On Certain Official Precious and Rare Gifts to the Russian Emperor Peter I from the Chinese Kangxi Emperor

This year marks the 350th anniversary of the birth of the Russian Tsar Peter the Great (1672-1725). Among the many events commemorating this significant date, the State Hermitage Museum prepared a monographic exhibition called “Exotic and Lavish China. Knowledge of the Orient” (which ran from April 19 to June 12, 2022).

For the first time, the unique exhibits preserved by the State Hermitage and directly related to Peter I and his associates were presented in such a configuration. Accompanying the exhibition is an edition that reflects the history of the Chinese collections in the Hermitage at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries, as well as the development of Oriental studies and museum work in the Russian Empire. Many documentary exhibits are published for the first time, and their history has only been recently studied.[1]

Woman riding a Horse. Mechanical toy China. Imperial workshops. 1710– 1720
Silver, tin, ivory, lacquer, enamel, silk, corals; gilding, hammering, engraving, carving, painting
© State Hermitage, St. Petersburg. Photo: V. Terebenin

On the history of Russia-China relations

The 17th century and the first quarter of the 18th century was the era when good neighbourly relations were established between Russia and China. The countries had certain geopolitical issues to resolve: defining land borders, dividing spheres of influence and establishing trade. Russia’s main goal was to start receiving expensive, exotic Chinese goods not through Europe, but via direct routes. In order for that to happen, it was necessary to get ahead of the East India Company’s merchants, who traded by sea, and pave the way for land trade, as well as to create a market to sell the precious silks and other products (in order, inter alia, to benefit from transit and intermediary trade).

Russian envoys were sent across the entire country to the remote border areas. China would also occasionally send its representatives. Building those early relations was not a simple task, as each trip would take a very long time - the court had to wait for up to two years for a mission to return from China with a reply. For quite a while, the contacts between the two countries remained occasional rather than regular. The first documents in the Chinese language preserved in the Russian archives date back to 1616 and 1642.[2] However, it was much later that they were actually translated and read, as there was no one who knew Chinese in Moscow in the mid 17th century.

Russia-China contacts became more frequent during the reign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (1645-1676), father of Peter the Great. The first official mission to China was the journey of Fyodor Baikov in 1654-1657. However, the mission proved unsuccessful, as the Russian envoy refused to perform the traditional rituals required during the reception at the Chinese court - specifically the “kow-tow”, which included crawling three times to the throne of the Chinese emperor, resting one’s forehead on the floor without raising one’s eyes at the ruler, and then crawling away, without turning one’s back on the Emperor. As a result, no treaties were signed, and even the royal gifts from the Tsar, the “commemorations”, were rejected and returned. However, the mission did manage to bring a certain number of goods ordered by the Russian government, including priceless silks. The next major attempt to improve relations was made in 1675-1678 with the journey of Nikolai Gavrilovich Spafari (Nicolae Milescu Spataru, 1636-1708). Spafari managed to purchase the “Grand Lal” (“Lal Veliky”)[3], a huge 400-carat spinel[4] still kept in Moscow. The Lal first adorned the crown of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, then that of Empress Anna Ioannovna. From 1762, the Lal topped the large Imperial crown of Catherine the Great. The spinel is one of the seven largest ancient precious stones of the Russian state, currently on display in the Diamond Fund.

According to various studies, it can now be argued that many pieces of Oriental and Chinese art, currently stored at the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, were brought to the country during the reign of Peter the Great. The Oriental collection, which was purposefully collected in the first third of the 18th century in St. Petersburg, was truly unique for its time both in composition and in number of artefacts. The collection remains the most important material evidence of the history of relations with the Celestial Empire and the establishment of Oriental studies and museum work in Russia.

The life of Peter the Great, and the period of his greatest productivity on the Russian throne (1672-1725, Tsar Peter Alekseyevich of All Russia from 1682, Emperor of All Russia Peter I from 1721), coincided with the reign of the Kangxi Emperor (personal name Xuanye, 1654-1722) of the Manchu Qing dynasty (1644-1911) in China. The Emperor stayed on the throne for more than 60 years (1662-1722), his reign earning the title Kangxi (“Tranquility and Peace”).

