folder 46, 1860, f. 209). Other documents in
the Russian State Historical Archive reveal that the re-
storers spent longer in the Russian capital than had been
originally planned: in October 1863 they received 1,000
silver roubles for expenses related to their work during
an additional fve months in Russia (Russian State His-
torical Archive, Fund 472, Register 18 (113/950), Folder
46, 1860, f. 292294), indicating that they had spent
eight months in Russia in all.
2

Also in the Russian State Historical Archive is anin-
voice for expenses in the month of December 1861,
which includes the following: By order of Chamberlain
Gedeonov: 1) paid to the Italian Depoletti for the cor-
rection of ancient vases, also for the employment of one
labourer and materials 35roub. 15kop. (Russian State
Historical Archive, Fund 472, Register 18 (113/950),
Folder 46, 1860, f. 220). Tere is some reason to suggest
that the Bute mentioned by Gedeonov was a nephew
of I. Velikanov who was himself apparently a restorer
2
30 January 1862. Report to the Minister of the Imperial Court
from the Head of the Archaeological Commission in Rome with re-
sponsibility for Russian artists in Italy. In connection with the acqui-
sition for the Imperial Hermitage of the works of art of the Campana
Museum, I, with the permission of Your Highness, have come to an
agreement with the foreigners Bute and De-Poletti both for the un-
loading in St. Petersburg and for the placement, cleaning and restora-
tion of the objects brought from Rome. Having now almost fnished
their placement in the rooms on the lower foor of the museum we
no longer have need of the services of the said individuals. Moreover,
foreseeing only a three-month stay by them in St. Petersburg, on leav-
ing Rome I did not bring with me a suf cient sum of money to pay
Mssrs Bute and De-Poletti for the eight months that it proved neces-
sary for them to stay here. For the remaining fve months they are still
owed one thousand silver roubles, regarding the order to pay which
I hereby have the honour to address Your Highness with my humble
request. Head of the Archaeological Commission Gedeonov. Note in
Adlerbergs handwriting in blue ink: Pay the sum requested, 31Janu-
ary 1862 (Russian State Historical Archive, Fund 472, Register 18,
Folder 46, 1860, f. 209).
Ill. 6. One of the glass domes made
for the Campana vases in 1861, ordered by Stepan Gedeonov.
of sculpture. Velikanov described his nephew Charles
Bute as an agent at the Russian mission in Rome in
aletter to Adlerberg of 6 April 1861 (Russian State His-
torical Archive, Fund 472, Register 18 (113/950), Folder
46, 1860, f. 85). Moreover, Charles Bute is mentioned in
a letter of 16 July 1861 as one of those taking part in un-
loading the Campana works from the ships at Kronstadt
onto smaller vessels (Russian State Historical Archive,
Fund 472, Register 18 (113/950), Folder 46, 1860, f. 136).
Depolettis full name, Alessandro Depoletti, appears in
full in various bills, such as several sheets in Italian list-
ing various works and conditions for their fulflment to
which he agreed (Archive of the State Hermitage Muse-
um, Fund 1, Register 2, Folder 16, part 1, 1861, f.185
187). In one of the fnancial documents Alessandro en-
trusted certain sums of money per mio padre Filippo
Depoletti (Archive of the State Hermitage Museum,
Fund 1, Register 2, Folder 16, part 1, 1861, f. 185v). De-
spite valuable discussions with Marie-Amlie Bernard,
it has not proved possible to establish their relationship
to Francesco Depoletti (17791854).
1
Afer being looked over by the sovereign, the Cam-
pana vases (their number variously described in dif-
ferent documents as 565 or 566) were moved to the
ground foor rooms of the New Hermitage. Tere they
were arranged on marble shelves (an invoice records,
among other things, the following payments: a) To
MrVelikanov for 60 marble slabs for the Etruscan vas-
es 409 sc. 20 b. d) To Mr Settele for 51 columns for
the Etruscan vases and minor carpentry 162 sc. g)
To Mr. Lutzwer for 20 pedestals for the Etruscan bowls
and 75 pedestals for vases 221 sc. 80 b.) (Archive
of the State Hermitage Museum, Fund 1, Register 2,
Folder 16, part 1, 1861, f. 118). As archive documents
make clear, the arrangement of the Campana vases led
to atotal reworking of the existing Hermitage display
of vases composed of items from the Pizzati and
Laval collections.
A register of works completed, for instance, re-
cords: 6. Movement of the Etruscan vases from the
Campana collection, to the number of 566, several
times, and their placement. 7. Movement of the Etrus-
can vases already in the Hermitage to other places, an
overall number of some 500 (Archive of the State Her-
1861, f. 98). Research undertaken in collaboration with
1
Frascati al Tempi di Pio IX 2006: 349. Bernard 2008
Anastasia Bukina of the Department of Classical An-
tiquity has demonstrated that some of the vases from
the three diferent collections were confused with each
other during the process of moving and placing the
vases, leading to a number of errors in Stephanis cata-
logue of 1869 and further complicating the problems
and contradictions highlighted in the documents relat-
ing to the history of ancient clay vases in the Hermitage.
Returning to the diferences between the Campana
vases listed in documents and those actually in the Her-
mitage, we should note that the Cataloghi Campana not
only describe the vases themselves but also reproduce
the inscriptions, graf ti and dipinti on them. In some
cases the level of detail is suf cient to identify a vase
in the Hermitage without any trouble. Such, for exam-
ple, is the black-fgure amphora 208 from the series
IVVII,
2
even thought it did not appear in Gedeonovs
lists and Sarti was unable to establish its location (Sarti
2001: 153). Tere can be no doubt that this is the Her-
mitage amphora . 1497 (Stephani 1869: cat. 18), which
not only has a Campana provenance and fully matches
the detailed description in the Cataloghi Campana but
has a graf to on the outside of one of the handles identi-
cal to that reproduced there (ill. 7) (the very fact of graf-
fto on the handle is in itself extremely rare). Meanwhile,
Gedeonov included number 210 in the same series in
his lists and in his catalogue (under the number III.56),
but it yet cannot be identifed with any vase that entered
the Hermitage before 1869.
3

2
IVVII. 208. Anfora. Figure nere. Il giudizio di Paride.
Letre dee scortate da Mercurio vengono innanzi al fglio di Priamo.
Siede esso avvolto nel manto ed rappresentato barbato. Mercurio
in atto di favellargli. Giunone viene la prima, Pallade la seconda
eVenere la terza, la quale reca in mano una corona. Un giovane cla-
midato, in atto di allontanarsi dal luogo, si volge indietro. Bacco
eMercurio. Due baccanti e due satiri. Sullesterno di una delle anse:
(*) [IVVII. 208. Amphora. Black fgures. Te Judgment of Paris.
Tree goddesses accompanied by Mercury go ahead to the son of
Priam. He sits wrapped in his cloak and is shown bearded. Mer-
cury is in the act of speaking [with the goddesses]. Juno goes frst,
Pallas second, Venus third, the latter holding a crown in her hand.
Ayouth in achlamys departing the place, looking back. Bacchus
and Mercury. Two bacchantes and two satyrs. On the outside of one
of the handles: (*)]. Te star is a reference to several sheets of repro-
ductions of graf ti and dipinti at the end of the descriptive section.
3
It is not possible, within the limitations of this article, to de-
scribe the full process of identifcation of each of the vases on the
basis of the Cataloghi Campana, since the emphasis here is on the
role of Stepan Gedeonov in the purchase. A separate publication will
deal with the question of the vases themselves.
214
Ill. 7. Black-fgure amphora . 1497 with graf to,
and its reproduction in the Cataloghi Campana.
Correspondence with Hubert Giroux, who has
spent more than forty years studying the acquisition
of the Campana items by the Louvre, has allowed us
to identify at least ten vases
1
identifed by Gedeonov
and Visconti as being intended for the Hermitage (they
feature in the lists and in the catalogue) which actually
found their way to the Louvre. According to Giroux,
many of the vases in the Louvre bear their numbers ac-
cording to the Cataloghi Campana. No possible match-
es for these ten vases can be found among items in the
Hermitage today.
We are lef with the question of how there came to
be diferences between the vases selected and those that
arrived in the Winter Palace, bearing in mind the close
attention that Gedeonov paid to the selection of the
Campana vases. Te key reason must lie in the consid-
erable haste of the Italians, who wished to recoup the
losses caused by the Marquis as soon as possible, in the
absolute insistence on the secrecy of the negotiations
between Russia and Italy, and in the discovery of a num-
ber of duplicates in the collection (Sarti 2001; Nadalini
2006). We should also remember that the Campana
stores included a number of vases and fragments not ac-
counted for and therefore not described in the Cataloghi
Campana.
