Visitors can see over 300 exhibits from the Sheremetiev Museum’s private collection there. First of all, these include weaponry, like cannon, muskets, and pistols. A protazan (a kind of spear) covered with exquisite patterns sits there besides a rusty war scythe, which poor commoners used to fight with. “A Cossack could go naked, but still keep his firearm!” the exhibition’s co-curator Oleksa Rudenko stressed.
Two silver belts once owned by Cossack officers impress with their craftsmanship and size, and we can only guess how their owners managed to actually put on these massive accessories. The exhibition displays many signets, that is, rings with seals which were used in particular for sealing personal letters. The visitor is captivated by Cossacks’ household goods: natruskas (powderhorns made from antlers) and numerous pipes. A few stacks are filled with vodka bottles, ranging from simple vessels to bottles covered in complex floral patterns.
The pearl of the exhibition is the 18th-century icon depicting the Holy Virgin’s Intercession. The bottom part of the artwork pictures Cossacks who pray directly to the Mother of God, a subject which has not survived in the iconographic tradition. Other rarities include portraits of the 18th-19th-century Cossack officers. The portrait gallery is supplemented by works of artists Mykola Samokysh and Serhii Vasylkivsky, created for album From Ukrainian Antiquity which was published in 1900.
“These exhibits reveal part of the history of my country, one of its interesting and difficult periods, the origins of the Ukrainian state,” collector Oleksii Sheremetiev said. “At the exhibition, one can see unique artifacts made 300 to 400 years ago. I revere and respect them myself when handling them. They contain the genetic code of our nation.”
The “Rarities of the Cossack Era” exhibition will run at the Cultural Heritage Museum in Kyiv till September 4.
