WINTER SLEIGH. MOSCOW, 1732

The winter sleigh was made in Moscow by French craftsman Jean Michele. Two widely known events in Russian history are connected with it. During the period from 1727 to 1732, the Imperial court was located in the Kremlin, and Moscow seemed to have been the capital of Russia again. However, Empress Anna Ioannovna resolved to transfer the court back to Saint Petersburg in 1733, so the winter sleigh was likely to be executed for this historically significant removal. Nevertheless, there is a monogram of another Empress, Elizaveta Petrovna, on the walls and doors of the equipage. This image reminds the event of 1742 when the daughter of Peter I came in this carriage to Moscow to be crowned.

Her road from Saint Petersburg took only three days. The winter sleigh accommodated ten passengers. Silver coal braziers were heating the equipage along the way.

The windows and doors of the sleigh are covered with narrow glass plates. The walls are decorated with a decorative painting of the attributes of state power. The sleigh runners are adorned with large figures of sea creatures. Love for the beauty of a silhouette, inherent in the Baroque, is traced in the form of the carriage, though in small ways.