Overall, however, we are forced to conclude that
despite the Italians insistence that top quality vases be
topped up with a number of second-rate or even third-
rate pieces
2
the selection made by Stepan Alexandrovich
Gedeonov was outstanding, and made a vital contribu-
tion to the Hermitage collection of ancient vases.
1
Te full and fnal identifcation of all the Campana vases, de-
scribed in the Cataloghi Campana, remains to be done in future years.
It will depend on a collaboration between scholars of the Hermitage,
the Louvre and other museums, as it was done with Hubert Giroux.
2
Although Gedeonov in his letter of 12/24 August 1860 cites
the words of Visconti, member of the commission responsible for
the sale, regarding the advantageous conditions of the selection
of Campana items by the Russians, he himself was aware that de-
spite acertain level of advantage, overall its degree had been exag-
gerated: Mr Visconti undertakes before the announcement of the
sale to create according to my recommendations the lots intended
for us to purchase such that they will consist largely of the most out-
standing works of the museum. Here are the words of Mr Visconti
himself: Te others, in order to acquire one superb work, will have
to acquire nineteen mediocre, while you will have one mediocre
piece for the acquisition of nineteen superb ones. For all the hyper-
bole, this quotation makes clear the preferential nature of the con-
ditions (Russian State Historical Archive, Fund 472, Register 18,
Folder 46, 1860, f. 14).
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216 217
Te Hermitage collection of Far Eastern porcelain
was formed over a period of almost half a century. It is
known that porcelain and silver items of artistic impor-
tance were selected from all the Imperial palaces in 1883
to form the basis of a new museum. It was accommodat-
ed in three rooms on the top foor of the Winter Palace
with windows facing the Admiralty and was virtually in-
accessible, since visiting it required special permission
that was rarely granted (Troynitsky 1921: 1). In 1910
the collection came under the Hermitages control and
was transferred to one of the galleries in the Vallin de la
Mothe Pavilion, where it was shortly aferwards opened
to the public. In the same year a signifcant amount of
porcelain was acquired from the Hofmarschall depart-
ment of the Imperial Court. As is clear from the guide,
the items on display at that time included Chinese and
Japanese porcelain (Troynitsky 1921: 25, 31). Afer the
1917 revolution the Hermitage began receiving items
from nationalised palaces and private collections such
as those of the Counts Stroganov, the Counts Shuvalov,
the Princes Gorchakov, the Princes Dolgorukov, Prin-
cess Elena of Sachsen-Altenburg and others. Each col-
lection refected the interests of its previous owners for
example, almost all the shaving bowls came from Prince
Mikhail Gorchakovs collection; over 700 Japanese min-
iature teapots are from the Polovtsevs collection; from
the collection of the Counts Shuvalov came vases and
basins made between 1736 and 1740 to drawings by the
Dutch artist Cornelis Pronk, as well as interesting six-
teenth- and seventeenth-century architectural ceramics;
export items were acquired from the Princess of Sachs-
en-Altenburgs collection, and so on.
TATIANA ARAPOVA
FAR EASTERN PORCELAIN IN THE HERMITAGE. THE HISTORY OF ITS STUDY
In 1923, following a special resolution, the Museum
of the Baron Stieglitz School of Technical Drawing was
transferred to the Hermitage. Te most interesting ex-
amples of Chinese and Japanese porcelain come from
that museum: for example, Chinese pieces from the
Ming dynasty (13681644) and the 18th century, and
Japanese ceramics from the 16th and 17th centuries. In
1926 the Hermitage received items from the so-called
historical rooms of the Winter Palace the rooms that
had been occupied by Nicholas II and his family, where
these objects had been part of the interior design. In the
1930s a large number of porcelain pieces were acquired
from the Society for Encouragement of the Arts and
from the Russian Museum. In this way the Hermitage
came to possess a substantial collection of porcelain.
A huge amount of work was initiated to systemise and
inventory the collection and to distribute it among the
appropriate departments and sections of the Hermitage.
Te work was supervised by Ernest Kverfeldt.
Ernest Konradovich Kverfeldt (18771949) gradu-
ated with distinction from the Baron Stieglitz School
of Technical Drawing, specialising in applied arts. As
a prize on graduation he was granted a three-year tour
of the greatest museums in Germany, France, Italy and
England to familiarise himself with the artistic monu-
ments there. From 1907 Kverfeldt was the curator and
later the Director of the Stieglitz Museum, which af-
ter the revolution and numerous transformations was
called the First Branch of the Hermitage. In 1924 he
became Head of the Far East Section of the State Her-
mitage Oriental Department and held that position un-
til 1945. His main sphere of activity in the 1920s and
1930s was exhibitions: he organised and participated in
numerous exhibitions, and not only Oriental ones, as he
was also a great expert on Russian and Western Europe-
an art. During that time he wrote a number of works on
Oriental applied at. In 1924 his guide to the exhibition
Applied Art of the Far East was published; particular
attention in it was devoted as far as the size of the pub-
lication permitted to ceramics and porcelain. Chinese
porcelain would later be accorded a section in his book
Porcelain (Kverfeldt 1937), published in 1940, in which
the authors fascination with Oriental art infuenced his
characterisation of European and Chinese ceramic art.
For instance, when describing the process of the devel-
opment of ceramic art in Europe, Kverfeldt remarks that
this process abounds in accidental deviations due to
the absence in European masters of the ceramic sense
possessed by Oriental masters to such a high degree,
and also due to the constant attempts to use various el-
ements of other areas of applied art in ceramic manu-
facture (Kverfeldt 1940: 7). When considering Chinese
porcelain, Kverfeldt dwells on the characteristics of the
techniques used in making various types of porcelain
pieces, while emphasising that it is not suf cient to
have a sharp eye and a knowledge of technical methods:
it is necessary to feel the material and perceive the de-
mands of our age (Kverfeldt 1940: 79).
Works devoted to the analysis of ornamental motifs
appeared in the late 1930s and early 1940s. What inter-
ested Kverfeldt was not only the history of the craf and
matters connected with ornaments, but especially ques-
tions of cultural interaction between peoples (for exam-
ple, in his article Te Refection of Chinese Motifs in
Western Fabrics). Te pieces are viewed in a cultural
context, and one can only be impressed by Kverfeldts
encyclopaedic knowledge, gained, on the one hand, as a
result of his knowledge of the collections of the worlds
greatest museums and, on the other hand, on account
of his lengthy independent research work. What char-
acterises Kverfeldts work is the great originality of his
observations and conclusions, reinforced by his perfect
command of the material. Tis is apparent in his arti-
cle On the Question of the Development of the Motif
Known as the Chinese lotus. In the small brochures
Features of Realism in Chinese Art and Te Object
in Chinese Art(Kverfeldt 1940) one can sense his pro-
found understanding of the specifc features of Chinese
art and his brilliant analysis of works of various types
of decorative art. His comparisons of objects and his
examination of the role of the object in Western and
Oriental art are particularly interesting. For instance:
the object in Western art is always a component part of
acompositional structure and is fully subservient to the
concept of the artist; it is always a detail of an ensem-
ble and can only be properly appreciated in connection
with it We notice the exact opposite in Chinese art,
in which the epochs of styles are less noticeable to our
eyes, because the object in a Chinese ensemble lives its
own independent and very vividly expressed individual
life and has no need of support from its environment
(Kverfeldt 1937: 56). Te list of Ernest Kverfeldts sci-
entifc works runs to 42 titles, but no more than ten
of them were published, including two monographic
works Ceramics of the Middle East and the above-
mentioned Porcelain.
Kverfeldt gave a great deal of lectures. Iosif Orbeli,
the then Director of the Hermitage, wrote that Kver-
feldt is one of those specialist scholars who derive great
satisfaction from imparting their knowledge to others,
especially to young people. Tere are no research work-
ers in the Hermitages Oriental Department who would
not have attended the special seminars or other forms of
study that he conducted. <> Ernest Kverfeldts contri-
bution was exceptionally great in the initial and further
training of personnel; from year to year he systemati-
Ernest Konradovich Kverfeldt
218 219
cally conducted study sessions with postgraduates and
Hermitage staf, lectured for a number of years at the
Institute of Art History and Leningrad State University,
and ran a study cycle at the Lomonosov Porcelain Fac-
tory. In 19441945, despite his rapidly failing health, he
gave lectures on applied art at the All-Russian Academy
of Arts and conducted study sessions at the Industrial
Art College in Leningrad (Archive of the State Hermit-
age Museum, Fund 1, Register 13/, Folder 353, f. 21,
22). His fascinating lectures at Hermitage exhibitions
were attended not only by those who were expected to
be there, but by anyone who had time to spare, as Maria
Rudova (Pchelina) recalls.