The Kangxi Emperor restored and strengthened the country after the fall of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). A well-educated ruler, he was dedicated to developing the sciences, literature and the arts. For instance, the most complete dictionary of the Chinese language (Kangxi Zidian) was compiled during his rule. Kangxi strove for peaceful relations with his neighbours and did not mind outside influences. It is important to note that the “bogdykhan” (of Mongolian origin, the term used in contemporary Russian sources to refer to the Chinese Emperor) was favourably disposed towards foreigners: Jesuit missionaries lived in China and were recruited to serve in various offices at Kangxi’s court. It was Kangxi who became the prototype of the ideal ruler and who would act as a lodestar for the statesmen of the Enlightenment later in the 18th century.

Tsar Peter Alekseyevich continued his father’s policy of sending diplomatic missions to Kangxi. Peter only had to establish diplomatic and trade relations with a single ruler of the Qing Empire, which largely contributed to success in the historical task of regulating Russia-China relations. Peter the Great and Kangxi were two great rulers of two great states sharing an extensive common land border.

Missions were repeatedly sent from Russia to China, but there were only two official embassies sent during the life of Peter the Great. The first happened in 16861690, a journey from Moscow to Nerchinsk and back. The second embassy of 1719-1721 proceeded from St. Petersburg to Beijing and back. The meetings and negotiations of the ambassadors were accompanied by an exchange of gifts. These diplomatic gifts hold a very special place in the collections of Russian museums and we will try to tell the story of some of them in this article.

Embassy of Fyodor Golovin and the 1689 Treaty of Nerchinsk

In 1686, the government of Princess Sophia (16571704), who served as a regent to the infant tsars Ivan and Peter from 1682 to 1689, sent an embassy to the Chinese border to meet the Manchu rulers. The experienced diplomat Fyodor Alexeevitch Golovin (16501706), who spoke English and Latin, was appointed to head the mission. On the Chinese side, the Kangxi Emperor was represented by a high-ranking official, Prince Songgotu (1636-1703), uncle of the Emperor’s primary spouse. In August 1689, a treaty was signed at Nerchinsk, solidifying an agreement on unhindered and regular caravan trade and establishing a border along the Gorbitsa (left tributary of the River Shilka) and Argun rivers. Some sections of that 17th-century border still exist. The Treaty of Nerchinsk was a historical milestone in China-Russia relations, determining the course of diplomatic, economic and cultural ties between the two states for many years.

By the time Golovin returned to Moscow in January 1690, after a five-year journey, the government of Princess Sophia had already been overthrown, hence the diplomat was reporting to the Tsars Ivan and Peter. Colourful stories told by Golovin heightened the young Tsar Peter’s interest. He “was so curious to know about Golovin’s journey he would spend many days in a row talking to him; the Tsar inquired eagerly about the lifestyle of the Siberian people and the wealth of those lands, drawing fresh and new information from the stories of his interlocutor.”[5] In subsequent years, Golovin would became one of Peter’s closest associates.

Political events and economic factors, the need to establish Far Eastern borders with China, the search for new routes to India, ties with Persia, an attempt to find access to the southern seas, trade with the East and many other reasons fed Peter’s interest in the countries of the Orient. Knowledge about those lands was scarce and in his future letters to every embassy, caravan or traveller, the Tsar would order research and study of the ways of the Eastern peoples, their beliefs, skills and crafts, as well as the sciences they had developed and mastered.

In the same years, the first maps and descriptions of Siberia appeared in Moscow, as well as plans for an overland route to China, drawn up by travellers going back and forth between Russia and China. The palaces in Kolomenskoye and Preobrazhenskoye, where young Peter lived, were decorated with foreign rarities. Although it was customary to store most of the items in chests, the young Tsar would often view the oriental carpets, weapons, porcelain, and lacquer furniture in Moscow. Many valuables were kept in the Kremlin’s vaults, the Chamber of Crafts and the Armory. Chinese items adorned the palace in Preobrazhenskoye and other royal assemblies.[6]

Upon signing the Treaty of Nerchinsk, the rulers of the two states exchanged official embassies, also sending valuable offerings to each other. As a gift from the Kangxi Emperor to the Russian Tsar, Golovin’s embassy received “a saddle embroidered with gold imperial dragons, two small cups made of chased gold of very fine workmanship and many pieces of Chinese silk, satin, damask and gold and silk brocade.”[7] These gifts have survived to this day and are currently held in museums in Moscow and Saint Petersburg.[8] A richly decorated saddle, embroidered with images of four-clawed dragons, and a silk saddlecloth were sent by the Chinese ruler as a sign of friendship and are currently in the collection of the Moscow Kremlin Museums’ Armory. The value of the offering was also manifested in its symbolism: the Chinese character for “saddle”, i£[an], is pronounced the same as $ [an] for “peace and tranquility”.

