CARRIAGE. BERLIN, 1740

EXPOSITION
HALL 1. RUSSIAN GOLD- AND SILVERWARE OF THE 12TH - EARLY 17TH CENTURY
HALL 2. RUSSIAN GOLD- AND SILVERWARE OF THE 17TH - EARLY 20TH CENTURY
HALL 3. EUROPEAN AND ORIENTAL CEREMONIAL ARMS AND ARMOUR OF THE 15TH - 19TH CENTURIES
HALL 4. RUSSIAN ARMS AND ARMOUR OF THE 12TH - EARLY 19TH CENTURY
HALL 5. WEST EUROPEAN SILVER OF THE 13TH - 19TH CENTURIES
HALL 6. ECCLESIASTICAL ATTIRE, PICTORIAL AND ORNAMENTAL EMBROIDERY OF THE 14TH - 18TH CENTURIES. RUSSIAN ROYAL GARMENT IN THE 16TH - EARLY 20TH CENTURY
HALL 7. ANCIENT STATE REGALIA AND CEREMONIAL ITEMS OF THE 13TH - 18TH CENTURIES
HALL 8. CEREMONIAL HORSE HARNESS OF THE 16TH - 18TH CENTURIES
HALL 9. ROYAL CARRIAGES OF THE 16TH - 18TH CENTURIES

The carriage is executed in 1740 in Berlin for the Russian Imperial court. It was one of the carriages taking Elizaveta Petrovna and her suite to the coronation ceremony in the Kremlin in 1742. The Empress’s monogram painted on the walls and doors of the carriage reminds of this event. Later the carriage was renovated several times and is likely to have taken part in ceremonial departures of the late 18th-19th centuries.

The two-seater equipage is equipped with the turning axle and bow springs. The walls and doors are completed with mirror glass. Graceful wood carved Rococo figures include putti, birds, floral motives, and a stylized shell, called ‘rocaille’, which gave the name to the Rococo style. Excellent painting of mythological subjects, connected mainly with the history of the Greek god Apollo, adorns the carriage as well. A copper crown tops the carriage.