His extensive exhibition and lecture work, his re-
sponsibilities as head of research work of an art muse-
um, professor and instructor of young personnel made
it possible for Ernest Kverfeldt to be awarded the degree
of Doctor of History in 1947 without having to defend
a dissertation. Te attitude of his colleagues in the Insti-
tute of Oriental Studies is revealing in the welcoming
address on the occasion of his 70th birthday we read:
Who better than our group of philologists can appre-
ciate your rare merits as an expert on objects around
which we ofen grope our way almost blindly in our
philological research, seeing and maybe feeling the text,
but not seeing and feeling the object itself, whose knowl-
edge and feeling are united in you in a special, unique
way into an enviable harmonious and, most importantly,
living whole
1
(Archive of the State Hermitage Museum,
Fund1, Register13/, Folder353, f. 27).
During WWII Ernest Kverfeldt did an enormous
amount of work for the evacuation of Hermitage ex-
hibits. He remained in Leningrad even during the worst
days of the siege, expending a great deal of energy in the
preservation of the museum pieces that remained in the
city. All this badly afected his physical condition: in his
last years he was very ill and he passed away in 1949.
For almost all his time in the Hermitage Ernest
Kverfeldt was accompanied in his work by Elsa Khris-
tianovna Westphalen (18771942). She had also gradu-
ated from the Baron Stieglitz School in 1900 in the
specialisation artist-museologist. Her chosen area of
work was painting on porcelain and majolica. Like Kver-
feldt, she was granted a three-year tour abroad as a prize
on graduation, in the cause of which Elsa Westphalen
1
Signed by Academician Vasily Alexeyev, Academician Vasily
Struve, Academician Ignaty Krachkovsky, Sophia Kochetova, Olga
Fishman and others.
studied artistic leather bindings and learned a lot about
various techniques and methods of ornamentation of
items made of leather. On her return she was placed in
charge of the leather workshop at the Stieglitz School.
Her own works were featured in World of Art, New
Society and other exhibitions. When WWI broke out
during her second trip abroad in 19141915, Elsa West-
phalen was in London, where she was hugely impressed
by the Chinese ceramics and porcelain, and this largely
determined her future interests. On surviving the dif -
cult post-revolutionary years at the Stieglitz School, Elsa
Westphalen joined the Hermitage as assistant curator in
the Far East Section in 1924, subsequently becoming the
curator. One can get an idea of the volume of work at
that time by her own explanation as to why she had little
time for research work: between 1924 and 1926 18,000
items were systematised and distributed among various
Hermitage departments; then large numbers of exhibits
came from the Society for Encouragement of the Arts
and the Russian Museum over 20,000 items that had
to be described and inventoried (many of the inventory
cards of our collection of Chinese and Japanese porcelain
are in Elsa Westphalens handwriting). In characterising
her as a researcher, Ernest Kverfeldt remarked upon her
extensive erudition and excellent taste and emphasised
her profound knowledge of items of both Western and
Oriental art, in particular Western European tapestries
and Chinese porcelain. Te rare qualities formed by her
Elsa Khristianovna Westphalen
acquaintance with exhibits in major European museums,
as well as by her practical and technological skills, de-
veloped eyes in her that utterly indispensable ability
to identify objects by their time and place of production,
and to distinguish genuine pieces from imitations (Ar-
chive of the State Hermitage Museum, Fund 1, Regis-
ter13/, Folder 142, f. 12).
Elsa Westphalen participated in the organisation of
exhibitions, initially at the Stieglitz Museum and sub-
sequently at the Hermitage. In fact, the results of her
research work were expressed mainly in exhibitions.
She helped to prepare an exhibition of Chinese applied
art in 1924, an exhibition for the International Iranian
Congress in 1933 and a temporary exhibition of Chinese
painting and applied art in 1934. In parallel she worked
to bring the pieces in our collection into the world of
scholarship: she published an article about Chinese
ceramic pieces in Ceramic Collection (Westphalen
1940) and prepared material for a joint book with Mari-
anna Krechetova on Chinese Porcelain, which was
published in 1947 afer Elsa Westfalens death during
the siege of Leningrad (Krechetova, Westfalen 1947).
Besides that, she continued teaching at the Stieglitz
School and supervised the work of postgraduates and
Hermitage research workers. In 1932 she was awarded
the title of professor and conducted lessons for guides.
Subtle stylistic analysis along with a superior knowl-
edge of the technical qualities of material and decorative
techniques, the ability to see an item in its cultural-his-
torical context and knowledge of that context were the
distinctive features of the frst researchers of our collec-
tions. Tis was naturally based on the excellent educa-
tion they had received.
One of Ernest Kverfeldts pupils was Marianna
Nikolayevna Krechetova (19041965), who came to
the Hermitage in 1929 in her fnal year of study at the
Higher State Courses at the Institute of Art History. She
took an active part in exhibition and curator work, the
preparation of permanent and temporary displays. Kre-
chetovas main area of interest was Chinese art, and for
three years afer completing her course she voluntarily
attended lessons in Chinese given by Academician Vas-
ily Alexeyev at the Universitys Oriental Faculty. Togeth-
er with Vsevolod Kazin she prepared a guide to the per-
manent display Te Culture and Art of Feudal China
and took part in the above-mentioned temporary exhi-
bitions. By the late 1930s her interest in porcelain had
been fully formed. It should be borne in mind that at
that time there were no demarcation lines between ar-
eas of research that exist today: researchers had to study
everything applied art and painting, so in the list of
Marianna Krechetovas works we fnd articles on kesi
(ko-ssu) fabrics from Khara-Khoto, carved stone,
Russian-Chinese relations in the 17th and 18th centu-
ries, etc. However, the subject of porcelain is more pro-
nounced. In the early 1940s Marianna Krechetova was
working with the collection of Chinese export porce-
lain. In 1940 she published an article on Chinese export
porcelain with Armenian monograms that still arouses
lively interest among researchers (Krechetova 1940).
She wrote and presented as a dissertation a research
work based on the Hermitage collection and entitled
Chinese Porcelain for Export to Europe in the Late 17th
and 18th Centuries she defended the dissertation af-
ter the war, and the basic tenets of the dissertation were
published in the form of an article in 1975 (Krechetova
1975). Tis was the frst work in this country to include
an analysis of items whose dcor featured elements
ofboth Chinese and European art, as well as an exami-
nation and interpretation of the themes of the dcor;
it was also the frst time items in the Hermitage collec-
tion had been brought into academic circulation. In this
way Marianna Krechetova continued the research of the
East-West dialogue that had always interested Ernest
Kverfeldt. During the war she was evacuated with the
Hermitage to Sverdlovsk, where she gave numerous lec-
tures, in addition to her work as curator.
On her return she took an active part in the revival
of museum life. It was necessary to fnd rooms in the Elsa Khristianovna Westphalen in her studio
220
buildings that had frozen during the war years and had
traces of damage in order to accommodate the exhib-
its that had returned from evacuation and those that
had remained in Leningrad, draw up a topography and
prepare material for display. Marianna Krechetova de-
vised a new exhibition concept based on the chronologi-
cal principle: pieces were arranged in accordance with
specifc historical stages in the development of China.
In1951 she supervised the exhibition Te Culture and
Art of China, which took up sixteen rooms. From 1952
to 1965 she was Head of the Far East Sector. She sys-
tematically conducted sessions with guides and gave
lectures in the Hermitage Lecture Hall. In addition, she
conducted courses on Chinese art at the Repin Institute
and at Leningrad State University.
Marianna Krechetova regularly consulted colleagues
from the suburban palace-museums and carried out ex-
pert examinations of items. Her colleagues still remem-
ber with gratitude how she saved the Chinese scrolls
with erotic themes in the Catherine Palace that the up-
holders of morals of the 1950s had condemned to de-
struction. She took an active part in the restoration of
the Lacquer Study in the Monplaisir Palace at Peterhof
and palace interiors at Tsarskoye Selo and Oranienbaum.