Surprisingly, the paired golden cups with saucers weighing “68 zolotniks”[9] have also survived to this day. In the early 18th century, they were transported to St. Peters burg and have been kept in the Hermitage from at least the 1780s, which is confirmed by the earliest known museum inventory, Catherine the Great’s “Inventory of 1789”. The cups are listed as “golden stoops” of very fine workmanship with saucers. Each cup with a saucer was described separately: “A saucer with a stoop of gold thread- work, with flowers and snakes on the saucer, four sapphires and 30 small rubies encrusted in the saucer and some empty places for stones.”[10] These Chinese items made of high-quality gold were created in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. They were meant as an allegorical message of friendship and harmony. Each cup is inserted into a see-through frame of the finest filigree work in the shape of a blossoming six-petal mallow flower. The two handles are twisted like flower stems. The saucers are decorated with images of two serpentine dragons that have four-fingered paws with claws. That is the second most important type of dragon in the Middle Kingdom. The use of such images was strictly regulated. The symbol and sign of the Chinese Emperor at the time was a dragon with five-clawed paws. Members of the imperial family were considered lower in rank, just like the ruler of any other country. The cups have empty sockets for stones, as mentioned in the “Inventory of 1789” (“empty places for cabochons”), and it can be assumed that, when the cups were presented, the sockets were already empty, especially as the weight of the exhibits remained practically unchanged. The saucers are still decorated with precious polished cabochons, however: red rubies and blue sapphires. The choice of colours was not accidental, because the colours and minerals were only allowed to be used by members of the Chinese imperial family. The paired cups with saucers also signified recognition of borders, the equality of the neighbouring states and agreement on peace and tranquillity. These gold filigree pieces, decorated with precious stones, are true masterpieces of Chinese jewellery art.

Rare mechanical toys brought by the 1719-1721 embassy of Lev Izmailov

In subsequent years, Peter the Great sent missions and caravans to China more than once. Each time, they would return with expensive goods, silks, spices and numerous curiosities.

In 1719, the Tsar equipped a large embassy to the Qing Empire, headed by Captain Lev Vasilyevich Izmailov (1685-1738). The disposition of the mission was friendly. Interestingly, the Tsar himself wrote an accompanying letter to the Chinese ruler in Russian and Latin. In his message to Kangxi, Peter addressed him as the “Emperor of the Great Asian countries [“Lord” was crossed out - M.M.] the true Bogdoy and Chinese Khan, our friend, accept our amicable congratulations...”. He signed the letter with “Your Majesty’s good friend, Peter.”[11] While the main purpose of the embassy was to resolve any issues with trade, even the accompanying papers that Izmailov as ambassador received from the Royal Office reflected Peter’s personal interests. Royal orders included descriptions of items that were to be found and purchased in the Qing Empire and brought to Russia. Some were meant to replenish the Tsar’s own collections in St. Petersburg. The orders mention tents, tapestries, models of vessels and houses, dishes, household items, varnishes, bells and much more of what the embassy tried to acquire.[12]

The activities of Lev Izmailov’s embassy are well documented, and memoirs of members of the mission have been published.

Those memoirs provided a detailed account of the life of Russians in Beijing and the Forbidden City, the receptions and favours of the Kangxi Emperor, who introduced the ambassador and his companions to many sights in the Chinese capital. Unfortunately, it has not yet been possible to fully reconstruct the list of things Izmailov’s embassy brought back from China.

However, some amazing items have been discovered in recent years and their history recovered. The objects in question can be described as “mechanical curiosities of the early 18th century.”

For a long time, no one knew they existed in the collections of St. Petersburg museums and the story of how and when they were brought to Russia was forgotten. Study of the State Hermitage Museum and Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kun- stkamera) collections in St. Petersburg helped identify this group of items.

