The exhibition in the Menshikov Palace includes more than 100 examples of Tula arms production from the Arsenal collection within the State Hermitage, which is considered one of the largest of its kind in the world.
    The Hermitage is presenting its collection of Tula arms on this grand scale for the first time. The exhibition enables visitors to appreciate the specific artistic features of Russian arms and to become acquainted with the history of their creation.
    According to the chronicles, arms were manufactured in Tula as early as the late 16th century. One of the first examples of the activity of the Tula arms masters is a rare exhibit item - a large cast-iron cannon dating from 1694 and bearing the following inscription: "In the year 7202 (1694), in December, this cannon was made by resident of Tula, state blacksmith Mikhail Afanasiev."
    The main part of the exhibition displays hunting and parade arms from the 18th century. The Tula arms producers demonstrated extraordinary inventiveness in the means and methods of decoration.
    A special dominant note of the exhibition may be said to be the so-called "sets," most commonly of hunters' equipment consisting of several objects made in the same style. Looking at the set of flintlock gun and two pistols which Empress Elizaveta Petrovna commissioned the Tula arms makers to produce in 1751 for her favorite Count Alexei Razumovsky, we are amazed by the wealth and refinement of the finishing, including chasing, carving and gilding.
    The exhibition includes a large group of toy and miniature arms for children that were made by the Tula arms manufacturers. These are reduced-size models of firearms which are noteworthy for their extreme precision of execution. Many of them were ordered by Empress Catherine the Great for her grandchildren, the Grand Princes Alexander, Constantine and Nicholas.
    Tula's 19th century arms producers came under the influence of Historicism. Here we see examples of swords, firearms and weapons used to deal blows which reproduce the master works of Moscow's 17th century Armoury.

Dueling set
1840's.
álexei Babyakin, master
Russia
Steel, bronze, wood, velvet; forging, engraving, damascene, carving


Sword
1847
A. Afanasiev, master
Russia
Steel, silver, colored paste, velvet; engraving, gilding, chasing.

Resistance.
1937-38
Volet of triptych Oil on canvas.
168 x 103

     The oeuvre of Marc Chagall is for the first time presented so completely in St Petersburg. The exposition includes 65 paintings and 82 graphic works.
     The exhibition includes works from the Russian Museum collection, the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, the National Museum of Modern Art, Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, Musee national Message Biblique Marc Chagall in Nice, the Beieler Foundation in Basel, museums of Pskov, Saratov and Tula, Isaac Brodsky Memorial Museum in St Petersburg and private collections in Russia and abroad, the major part of which has never been exposed before. The exposition also includes works from the artist's family collection which rarely were exposed during the artist's life.
    This exhibition allows the viewer to get the most complete impression of the artist's oeuvre of seven decades and to follow the evolution of the master's creative development both in Russia and abroad.

Double Portrait
with a Glass of Wine.
1917-18
Oil on canvas.
235 x 137

Coronation Egg
1897
Gold, platinum, diamonds,
rubies, rock crystal, enamel

     The Anteroom of the Winter Palace is showing the collection of one of the most important collectors of works by Faberge, Malcolm Stevenson Forbes (1919-1990), editor-in-chief and president of Forbes Inc., who assembled his collection over the course of several decades.
     This collection is on display in its country of origin thanks to Russian entrepreneur Victor Vekselberg, chairman of the board of OAO SUAL Holding, who purchased it from Malcolm Forbes' heirs and has made it available for viewing in Russia. The exhibition has been organized jointly by the State Hermitage and the Bond of Time Cultural-Historical Foundation.
     At the heart of the collection are nine Easter eggs, which constitute the second largest group (after the Moscow Kremlin Armoury) of the famous Easter surprises which emperors Alexander III and Nicholas II gave to their spouses. In 1917 they were taken away to Moscow and during the 1920's-30's many were sold abroad.
     The exhibition consists of 26 items, including 15 Easter eggs, nine of which belonged to the imperial family.

Lillies of the Valley Egg
1898
Gold, diamonds, rubies, enamel