In 1955, on the basis of pieces in the Hermitage col-
lection, Marianna Krechetova organised the travelling
exhibition Te Art of China, which visited a num-
ber of cities in the USSR. In 1956, when friendly links
with the Peoples Republic of China were strengthen-
ing, Marianna Krechetova was sent on a working visit
to China, where she gave lectures on the organisation
of museums in the USSR and on Russian-Chinese rela-
tions in the 17th and 18th centuries. Te latter (at the
Gugun Palace) aroused particular interest and was pub-
lished in China. Te close contacts with China in the
1950s led to a number of exhibitions, including one of
contemporary art, which naturally included porcelain
items. Her work on the attribution of porcelain was also
refected in the permanent display Te Culture and Art
of China. Marianna Krechetova was working on the
publication of items in the Hermitage collection until
her last days (she died in 1965 afer a serious illness).
While speaking about researchers of Far Eastern por-
celain in the Hermitage it is impossible not to mention
Sergey Nikolayevich Troynitsky
1
(18821948), whose
academic interests were focused mainly on heraldry,
but while working with silver and porcelain items from
palace collections (Archive of the State Hermitage Mu-
seum, Fund 1, Register 12/, Folder 76, f. 2) on a com-
mission from the Hermitage administration, he com-
1
Director of the Hermitage from 1918 to 1927.
Marianna Nikolayevna Krechetova. 1950s. China
piled a guide to the porcelain section (Troynitsky 1921),
which highlighted Chinese and Japanese pieces, several
of which were published in the short book Porcelain
and Life (Troynitsky 1924).
Ernest Kverfeldt, Elsa Westphalen and Marianna
Krechetova laid the foundations for further study of por-
celain in the Hermitage collection, principally Chinese.
Tey not only distinguished Chinese and Japanese items
from the general mass of porcelain and made attribu-
tions of a part of the collection, but also presented ex-
amples of brilliant analysis of the items themselves and
pointed out directions for further research. Teir works
have not lost their relevance and, more importantly, the
enthusiasm of these remarkable scholars for this mate-
rial has also not lost its relevance and is a model for us all.
REFERENCES
Krechetova 1940
Krechetova, Marianna [ ].
-
[Several Chinese Porcelain Items with Armenian
Monograms]. [Trudy Otdela Vostoka Gosudarstvennogo
Ermitaa]. Leningrad, 1940. Vol. 3: 347358.
Krechetova 1975
Krechetova, Marianna [ ]. -

XVIIXVIII . [Temes of Painting of Chinese Porcelain for
Export to Europe in the Late 17th and 18th Centuries]. In:-
[Kultura Indii i stran
Dalnego Vostoka]. Leningrad, 1975.
Krechetova, Westphalen 1947
Krechetova, Marianna, Elsa Westphalen [ ,
]. [Kitajskij farfor]. Lenin-
grad, 1947.
Kverfeldt 1937
Kverfeldt, Ernest [ ].
[Predmet v kitajskom iskusstve]. Leningrad, 1937.
Kverfeldt 1940
Kverfeldt, Ernest [ ]. :
[Farfor: kratkij istorieskij oerk]. Lenin-
grad, 1940.
Troynitsky 1921
Troynitsky, Sergey [ ].
[Putevoditel po Otdeleniju farfora].
Petrograd, 1921.
Troynitsky 1924
Troynitsky, Sergey [ ].
[Farfor i byt]. Leningrad, 1924.
Westphalen 1940
Westphalen, Elsa [ ].
[Ceramic Art of China].
[Keramieskij sbornik]. 1940. No. 9.
Sergey Nikolayevich Troynitsky
222 223
ALEXANDER KAKOVKIN
KARMIR BLUR 1939.
A COMMENTARY ON THE LETTER OF IGOR DIAKONOFF AND BORIS PIOTROVSKY
Envelope of the letter written by Igor Diakonof
and Boris Piotrovsky to Leningrad fromYerevan (October 1939)
First page of the letter
At the end of the 1930s, local archaeologists together
with their colleagues from Leningrad and Moscow
started excavations on several hills across Armenia.
Years of exploratory work (interrupted by the Second
World War) led to the discovery of a few ancient Urartu
sites near Yerevan, including Erebuni (Arin Berd Hill)
and the Teishebaini Fortress (Karmir Blur Hill).
Te letter below, signed Igor and Boris, was sent
from Yerevan by two Hermitage staf members who
worked on Karmir Blur during the frst feld season, Igor
Diakonof (19151998) and Boris Piotrovsky (1908
1990), later to become world-famous authorities in
Oriental studies. Te letter summarises the outcomes
of the frst feld season (September October 1939).
Te standard size envelope carries the address
written in violet ink in Igor Diakonofs hand:
Leningrad
34, 9th January Embankment
State Hermitage
1st Section of the Oriental Department
Sender: State Hermitage Archaeological Expedition,
Arm[enian] SSR, Yerevan, Abovyan St., Intourist
Hot[el], Room 37.
In the top right-hand corner of the front side of the
envelope is the postmark of the Yerevan Post Of ce (the
stamp is missing). Tree Leningrad postmarks at the
back of the envelope bear the date 23.10.39 10.
Te envelope contains two lined sheets
(18.714.3cm), possibly taken from a notepad. Pages
1, 2 and 3 are flled with Igor Diakonofs neat, minute
handwriting; Page 4 is covered with Boris Piotrovskys
recognisable penmanship (with slightly larger rounded
letters) and carries two line drawings by Piotrovsky with
explanatory notes.
Te text of the letter is presented below:
[Page 1] Yerevan, 16-X-1939
Dear comrades
1
,
Ive been pressuring BB
2
into writing to theHermitage
for three weeks now, and fnally, afer receiving a letter
from Militsa Edvinovna
3
and obtaining permission
from the head of our expedition
4
, I am writing this
message myself.
Our life is pleasant enough, although the festive
vibrancy
5
gradually waned as the Leningraders lef.
Since the 12th, we have been the only two people from
Leningrad staying here.
Te Director
6
must have given you all the details of our
excavations much to my chagrin, as I would rather you
had learned news from us. In a few words, apart from the
pottery shards sized 4 sq.cm, each item we are bringing
is going to cost the Hermitage 4,000 roubles, while all the
unique objects will stay in Armenia, as these are walls
measuring 7 m 3 m.
Do you think if the building we have discovered could
go into the Architecture
7
? We will need just 5-10 seasons
to understand what it looked like and what it was used for,
so I hope Natalia Davydovna
8
will be able to slip it into
proof sheets.
[
Page 2] As you may know from I..
9
, afer rain and
dew on the surface of the hill one can trace the outlines of
224 225
Fourth page of the letter
the walls as damp spots; unfortunately, the hill itself was
destroyed by entrenchment. Te thick walls are built from
adobe bricks measuring approximately 532814 cm.
We hit the bottom in two of the rooms and are working on
another two. No traces of a courtyard were found in the
building (no large courtyard, at least), so quite possibly, one
of the rooms we are unearthing was unroofed. Terooms
lie quite deep underground, and we have managed
to locate just one door so far. Te room also contained
a large stone basin of unidentifed purpose with a drain,
which we are making most frivolous suggestions about.
Kafadaryan
10
and the other Armenians, who are working
higher up, found an even more massive wall resting on
astone foundation (the walls we found are also on a stone
basement but not so solid) and a pitcher nothing more
impressive. Tere are traces of fre everywhere. One part
of the building had quite well-preserved beams; as you
may know, several handfuls of grain were found in the
corner of one of the rooms.
As for the cuneiform writing sample, it is just a bantam
piece which was found by Kafadaryan. Cuneiform writing
is their obsession; we bet youll be the ones to fnd texts
in the cuneiform writing, they kept moaning [Page 3] when
they visited us. Now that they have parted with every
hope of recovering any cuneiform writing samples, they
are planning to wrap up their work. Tese are all our
achievements so far. No burials have been discovered yet.
You did not mention anything about my precious
Anthology
11
how is it getting on? It must have stalled
now that we are away. I am sorry about the spinners and
Mesopotamia in general
12
. Please, accept my warmest
sympathies.
