CARRIAGE. SAINT PETERSBURG, 1769

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 equipage was crafted in 1769 in Saint Petersburg by distinguished carriage master John Coenrad Buckendal. Empress Catherine II used it for the most significant and solemn occasions. According to contemporaries, the elegant four-seater carriage with a small oval body stood against heavy gilded carriages.

The carriage had got the latest for that time technical equipment, i.e. horizontal and vertical springs, shafts on both sides of the equipage and a footboard, located outside the cabin. Carving is made in the style of Classicism. Scenic paintings illustrate the glorification of Catherine II. She is depicted in the images of muses, patronesses of different arts. Gilt-bronze vase-shaped decorations and openwork borders in the form of acanthus leaves complement the décor of the carriage. A bronze crown tops the equipage.