The Tsar began collecting all sorts of rarities and, in 1712, when St. Petersburg was declared the capital, the valuables of the “Tsar’s Cabinet” were transferred from Moscow to the city on the Neva. At first, the curiosities were kept in the Summer Palace in the Summer Garden. In 1719, the collection was partially transferred to the Kikin House, marking the start of the future Kunstkamera. Peter issued a decree on the establishment of the first Russian universal museum in 1714.

Oriental and Chinese items brought to the Russian Empire would usually end up in St. Petersburg, under the jurisdiction of the secret cabinet secretary Alexey Makarov and the court quartermaster Peter Moshkov. Many valuables remained in the Salt Office and were distributed among palaces in the city and suburbs.[13] The Kunstkamera building on Vasilyevsky Island was founded in 1718, but it was only after 1723 that the items would be sent there. Various archaeological oriental antiquities were displayed in the Kunstkamera, including Scythian, Iranian and Bactrian gold and silver items, ethnographic exhibits, clothes, household items and much more. In addition, at that time, the museum received many treasures and curiosities.

Researchers do not always succeed in identifying which artefacts were kept in Kunstkamera and which remained in the court storerooms. Moreover, the fate of the pieces was quite convoluted. The museum fire of 1747 destroyed much of the collection, yet some of the items survived. It was not until the reconstruction of buildings and exhibitions that the oriental pieces began to be displayed. Later, during the 18th and 19th centuries, the exhibits repeatedly migrated from one museum to another. Many rarities and oriental antiquities originally kept in the Kunstkamera were moved to the Hermitage as early as the reign of Catherine the Great.

We believe the mechanical toys were brought to Russia by the embassy of Lev Izmailov. The Russian guests were very favourably received by the Kangxi Emperor, who showed them his new workshops: one for making painted enamels and another for blowing glass. One of the emperor’s favourites was the clock workshop. Clocks were often sent to China from Europe as gifts, and were perceived as curiosities. Kangxi not only collected clocks (especially those with complex mechanisms), but also founded a workshop in the Forbidden City where the Chinese began to make their own clocks, developing their own secret mechanisms. Perhaps it was after visiting this workshop and inspecting the collection, that the Chinese Emperor decided to send several clockwork toys as a gift to the Russian Tsar.

Kammerjunker Bergholz, who examined Chinese crafts and gifts together with the Duke of Holstein in Lev Izmailov’s house in Moscow before they were sent to St. Petersburg, wrote the following in his diary: “[H]e [Izmailov - M. M.] showed us many other curious objects, such as, for instance, a model of a Chinese vessel (two cubits long), with pointed stem and stern.”14 When Peter the Great was heading to Astrakhan or on his return to the capital, he might have seen the toy mechanisms as well as other items brought by Izmailov, who had just returned from China. Those items were delivered to St. Petersburg in 1722 and, apparently, handed over to Peter Moshkov, who later transferred them either to the Kunstkamera or the palace storerooms.

After the death of Peter the Great, Peter Moshkov transferred, in 1725 and 1727, a large collection and jewellery from the Salt Chamber to a new museum.

The further history of these exhibits was determined by Catherine the Great’s love for collecting. In 1743, the young Grand Duke Pyotr Fedorovich and Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseyevna (future Emperor Peter III and Empress Catherine II) arrived at the court of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. They settled in Oranienbaum, forming their own “small royal court”. Pyotr Fyodorovich (17281762) who studied under academician Jacob von Stae- hlin, visited the Kunstkamera. Following the example of European palaces and, of course, that of St. Petersburg, the grand ducal couple decided to assemble a museum of rarities at Oranienbaum too. They were partly successful: a small Kunstkamera was created in the Oranienbaum Picture House in the 1750s and stayed open until Catherine’s decree of 1792. Perhaps it was the dream of creating the little museum that made the Duchess send “the request of Her Imperial Highness the Grand Duchess regarding the gold, silver and other expensive things stored in the Kunstkamera”. In response, a “Catalogue of gold and silver things and expensive stones stored in the Kunstkamera, in the GG chamber” was drawn up, filed on March 12, 1745. This “List of 1745” became an invaluable document for the study of the received collections.[15]

As is widely known, during his journeys abroad in 1698-1699 and 1715-1716, Tsar Peter would visit local kunstkameras and get acquainted with many treasuries of the European rulers. He paid special attention to the methods of documenting the treasures, specifically the inventories and the drawings of objects. Perhaps it was the European collections that inspired the Tsar to organise the “accounting” of exhibits in his new museum.