We hope that when we arrive at the beginning
of November, we will fnd some brand new copies
of Transactions
13
, Technology
14
, Atlas
15
and
Architecture waiting for us and bring you the cuneiform
writing collection in return. Why do I say hope? We are
positive this will happen at least, the former part. As for
the storage, it has always been kept in ideal order. How
is Mikhail Abramovich, the only member of the stronger
sex inSection 1
16
? Militsa Edvinovna did not write much
about him, but I am keen to know about his dissertation
outline and his translations for the anthology. Incidentally,
what about the professional development schemes? Are
the doctoral students working on Marxism-Leninism and
other disciplines?
Igor
[Page 4] Our expedition nearly failed as there was no
petrol for the car which takes us to our working site every
day; now that we have the petrol, I am too short of time
to write.
I hope to contact you before the end of the expedition;
meanwhile, thank you for the envelopes; I am sending
you my best wishes you have my permission to scold me,
etc. Will tell you everything on arrival and will take my
portion of quinine.
Boris
P. S. Please write letters, theses, catalogue cards, the
architecture, the Coptic catalogue
17
and the art histories.
Dont imagine that Igor is nicer than me he only wrote
you because he felt unwell and was stuck at home for three
days.
Following the text are two drawings by Boris
Piotrovsky with explanatory notes. On the lef is a
section of the pit (On the pit) referred to by Igor
Diakonof, with two human fgures on both sides of
the basin mentioned in the letter; to the right of the
excavation, there is a little fgure of a half-lying man
looking down the pit. Te right picture (Intourist,
Room 37) shows a washbasin with fowers from
Kamilla Vasilyev[na]
18
; on the right, two beds with
reclining human fgures holding books. Te person
lying on the bed with spectacles under it
19
is reading
David of Sasun, the other Colonel Korshunov ugh!..
quite disgusting!
20
.
Some comments on the persons, events and
research works mentioned in the letter, published or
unpublished, are presented below.
1
Te authors are addressing their colleagues from Section 1 of
the Oriental Department (nicknamed Egypt by the museum staf),
now the Section of Ancient Orient of the State Hermitage.
2
Te initials were used by the Hermitage staf to refer to Boris
Piotrovsky for the years to come. Piotrovsky worked in the Hermit-
age from 1931 to 1990.
3
Militsa Edvinovna Matthieu (18991966). Worked in the Her-
mitage from 1921 to 1965. Expert in Egyptian culture who was also
interested in Coptic monuments. Head of Section 1, Oriental Depart-
ment in 1939.
4
Boris Piotrovsky supervised over Nikolay Tokarsky, Igor Dia-
konof, Evgeny Baiburtyan and a group of local workers.
5
Te author refers to the grand festivities in Armenia in Septem-
ber 1939 celebrating the 1000th anniversary of the Armenian epic
David of Sasun.
6
Iosef (Iosif, Joseph) Abgarovich Orbeli (18871961). Worked
in the Hermitage from 1920 to 1951; Director of the Hermitage since
1934.
7
Te author refers to the work on Near Eastern architecture which
remained unpublished. Tis study will be mentioned below.
227
Viktoriya Olegovna Zimnikova, amember of staf of the Education Department who
worked in the Hermitage for twenty-two years, passed away on 10 April 2011. Her un-
timely death robbed the museum of a talented art historian, an erudite specialist...and
robbed us of our Vika akind, cheerful, wise and very reliable colleague.
Vika chose her profession of an art historian while still achild. Her mother recalls how
her daughter used to bring home books and albums on art from the school library and
study them for hours. She always retained her love of good books the greatest wealth of
her home was her remarkable library. She encountered anumber of obstacles on her way
to fulflling her dream, but the little girls energy and single-mindedness overcame them
all. She entered the Department of Art History in the History Faculty of Leningrad State
University, where she studied Western European art frst with Yelena Vaganova, then
with Ivan Chechot. She retained her sincere love and respect for her teachers for the rest
of her life, constantly striving for perfection in her profession. Afer graduating from the
university, she continued to attend seminars and lectures and was always grateful to those
who shared their knowledge with her.
Afer defending her diploma thesis devoted to the art of the Pre-Raphaelites, Vika
worked in an archive and then came to the Hermitage. In 1989 she started work in the
Central Library, then transferred to the Education Department, where her talent as an art
historian, her bright personality and her communicability were so much in demand.
Te main sphere of Viktoriya Zimnikovas professional interest was Western Euro-
pean art which she had begun to study at the university. Te painting of Italy, the Neth-
erlands, Germany, Flanders, England with every year that passed, the list of subjects on
which she conducted guided tours and gave lectures multiplied. Her repertoire also in-
cluded lecture cycles concerned with various problems in the history of painting. Guided
tours for children, special programmes, temporary exhibitions she mastered all types
of educational work.
At work Vika could not stand incompetence and was very demanding of herself, evi-
dence of which is provided by her own phrase: I do not know how to do anything badly.
She was always ready to share her knowledge and seemed to be able to answer any question.
Many people remember her sitting with acup of tea in the mezzanine by the Kofeshins-
kaya Staircase, tired afer her days work but continuing to describe something not to the
public, but to colleagues who had come to her for consultation. Many employees in our
department remember her wonderful lecture on an exhibition of Rembrandts etchings.
Her audience included schoolchildren, students, teachers and guides. She was able to
fnd the right tone for any group, instantly reacting to any vibes from her listeners, and
this helped her choose the correct style of interaction with various people and to keep
their interest. Meanwhile she never lowered her standards and never lost the strict ap-
proach of an art historian to the analysis and interpretation of works. Her lectures were
attractive for their combination of academic accuracy and precise information with the
emotionality of the narrative. She had arare gif that is essential in our profession: she was
Viktoriya Olegovna
Zimnikova
05.08.1963 10.04.2011
OBITUARIES
8
Natalia Davydovna Flittner (18791957), a famous Orientalist.
Worked in the Hermitage from 1919 to 1950.
9
Iosef (Joseph) Abgarovich Orbeli.
10
Karo Kafadaryan, Armenian archaeologist, who headed the
expedition sent to Karmir Blur by the Committee for Armenian Her-
itage Preservation. Director of the Armenian State History Museum
in Yerevan for many years.
11
Unfortunately, I have been unable to fnd any information on
the Anthology described by Igor Diakonof as precious. Te book
may have included translations of ancient texts from the Near East.
12
Most likely, the Mesopotamia Room.
13
Trudy Otdela Vostoka Gosudarstvennogo Ermitaa [Transac-
tions of the Oriental Department of the State Hermitage]. Leningrad,
1939. Vol.1 with articles by N.D. Flittner, B.B. Piotrovsky, I.M. Lour-
i, N.Ya. Scholpo, M.E. Mathhieu, .N. Ushakova, .S. Lyapunova,
A.Ya. Borisov, K.V. Trever, A.V. Bank, T.A. Izmailova, M.M. Diakonof.
14
Oerki po istorii texniki Drevnego Vostoka [Essays on the His-
tory of Technology in the Ancient East]. Compiled by I.M. Louri,
.S. Lyapunova, M.E. Matthieu, B.B. Piotrovsky, N.D. Flittner.
oscow; Leningrad, 1940.
15
Atlas po istorii kultury i iskusstva Drevnego Vostoka [Atlas on
the History of Culture and Art in the Ancient East]. Compiled by
I.M. Louri, N.D. Flittner, B.B. Piotrovsky, A.Ya. Borisov. oscow;
Leningrad, 1940.
16
ikhail Abramovich Scher (19011942), art historian. Worked
in the Hermitage since 1936; researcher in the Oriental Department
since 1 October 1939. Worked on a dissertation on demonology.
17
Most likely, the Hermitage catalogue of early Coptic textiles
compiled by M.E. Matthieu and K.S. Lyapunova in the late 1930s
and scheduled for publication in 1941; eventually released in 1951
(see (Kakovkin 2008: 121126)).
18
amilla Vasilyevna Trever (18921974), famous Orientalist;
worked in the Hermitage from 1919 to 1960.
19
Igor Diakonof.
20
Colonel Korshunov a short novel by Lev Kantorovich about
fghting the Basmachi movement (1938).
To conclude, one should note that Boris Piotrovsky
focused on the importance of the Karmir Blur excava-
tions in his Te Urartu Centre in Transcaucasia
read at the celebratory session dedicated to the
175th anniversary of the Hermitage (1940). He
summarised the preliminary results of the analysis
of Urartian material and written monuments in his
monograph Istorija i kultura Urartu [Urartu History
and Culture], published in Yerevan in 1944 and
awarded the Stalin Prize in 1946. Te later stages of
the excavations (19391941, 19451971) were covered
by Piotrovsky in annual reports, numerous articles
and several fundamental works including Karmir
Blur (Yerevan, 1950. Vol. 1; 1952. Vol.2; 1955. Vol. 3);
Vanskoje Carstvo [Te Van Kingdom]. oscow, 1959;
Iskusstvo Urartu VIIIVI vv. do n.e. [Urartu Art.8th
6th Centuries BC]. Leningrad, 1962.
