Caution glass! Works of the Imperial Glass Factory in the State Historical Museum

The Historical Museum displays fragile art: Russian glass from the 19th - early 20th centuries.

Glass was once a symbol not only of fragility, but also of unreliability. And also instability - a person before sin, for example. Therefore, in Europe, church utensils from glass were not made. However, this did not prevent the use of material with an ambiguous reputation for stained glass - beauty can be not only a terrible force, but also fragile.

As time went on, the attitude towards glass changed - medieval prejudices have sunk into oblivion, giving way to other views. And now, in modern times, glass is a status material, a symbol of prosperity and high position. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Quiet, for example, even wanted to have his own glass factory. As a result, production appeared in the royal estate in Izmailovo, which was personally supervised by the monarch. On his instructions, they were looking for the best materials. And the masters are also the best. Found them in Europe. Overseas specialists invited to the Moscow region made outlandish items for the tsar, and also trained local artisans. So Izmailovo became the birthplace of Russian art glass.

With the founding of the new capital and the relocation of the royal court there, the glass business also developed in the city on the Neva. Already in 1735, one of the enterprises - the St. Petersburg Glass Factory, based on the Fontanka, received the title of state. Under Catherine II, production was transferred to the "hereditary honorary possession" of Grigory Potemkin, and after the death of His Serene Highness, it again became state-owned. This is the beginning of the history of the Imperial Glass Factory - this is how the company is called from now on.

“The name itself contains the status - the highest in Russia,” says Elena Smirnova, curator of the exhibition, head of the ceramics and glass department of the Historical Museum. - This immediately marks the production as the first in the Russian art glass-making - not in time, but in importance and impact on the industry. " The exposition at the State Historical Museum was named “Works of the Imperial Glass Factory of the 19th - early 20th centuries”, and the word “work” instead of “object” is key here: despite the utilitarian purpose of the products, they are primarily works of art. Many of them exist in a single copy - the production of satellites has never been massive. Here are vases in the Empire style: heavy solemn forms, luxurious facets, exquisite color, the triumph of crystal. The images are brilliant, ceremonial and, of course, imperial. Some of the exhibits are made of “golden ruby” glass - this is when the glass was brewed with the addition of gold, which gave the items a “fiery” color. Historicism is replacing the Empire style: for example, the famous Gothic service of 1832, made for the Winter Palace according to the sketch of the inventor, that is, the "artistic director" of the plant, Ivan Alekseevich Ivanov. In the showcase next to it, the oriental style dominates: here, on the vases, Persian motifs coexist with Chinese and even Central Asian ... art. Particular attention is drawn to the altar cross made of crystal engraved in the Russian style - medieval superstitions have been forgotten, now it is possible to make cult objects from glass. It is unknown in which church the unusual exhibit was kept, but there is no doubt that this temple was not easy. In "simple" places, satellites were not found.

At the exhibition, the works of the plant are interspersed with graphic portraits of emperors and empresses, grand dukes and princesses. “These are people who were the organizers of production, the main consumers of its products, collectors and custodians, as well as dictators of fashion,” says Elena Smirnova. - Much was determined by the personal taste of kings and queens. Every year there was a so-called “presentation” of items produced at the plant to the reigning family, which evaluated the items and gave instructions. Orders were placed at the plant only with the permission of the Cabinet of His Imperial Majesty. " AES products were by all means included in the dowry of the Grand Duchesses - according to tradition, two glass sets were made for each of them at the factory. They were also made for the great dukes. At the exhibition you can see part of the wedding service of Alexander II, at that time still Tsarevich, as well as wedding services of other children of Nicholas I - Olga Nikolaevna and Konstantin Nikolaevich.

Another duty of the Imperial Glass Factory is the manufacture of diplomatic gifts: AES products were sent on behalf of the Russian tsars to other European monarchs. However, the most famous gift was sent not to Europe, but to Asia - at the direction of Alexander I, an offering to the Persian shah was made at the factory. The present was a crystal ... sleeping bed. The outlandish creation weighed almost eight and a half tons, its delivery to the addressee took a month and a half. The Eastern ruler was so impressed by the gift that, as a token of gratitude, he ordered the release of 300 captured Russian soldiers. About the present, he said: “This truly magnificent thing is the best decoration of my palace, it can serve as proof to what degree of perfection the art of crystal finishing has been brought in Russia. I am sure that even a Chinese padishah does not have such a rarity. " And he added: "It would be desirable to know on which bed the Russian Emperor himself rests?" Had the Persian Shah learned the truth, he would hardly have believed it. After all, Nicholas I, who had ascended the throne by that time, an adherent of the Spartan life, "slept on a camp bed with a straw mattress." In any case, this is what the Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna wrote, the one whose wedding service is on display in the Historical Museum. As for the crystal miracle presented to the Shah, it was able to improve the strained Russian-Persian relations only for a while - in a few years in Tehran, Alexander Griboyedov would die as a result of the massacre at the Russian embassy.

For obvious reasons, the Shah's "Crystal Dream" is not exhibited at the State Historical Museum - diplomatic gifts were deposited abroad. But the art of satellites can be appreciated without it. “Looking at the products presented here, one can speak of a triumph of technology and craftsmanship,” says Elena Smirnova.

Source: https://portal-kultura.ru/