Following the decree of Peter the Great, the Academy of Sciences began to compile an inventory of items that ended up in the Imperial Museum of St. Petersburg as early as the 1720s. The second volume of that inventory contained sections devoted to the Chinese exhibits.

Another vital initiative of Peter the Great related to the collections was commissioning a series of watercolour drawings of the items in the collection from draughtsmen of the Academy of Sciences Drawing and Engraving Chambers. Presently, more than 1,200 drawings in the possession of the St. Petersburg branch of the Academy of Sciences, the State Hermitage Museum, the State Russian Museum and a number of other museums have been catalogued, identified and described. Originally, there were many more of them. More than 600 Chinese objects can be found on 300 of the sheets.[16] The group of draughtsmen included A. Grekov, M. Makhaev, A. Polyakov, E. Terentiev, G. Abumov and G. Kachalov. We should mention Yakov Nechaev among others: he tried to reproduce the Chinese inscriptions found on the items. The watercolour drawings were meant to be used to make engravings and as illustrations to the inventories. However, the 18th-century project of publishing drawings together with the collection catalogue was never destined to be completed. Still, through comparing the existing drawings with catalogue descriptions, as well as documents, specialists were able to identify many historical rarities.

The Chinese mechanical toys particularly stand out: they were depicted in four watercolours currently stored in the State Hermitage. Although not signed, the drawings should be considered as a single group. The manner and artistry of execution allow us to attribute them all as the work of Nechaev.

Comparisons of the drawings and descriptions in the “List of 1745” helped to identify the exhibits preserved in the Kunstkamera and the Hermitage. Moreover, the numbers in the “List of 1745” coincide with the numbers written in ink at the bottom of the drawings.

For instance, No. 18 in the “List of 1745” indicates the following: “A Chinese vessel made of ivory, framed in gilded silver, with swelled sails. The human figures on it, which are meant to depict either shipbuilders or merchants, are made of ivory and amber. The entire vessel moves with the help of wheels.”

The drawing (60 x 46 cm sheet) depicts a ship with two sails; there is a gazebo with four pillars and a two-storey roof in the centre of the deck; in the gazebo, there are two figurines of officials and one figurine of a young man; on the bow of the vessel, we see a two-tiered hexagonal canopy with a flag fixed to it; there are four more figurines of sailors on the deck. A line of waves is drawn on the side of the vessel; horses galloping on the waves are attached to the vessel’s board, two on each side; near the deck railing on the outside there are two long dragons. At the board side closer to the bow, there is a balcony with a figure standing on it. Under the bottom of the ship, we can see wheels. The vessel is painted in watercolour, a pencil drawing of a grid and a sketch has been preserved. The number “18” is written in ink at the bottom of the drawing. The image is accurate, and we can assume that the vessel was made of ivory, silver or gilded tin, ornamental materials, possibly stones or amber, and was painted.

Three mechanical exhibits representing vessels with wheels, which can be attributed to the first quarter of the 18th century, have been preserved in the Kunstkamera collection. One of the descriptions reads: “Chinese clockwork toy, a vessel model. Preserved on the deck are the stern and central superstructures, seven crew figurines and the front mast. Both gunnels are made in the form of dragons; there are figurines of galloping horses on the sides. Below are four wheels: two leading ones, one for making turns and one supporting wheel under the bow of the vessel."

No. 60 in the “List of 1745” is described as follows: “A silver mechanism, moving on wheels, which represents a lady sitting on a flying peacock.”

The drawing depicts a Chinese woman sitting on the back of a flying (?) phoenix. She is wearing a long Chinese traditional dress with wide sleeves and a plumage collar, has a put-up hairstyle, a narrow scarf flowing from her shoulders. The woman holds a tray with two peaches. The bird has bright plumage with traces of blue, green, and red paint on a silver and gold background. Its paws are extended backwards and we can see wheels under its belly. Number “60” is written at the bottom of the drawing.

The abovementioned “device” has also been preserved in the Kunstkamera and listed as “Clockwork Figurine: Chinese Woman Sitting on a Peacock”. The woman represents the female Taoist deity Xiwangmu, revered in China: the Queen Mother of the West, the keeper of the source and fruits of immortality, who flies on a phoenix according to legends.