Te letter writers gave accounts of that feld season
in their memoirs (both published in 1995): Boris
Piotrovsky in Stranicy mojej izni [Pages of My
Life] (pp. 161162), Igor Diakonof in his Kniga
vospominanij [Book of Reminiscences] (pp. 465476).
Boris Piotrovskys book contains some interesting
information about the people he met; Igor Diakonof
provided vivid descriptions of his colleagues characters
and, what is especially valuable, their research potential
(pp. 416425).
It should be mentioned how I came by this letter.
Ksenia Rakitina (19091983), long-time Chief
Curator of the Oriental Department, who had also
been taking care of its archives, transferred part of her
book collection and personal archive to me before her
death; the archive included, among others, literary and
political journals, proof sheets, newspaper clippings,
letters, postcards and photographs. I found this letter
while browsing through these materials and handed
it over to Mikhail Piotrovsky, who kindly gave me his
permission to publish it.
REFERENCE
Kakovkin 2008
Kakovkin, lexander. One Page of Russian Coptic Studies.
TePublication of Te Artistic Textiles of Coptic Egypt by Militsa
Matthieu and Ksenia Lyapunova. Reports of the State Hermitage
Museum. St. Petersburg, 2008. [Issue] LXVI.
229
able to see apainting and to convey this ability to others. She was attentive to her listeners,
fnding answers to awide variety of questions.
People loved her and gladly attended her lectures for years. When Vika passed away,
her numerous devoted listeners took her death as apersonal loss and ofered their assis-
tance to her family.
Vikas attitude to her family and her readiness for self-sacrifce for the sake of her
loved ones amazed people and inspired respect. Te centre of her life was, of course, her
son. Everyone remembers the suppressed pride with which she talked about him, how
she worried about him and how pleased she was when he became astudent afer leaving
school. Her dream was to give her son aworthy education. We also remember the pain
in her voice when towards the end, as though she had a premonition of her death, she
regretted that she had not managed to fnish teaching him.
Tere was agreat deal that she did not manage to do in the time allotted to her. She
did not manage to make all the journeys that she had dreamed about, to see the cities and
monuments of which she knew so much. In her last years she did, at least, travel to Europe
several times. We recall the sincere, spontaneous rapture of her descriptions not only of
the museum collections, but also of almost unnoticeable details in which she was able to
see and recognise beauty.
In spite of her straitened circumstances, she was able to delight her nearest and dear-
est and herself: her home was always full of fowers, as well as numerous interesting and
unusual items that created aunique style and comfort.
She was atrue, devoted friend, always ready to help with no concern for herself and
prepared to stand up for her friends at all times. She had the ability, like nobody else,
tobe sincerely pleased for her friends, but could also tell them home truths when neces-
sary. Flattery, hypocrisy and slyness were absolutely alien to her. She had aunique sense
of inner freedom and of her own virtue, and always remained independent.
We remember her as always rushing, running. Her life, as rapid as a comet, was de-
voted to her loved ones, art, beauty and the museum.
By friends and colleagues
Neonilla Nikolayevna Akatova, restorer in the State Hermitage Laboratory for
Scientific Restoration of Easel Painting, died on 27 June 2011 at the age of 76 after se-
rious illness. Neonilla Nikolayevna started work at the Hermitage in 1958 in agroup
of climatologists. From 1966 to 1992 she worked in the Spetsproektrestavratsiya
Institute, but returned to her beloved museum in 1996, where for fifteen years she
was a leading specialist in professional materials and equipment in the Restoration
Department.
Neonilla Nikolayevna was an educated and talented person; she was keen on literature,
had agood knowledge of painting and music, and particularly loved the theatre.
Neonilla Nikolayevnas distinguishing characteristics were her modesty and easy-go-
ingness, her sensitivity and attentiveness towards people. She enjoyed great respect and
was an authority for all who knew her, worked with her and came into contact with her.
Staf of the laboratory, both young and old, always came to Neonilla Nikolayevna for ad-
vice. Her friends loved her and valued her human qualities. Neonilla Nikolayevna has lef
the very brightest and best memories in the hearts of her friends and colleagues.
By Marina Guruleva
228
Neonilla Nikolayevna
Akatova
22.12.1936 27.06.2011
Dmitry Alexeyevich Machinsky passed away on 8 January 2012. Although it had been
generally known in the last few years that he was seriously ill, the suddenness of his death
was still ashock to many.
He died shortly afer the end of the latest Readings in memory of Anna Machins-
kaya, his daughter, held annually in Staraya Ladoga since 1995. She, like her father, was
an archaeologist and also worked in the Hermitage, so to us she was Anechka, abright
girl with alove of life who died tragically early. Like her parents, Anna worked in the
Education Department a sector which at the time was not yet called the Sector for
Guided Tour Services and whose staf were not called guides. For all those years Dmitry
Alexeyevich was nearby in the Methodological Sector, supervising two felds archae-
ology and the history of Russian culture. Several generations of researchers remember
his lectures for colleagues, which would now be impossible to reproduce not only
because each time it was an improvisation on profoundly thought-out theses, but also
because the aim of the lectures was not so much to train people to conduct aparticular
guided tour as to generate interest in the subject, to show the unique features in the
inconspicuous, to encourage his listeners to read and think, to think and read again, to
immerse themselves in the material, not just to repeat the words of others but to fnd
their own. In order to speak like Machinsky it was necessary to be Machinsky, but he
had the ability to awaken inspiration in others his subordinates and junior colleagues.
As Irina Melnikova, who had worked for many years in the Education Department, said
at one meeting: If Dmitry Alexeyevich started reading aloud amultiplication table, we
would fnd new meaning in it. Dmitry Alexeyevich knew and loved poetry like nobody
else, and ofen read poems as methodological instructions to create an emotional
background and mood. It was indeed impossible to copy him, but the ideas, thoughts
and images mentioned by him in passing were preserved in the guided tours and lec-
tures of his junior colleagues.
Of cially Dmitry Alexeyevich worked at the Hermitage for two months short of
45years from the spring of 1967. However, he started working occasionally as acasual
guide as early as 1963. His of cial papers his application for employment and the
certifcate permitting him to combine two jobs (such permission was required at that
time) feature the signatures of legendary people: Hermitage Director Mikhail Arta-
monov and Boris Piotrovsky, then Head of the Leningrad Branch of the Institute of
Archaeology: Te LBIA has no objection to the casual employment of postgraduate
student D.A. Machinsky as a guide. And it was Boris Piotrovsky who accepted him
for permanent employment at the Hermitage: in April 1967 Dmitry Alexeyevich was
of cially enrolled as acasual guide, and in November of the same year was taken on to
the permanent staf as aresearcher in the Education Department with amonthly salary
of 90 roubles. Four years later the necessity arose of supplementing the methodological
section of the department with anew member of staf: to the post of Head of the Sector
of Primitive and Russian Culture the Department recommends Dmitry Alexeyevich
Machinsky, one of the Departments researchers. An order was issued on 12 February
1971: to appoint ...Machinsky, researcher in the Education Department, in charge of
the methodological work in the Sector of Primitive Culture, with the retention of his
work as aguide for nine hours amonth, relieving Comrade Gubchevsky from these du-
ties in connection with his appointment as Head of the Sector of Sociological Research.
Te of cial record with the grounds for this transfer has survived: D.A. Machinsky has
prepared ten guided tours and three lectures for the Hermitage Lecture Hall, which he
conducts with great methodological skill.
And that skill was appreciated by those who attended his lectures and guided tours.
Some very precise words were expressed in aletter of thanks written afer one of Dmitry
Alexeyevichs lectures: ...he helped us see the fne features in objects which had been dead
Dmitry Alexeyevich
Machinsky
06.10.1937 08.01.2012
230 231
to us (signatures of professors and lecturers in the Chemistry Faculty of Leningrad State
University). He was able to love and respect all his listeners, and he formulated this in
words: Tere should be aromance with agroup.
