'Guardians of Time. Conservation at the Moscow Kremlin Museums'

10.07.2019 - 13.10 2019

Exhibition hall of the Patriarch's Palace
Exhibition hall of the Assumption Belfry

This exhibition is dedicated to the work of the museum Conservation Studios over the last five years. The collection of the Moscow Kremlin Museums comprises unique historical and cultural art pieces. It would be impossible to preserve and put them on display without regular painstaking work of the conservators which is now an essential part of the museum life. On display will be unique pieces — state regalia, objects which belonged to the monarchs, ceremonial arms, ancient icons and magnificent jewels made by Russian and West-European masters. Those items were restored by highly professional conservators specializing in metal, fabric, paper, tempera and oil art. Their work made it possible not just to remove patina from a museum piece, but also give it a second life, return almost completely lost appearance, discover its author’s name, put an item into a historical context — associate it with an eminent personality or a significant historical event. In the Exhibition Hall of the Assumption Belfry, visitors will be able to see exhibits related to state ceremonies, as well as arms, horse harness and various items from the treasury of the Moscow sovereigns, made by the best West-European masters. Among the most remarkable works of conservators are splendid diamond crowns of brothers and co-rulers Ivan and Peter (future Peter the Great), sons of Tsar Alexey Mikhailovich, Renaissance Italian helmet, French tapestry from the series ‘Muses’ and other objects, fully incorporating images of the Russian and West-European court lives of various epochs. In the Exhibition Hall of the Patriarch’s Palace, we are presenting exceptional artifacts from the Kremlin churches and monasteries, i.e. icons, church embroidery and precious household from vestries. Visitors will have an opportunity to appraise the result of a long-term and extremely complex restoration of the gem in the museum collection of icons—‘Sophia the Divine Wisdom’ which dates back to the first half of the 15th century. The display consisting of the best samples of the museum collection, restored by high-skill professionals, will be of interest both to specialists and the wider audience. A multimedia program will help to immerse into the specific subject presenting processes of different museum conservation studios. Without any exaggeration, professional conservation being an art which overcomes time is an essential factor in preserving national cultural heritage. The exhibition ‘Guardians of Time. Conservation at the Moscow Kremlin Museums’ will uncover various aspects of this complex workmanship and hopefully become a notable event not just in the museum life but also in Moscow cultural agenda.