No. 63 is described as follows: “Device similar to No. 60, representing a standing woman holding a glass in her right hand, and extending her left hand.”

The drawing depicts a standing Chinese woman in a long traditional Chinese dress with wide sleeves, a waistcoat on top of the dress, plumage collar and a narrow light scarf flowing from her shoulders. The chignon hairstyle similar to the lady from the previous drawing is bunched up, with a strand of hair falling down. She is wearing earrings. In her right hand, she holds a bowl on a lotus-shaped stand, her left hand is raised up to her shoulder. We can also see a small pointed-toed lotus shoe peeking out from under her dress. The vest is decorated with flower branches (representing embroidery). The number “63” is written at the bottom of the drawing.

The inventory of the Kunstkamera has this item listed as “a clockwork figurine of a Chinese woman with an ivory face; when the machine is wound, the lady figurine waves her hand as if powdering her face with a powder puff.”

No. 65 in the “List of 1745” says: “a machine similar to No. 63, representing a man sitting on a horse hitting cymbals.”

The depicted horseman has some distinctive features: it is a European man wearing high red saffian boots with spurs, breeches similar in cut to Dutch trousers, a short jacket with a large collar and a fringe, with buttons in front, and a stovepipe hat with a brim. The rider holds a round object and a stick (?). Behind him is a branch of a blooming tree. The horse is grey, with a gilded metal harness with red trim, and a red bridle; a red tassel hangs down under its head; its hooves are golden. The horseman is sitting on a gilded saddle and there is a horse blanket with a fringe, embroidered with flowers, under the saddle. Below, under the blanket, we can see the wheel. The number “65” is written in ink at the bottom of the drawing.

The four drawings presented here depict items stored in the Kunstkamera. All the figurines have mechanisms that are wound with a key and a spring. They were made in China and, judging by their stylistic features, they belong to the late 17th to early 18th centuries of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the reign of the Kangxi Emperor (1662-1722). The items are made of thin copper tin, with silver plating, gilding, paint, engraving used in the decoration, as well as ivory, corals, kingfisher feathers, silk and other materials.

There are other items that can be grouped together with the drawings and the toys from the Kunstkamera described above: for instance, the three mechanical figurines kept in the State Hermitage Oriental Department. One of them is a Chinese woman sitting on a horse. The woman holds a stringed musical instrument called a “pipa". The other two toys represent Chinese officials riding a mythical Qilin beast. All three have mechanisms that are wound with a key and a spring. They were made in China and their stylistic features allow us to attribute them to the late 17th or early 18th centuries, the Qing Dynasty, the period of the Kangxi Emperor’s reign. The mechanisms are made of copper tin, with silvering, gilding, paint and engraving used in the decoration, as well as ivory, corals, kingfisher feathers and silk. As the figurine of the female rider is very similar to the images of the European horseman and the Chinese woman in the drawings[17], it can be argued that the heads and hands of all the toys were made of ivory, that ink-sticks were carved to create the hairstyles and hair, that the bridles of the horses were made of small coral beads, while the tails and manes of the animals were made of silver wire. The movements of the figures are also similar. Unfortunately, the Hermitage never received the clockwork keys. For the 350th anniversary of Peter the Great, this jubilee year, the three toys and their mechanisms have been restored by the State Hermitage Museum and can now be wound up. When that happens, the toys not only move on wheels, but the animals move their necks, heads (or jaws), legs and tails; the heads of the human figurines sway and their ivory arms swing. Perhaps the figurines were originally also playing the musical instruments they are holding. Another important similarity: it seems that the artists commissioned to draw the objects from the Kunstkamera collection tried to convey the actual dimensions of those objects and depicted them in full size when possible. The actual size of the horse rider and the horsewoman are exactly the same as their images in the drawings. Since the 1930s, three figurines were stored in of the Special Jewellery Storeroom of the Oriental Department and were believed to be silver. They were also listed as silver in the “List of 1745”. The author managed to find the earliest mention of them in the Hermitage collection. It was during Catherine the Great’s reign, when they were transferred to the museum from the storerooms and became part of the exhibition, which is indicated in the “Inventory of Precious Things” that was first written in 1789[18]: “one male figurine on a beast (No. 129) and “two Chinese copper figurines, females with ivory heads and hands, one sitting on a horse, another sitting on a beast” (No. 242).