His public lectures (like his classes for Hermitage school clubs, students and adults at
the museums displays) are still remembered by many people, and it is said that someone
recorded some of them on adictating machine. But even when not if, but when these
recordings are deciphered and, perhaps, published, the thoughts, ideas and words and
their precise and witty content will remain, but the intonation will be lost not only the
accents, but also the masterly speech and the living inspiration afeeling that is familiar
to those who give many lectures and is conveyed to listeners in such alively way, but, alas,
does not occur too frequently. Machinsky always had it, because he always spoke of what
he considered to be most important even when, although already ill, he would come
especially to give several lectures at seminars of the Education Department on archaeo-
logical materials in the Treasure Gallery both the Gold and Diamond Rooms. And it
was this education in the highest sense of the word that he considered to be the most
important element of his work. Tis is possibly why he was one of the co-founders of the
Memorial society in 1988.
Everything he turned to was done with passion and even partiality, which gave
him the strength to fght for anything that he considered to be right. Towards the end
of his life his intolerance of lying and falsifcation became even more acute possibly
because he knew that he might die at any moment and did not wish to leave anything
unsaid.
He always regarded the Hermitage if not as a sacred place then as a place to be
served, not used. He had said as much in his farewell speech for Boris Zernov, standing
on the steps of the Oktyabrskaya Staircase, where we said our farewells to him several
years later.
A great deal was written immediately, in January, by his fellow archaeologists, pupils
and friends, as a spontaneous reaction to the sudden bad news borne through the city
on the wind, but an immeasurably greater amount will be written, because, as we have
already made clear, Dmitry Alexeyevich Machinsky has long been alegend.
By the Education Department
Te early days of 2012 brought a bitter, irreplaceable loss that was hard to bear.
Dmitry Alexeyevich Machinsky died in his sleep on 8 January (at home in his own bed).
We had lost a friend, comrade, colleague and mentor, a brilliant historian and archae-
ologist, a perspicacious studier of sources, an attentive and profound reader, a subtle
and responsive collocutor, astern critic, aman with abig heart, aburning hot will and
exceptional compassion. For many of us he was the personifcation of the memory, con-
science and authenticity of the Leningrad school of archaeology. Tis school was dis-
tinctly formed in the years of his youth: Dmitry Alexeyevichs teachers, predecessors and
senior colleagues were Mikhail Artamonov, Maria Tikhanova, Gali Korzukhina and Ivan
Lyapushkin, and his friends (much more than friends) and closest colleagues were Mark
Shchukin (d.2008) and Gleb Lebedev (d. 2003).
Te name of Dmitry Alexeyevich is associated in the Hermitage, in St. Petersburg
and in the whole of Russia with the study of the most fundamental, complex and pain-
ful key, as he used to say problems of the history and constructive life of the area
which the Hellenes, with terror and admiration, called Scythia. Tis world, whose fright-
ening boundlessness was flled with the uneasy interaction of its Iranian (starting with
the Cimmerians), Germanic (starting with the Basternae-Bastarnae) and Balto-Slavic
ethno-linguistic origins, was the basis of anational-state phenomenon which, afer pass-
ing through anumber of transformations and expansions, acquired anew name Russia,
Russian civilisation. Te geographical, cultural and mental unity of this world and its
intense and uninterrupted history from distant preconscious antiquity to up-to-date
actuality was sensed by Dmitry Alexeyevich with extraordinary clarity and fullness. Tis
comprehension and acceptance enabled him, over the half century of his academic life,
to consider episodes, themes and artefacts in the history of Scythia-Russia from the 1st
millenniumBC to the 2nd millennium AD that were very diferent but were woven into
asingle fabric and fowed into asingle stream.
Te sphere of his search for the sources and historiosophic refections and gener-
alisations encompassed the origins of European civilisation (which he saw as being in
the Cretan-Mycenean age), the events of Jasperss Axial Age the time of the Great
Greek Colonisation, the homilies of the Jewish prophets, Zarathustra, Buddha and Con-
fucius, the time of the tectonic scale of the movements of the steppe nomads and the
explosion-takeof of their striking animalist art. And further through the history
of the Zarubintsy-Poieneti Basternae-Bastarnae, the frst authentic Germans in the Far
East of Europe, on the other side of the beech line of silence and fear to the ancestors of
the Slavs, whose ancient history is concealed in the dark forests and marshy pull of the
woodlands of Belorussia and neighbouring territories. And again from the Goths, the
creators of a European chord of Chernyakhov culture that was amazing in its sonor-
ity and richness to the unprepossessing headless matryoshkas of Korchak culture
and the mysterious and still not grasped by our understanding role played by its
creators, the early Slavs, in the fate of the late ancient world and in their own fate. With
asong-memory of the Danube where the grapes are green, burdened by their Balkan
experiences, they returned to the forests to greet a new age, when people from Scandi-
navia, having dropped anchor on the shore of the Varangian waves and (remembering
Gleb Lebedevs favourite metaphor) concealed another Peterhof hoard, were already ex-
changing the oar and the sail for the sword, the hammer, the plough and the scales. Scan-
dinavian Russians founded Aldeigja-Ladoga the seat of the frst Kagans of Rus and
the place where ancient Russian statehood was formed, the development and complica-
tion of which (right up to the present day) has been linked to avery great degree with
the refection-refraction of the interests and impulses of the West and the East, with the
intersection-interweaving of the beautiful cosmos and torturous chaos like the inter-
weaving of tormenting and tormented fgures on objects of Scythian art (cf. the brilliant
original footnote by Velimir Khlebnikov to the poem Slums of 1910: Te deer trans-
formed into the lion is the image of Russia)... Machinsky summed up these searches
and discoveries only in the last decade of his life in aseries of generalised polyphonic
articles and in his book Scythia-Russia. Dangerously ill and working mostly at home
and in hospitals, he never saw his book in its fnal form.
Te annual Readings in Ladoga (in the Staraya Ladoga Museum-Reserve) that he or-
ganised every winter from 1995 in memory of his daughter Anna, who had died so tragi-
cally early, were largely incomparable in their sincerity, purity and fruitfulness. Te atmos-
phere of quiet freedom and creative unity around the priceless Ladoga text of Russian
history that pervaded the Readings was to Dmitry Alexeyevichs enormous credit. Tese
Readings and their necessary continuation are now the best tribute not only to Anya, but
also to her father.
Dmitry Alexeyevich possessed, in the words of Vladimir Toporov, the highest for
Russia and almost religious type of humanity, which only can recognise inhumanity, re-
member it forever and construct on that knowledge and memory anew spiritual ideal.
Machinskys historiosophy and epistemology were not only (though mostly) a striving
to know and understand the past as it was and as it appears in sources (on the condition
232 233
that we do not fght with them, but, verifying them in acritical manner, strive to trust
their evidence; from this came his basic presumption of trust in sources). It was also an
unquenchable desire to clear up, in the absence of all-embracing laws of historical devel-
opment, individual cause-consequence blocks and chains in the mechanism of history
(his own words). Areconstruction that is as accurate as possible and adetailed calcula-
tion of the facts, processes and structures cohesions of the past and our ability to
meet them face to face with no preconceptions, frankly and fearlessly enable us to
participate in afeasible creation of the future and to overcome the painful complexes
ofsocial consciousness.
In his classifcation of twentieth-century Russian archaeologists (Te Phenomenon
of Soviet Archaeology [ ]. St. Petersburg, 1993: 3037)
Lev Klein accorded Machinsky two places: among the empiricists and among the mys-
tics (the latter with the reservation to a certain extent). At frst glance this is a clear
contradiction. In fact, this decision is not only non-contradictory, but actually correctly
highlights an important characteristic of Dmitry Alexeyevich his openness to various
(not necessarily incompatible, but always complementary) cognitive paths and methods
of establishing knowledge. In his study of archaeological and written sources he was an
empiricist and rationalist, but in the felds of historiosophy, and particularly of socio-
political expansions and evaluations, he was ametaphysician and poet. It was the poetic
word in its lofiest manifestations Pushkin, Voloshin, Tsvetayeva, Mandelshtam, Brod-
sky that he perceived as the most profound and precise expression of super-personal
and super-historical emotion and experience, and as the most precious gif of the latter.
Te aforementioned contrast or attraction-collision manifested itself in the bi-unity
and interdependence of his astringent, dif cult prose and his brilliant, fascinating speech.
Machinskys printed theses, articles and book are not adirect, unconditional continuation
of his guided tours, lectures and speeches. Te relationship between these two planes of
expression will remain for Dmitry Alexeyevichs readers and listeners asubject for com-
parisons, as well as living and tremulous recollections.
