Silfverstolpe, Susann ; Kudriavtseva, Angella ; Zagorodniaja, Irina

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Silver gifts from Swedish monarchs to Russian tsars during the seventeenth century

Language: ENGLISH Silver gifts from Swedish monarchs to Russian tsars during the seventeenth century is a magnificent work about the silver gifts presented by Sweden to ­Russia and which can still be seen in the Kremlin Armoury in Mos­cow. Six major diplomatic missions brought silver from Stockholm to Moscow. The first was sent by Queen ­Christina in 1647 and the last by Charles XII in 1699. The Swedish gifts are of exceptional interest from both an artistic and a historical perspective. The book contains a lavishly illustrated survey of the historical background of the objects and provides a fascinating and informative description of how they were used to add lustre to extravagant Baroque festivities. The work includes essays by leading scholars that probe more deeply into the provenance of the silver gifts and the political significance of the diplomatic missions. The catalogue section presents 195 objects in full page colour illustrations. The book is being published simultaneously in a Swedish, a Russian and an English edition. This is the outcome of more than a decade of cooperation on the Kremlins magnificent collection, regarded as one of the worlds most important silver treasuries.