I write not for my contemporaries, he used to say in his fnal years. To those encoun-
tering these words for the frst time or in passing they may seem (and did seem) like glar-
ing monology. It is clear, however, that it is genuine dialogism dialogism of aparticular,
lofy stamp. It is an abstraction and repudiation of the forgetfulness and meaninglessness
of the here and now in favour of aprofound perception-comprehension of the past, ade-
sire to preserve, record and extend this comprehension. Is there any need to emphasise
that for many of us Dmitry Alexeyevichs life and work were the embodiment of the reli-
able and all-embracing link between ages and the eternal spring of historical discovery
and empathy?
We live and act in the eyes of history that has been made and is in the making, in the
glare of its all-seeing gaze that links the past and present. Our duty is to learn to see, hear,
remember, explain and acquaint ourselves with them in dramatic unity, overcoming mans
natural blindness, deafness and dumbness in relation to their monuments, voices and
questions. And for this lesson of approach and association we should be grateful to Dmitry
Alexeyevich Machinsky.
By Vyacheslav Kuleshov
Natalia Alexeyevna Zakharova came to the Hermitage in 1964. She worked in the
Education Department, then in the Oriental Department, where she was concerned
with the jewellery art of the Northern Caucasus, and from 1999 in the so-called Orien-
tal Treasure Gallery, which became one of the most important, if not the most impor-
tant, parts of her career.
Natalia Alexeyevnas whole life was linked with the Hermitage, and the people for
whom the Hermitage is not merely a place of work but their whole life are rarely easy:
nothing leaves them unmoved, they take everything to heart and any injustice wounds
them deeply. By nature Natalia Alexeyevna was a person with a pronounced sense ofcivic
responsibility. In the late 1980s and early 1990s tempestuous years for the country in
general and the Hermitage in particular she was one of those who, to a large extent,
changed the life of the museum. From that time onwards she was always a very signifcant
person, known to everyone in the museum.
Another of Natalia Alexeyevnas virtues was her unselfshness. She never thought
about herself very ofen to the detriment not only of her own well-being, but also of
her health. She never used her infuence in the Hermitage or her extensive contacts in her
own interests, but always in the interests of the museum, always for other people.
One of the huge contributions made by Natalia Alexeyevna was her creation of the
Jewellery Seminar, which continued for over ten years. At the beginning she had to do
everything herself: she would remain in the Hermitage till late at night and spend her
weekends and holidays here, regardless of any persuasions or admonitions. Tat was afea-
ture of her character to throw herself passionately into everything she did. Te semi-
nar attracted researchers from many museums, including those in other cities in Russia
and former Soviet republics. Tey were given the opportunity not only to broaden their
knowledge of the history of jewellery, but also to see the collections of the Hermitage and
other museums in St. Petersburg. Natalia Alexeyevna spared no efort in ensuring that the
visitors enjoyed their stay, negotiating guided tours and trips to the suburbs, buying food
at her own expense and arranging meetings with Hermitage curators. By Natalia Alexyev-
nas eforts short theses were published for each colloquium of the seminar and, from time
to time, collections of articles on Jewellery Art and Material Culture. It was one of few
regular seminars in the Hermitage, and the staf of the Treasure Gallery are now receiving
many letters with requests to continue it.
Natalia Alexeyevna was a loyal, devoted person devoted to her nearest and dearest,
her museum and her part in it. Tat is how she will be remembered by everybody who
knew her.
By colleagues
Natalia Alexeyevna
Zakharova
15.09.1945 02.03.2012
COLLECTION STUDIES
Elena Starkova
Te Krinichki Settlement (Tripolye Period):
Old Collections Revisited . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 5
lena Oyateva
Garevskoye Idol from the Stroganov Collection . . .. . .. . .. 18
Andrey Nikolaev
Four Early Ancient Egyptian Seals
from the State Hermitage Collection . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 25
Andrey Bolshakov
Te Ofering Stone of Tutmose III
in the Hermitage . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 31
Mark Kramarovsky
Charity in the Golden Horde: Kutlug-Timurs Family
and the Architectural Landmarks ofSolkhat.. . .. . .. . .. . .. 35
Maria Menshikova
Some Precious Fifeenth-Century Chinese
Iron Objects in the Hermitage Collection.. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 46
Olga Deshpande
Tree Early Twentieth-Century Silver Burmese Bowls
from the Hermitage Collection . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 52
Anastasia Bukina, Olga Shuvalova,
Anna Pozdnyak, Tatyana Shlykova,
Kristina Lavinskaya
On the Study and Conservation of aGroup
of Corinthian Painted Vases. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 66
Kamilla Kalinina, Anna Petrakova,
Ksenia Chugunova, Olga Shuvalova
A Psykter with Hetaerae
in the State Hermitage Museum Collection:
History, Questions, Future Possibilities.. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 79
Elena Khodza
Terracotta Figure of aYouth
from Pyotr A. Sabourofs Collection . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 95
Yury Kalashnik
An Inscribed Knucklebone
from Chersonesus .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . 107
Maria Garlova
A Painting of Hercules and Omphale
in the Hermitage Museum and its Author . . .. . .. . .. . .. . . 121
Olga Lokalova
An Address to Emperor Wilhelm II
in the State Hermitage Museum .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . 130
Galina Printseva
A New Attribution for Two Portraits
from the History ofRussian Culture Department .. . .. . . 140
Natalia Avetyan
Daguerreotype Portraits
of Prince Nikolay Yusupov .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . 145
Yury Gudymenko
Portraits of Dmitry and Adelaida Vasilchikov
from the Department of the History
of Russian Culture .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . 153
Vyacheslav Kuleshov
New Information on Graf ti on Umayyad Coins
from the Great Timeryovo Hoard
in the Hermitage Collection . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . 156
Elena Yarovaya
A Rare Hungarian Gulden of Eric Xiv in the Hermitage
Collection. Swedens First Gold Coin . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . 159
Maria Marshak
American Banknotes from 18101823
in the Hermitage Collection . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . 162
NEW ACQUISITIONS
Julia Kagan
Te Long Road Home.
Two Russian Intaglios Acquired in Berlin.. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . 175
Nikolay Vvedensky
A Medal Commemorating the Russian
and Prussian Brothehood in Arms. .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . 186
ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS
Asan Torgoev, Evgeny Kiy, Valery Kolchenko,
Olga Viktorova, Raisa Kazimirova, Alexey Kulish
A Newly Discovered Buddhist Monument
in theChu Valley (Northern Kyrgyzstan) .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . 193
FROM THE HISTORY OF THE HERMITAGE
Anna Petrakova
Stepan Alexandrovich Gedeonov
and Vases from the Campana ollection
in the ermitage: on the History
of their Acquisition . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . 203
Tatiana Arapova
Far Eastern Porcelain
in the Hermitage.
Te History of its Study .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . 216
Alexander Kakovkin
Karmir Blur 1939.
A Commentary on the Letter
of Igor Diakonof and Boris Piotrovsky . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . 222
OBITUARIES
Viktoriya Olegovna Zimnikova . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . 227
Neonilla Nikolayevna Akatova.. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . 228
Dmitry Alexeyevich Machinsky . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . 229
Natalia Alexeyevna Zakharova.. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . 233
CONTENTS
Reports of the State Hermitage Museum / Te State Hermitage Museum St. Petersburg, Te State Hermitage
Publishers, 2012 Vol. LXX: 236 pp., ills.
ISBN 978-5-93572-504-4
Reports of the State Hermitage Museum is an annual edition presenting the results of the museums recent research,
restoration, preservation and exhibition activities. Te articles are primarily concerned with the Hermitage collections
and individual works of art. Teir authors introduce art pieces unknown to the wide public, aswell asspecify and make
more accurate attributions, datings and interpretations of the already published works onthebasis of the latest scientifc
and scholastic achievements. Other sections of the book deal with most important recent acquisitions of the museum, its
newly-opened and replanned permanent exhibitions and new studies ontheHermitages history. Te edition is published
in Russian and English.
Scholarly edition
REPORTS
of
THE STATE HERMITAGE MUSEUM
LXX
Computer design by Nadezhda Lakatosh
Colour correction by Andrey Silantyev
Te State Hermitage Publishers
34 Dvortsovaya Embankment, St. Petersburg, Russia, 190000

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LXX

As the son of the Sun, the Elder God, the king is

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