Recent studies and the restoration of these three figures have made it possible to correct some inaccuracies made in the Inventory of 1789, caused by the unsatisfactory condition of the objects, especially of the two figures “on the beasts”. It turned out that both sculptures depict men, not a woman and a man. These two are officials of the first rank. One is military, the other civilian, which is evident from the images engraved on their robes: a Qilin and a crane, respectively.[19] In addition, the peculiar hairpin-hats that used to be fixed on the heads of the beasts have now been placed on the heads of the riders.

The fact that the figurines are very similar in style, materials and mechanical workings, as well as the fact that no similar toys were found in any other collection, leads us to the conclusion that they belong to a single group of exhibits.

The drawings and the items found in the museum collections suggest that, in the first quarter of the 18th century, there were at least 11 Chinese toys (or “machines”, as they used to call them in the 18th century) in the possession of Peter the Great. The described group of objects belongs to a single collection of the rarest Chinese me chanical curiosities. They were not simply found in the Kunstkamera and Hermitage collections, but carefully restored. Their present appearance brings them as close to the original as possible. Most importantly, the clockwork mechanisms have been restored, allowing the toys to “learn” to move again.

1.   The author of the publication and the curator of the exhibition is Maria Lvovna Menshikova, senior researcher at the Oriental Department of the State Hermitage Museum, curator of the collections of Chinese applied and jewellery art and Dunhuang material.
2.   The original of the charter was lost, but its translation was made by a decree of Nikolai Spafari and added to his “Article List". An error crept into the translation: the wrong year (1649), which was later repeated in the historical literature. The gifts were sent in 1642 by Chongzhen (1627-1644), the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and not by Shunzhi (1644-1661), the first emperor of the Manchu Qing Dynasty.
3.   "The Grand Lal” was purchased for 1,600 liang. Silver liang (lang) is a Chinese unit of currency, equal in weight to approximately 31.3 grams of silver.
4.   Carat is a unit of mass for gemstones, equal to approximately 0.2 grams.
5.   Alexander Tereshchenko, Reviewing the life of dignitaries that are managing the foreign affairs of Russia. St. Petersburg, 1837, 3 parts. Part 1, p. 194.
6.   Vasily Novoselov, “Preobrazhenskoe Palace: Tsar Peter Alekseyevich’s world of things” in Peter the Great. Collector, researcher, artist: Catalogue of the exhibition in the Moscow Kremlin Museums. Moscow, 2019.
7.   “Notes by Jean-Francois Gerbillon” in Russian-Chinese relations in the 18th century: materials and documents. I n two volumes. Moscow, 1978, 1990. Vol. 2. 761.
8.   Maria Menshikova, “Between East and West. On the history of Peter I’s Chinese collection” in Peter the Great. Collector, researcher, artist: Catalogue of the exhibition in the Moscow Kremlin Museums. Moscow, 2019. P. 200-210.
9.   Zolotnik is an old Russian measure of weight equivalent to 4.26 grams.
10. Inventory of 1789 of the precious things brought to the Hermitage by Her Imperial Majesty in State Hermitage archive. Fund 1. Inventory 6. Lit. 3. No. 9. Vol. 1-2. Letter D.
11. This appeal and the words of the Tsar are cited by different authors in reference to letters written in different years: for example, the letter to Evert Ides of 1692 and the letter to Lev Izmailov of 1719. Perhaps Tsar Peter Alekseyevich used to sign all papers sent to the Chinese emperor in that manner. See: Ysbrants Ides and Adam Brand, Notes on the Russian embassy to China (1692-1695). Moscow, 1967. P. 383.
12. Central State Archive of Early Acts. “Cabinet of Peter I” fund. Dep. I. Book 57. Sheet 72.
13. Oleg Neverov, From the collection of Peter's Kunstkamera: Temporary exhibition catalogue. Saint Petersburg, 1992.
14. Friedrich Wilhelm Bergholz, Diary of the kammerjunker Bergholz... 1858. In 2 vols. Vol. 2. Moscow, 1858. P. 112.
15. "Painting of gold, silver things and precious stones stored in the Kunstkamera, in the GG chamber” in Materials on the history of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. Vol. 7. 1744-1745. Saint Petersburg, 1885. P. 54-75.
16. Maria Menshikova, “Chinese and Oriental Objects” in The Paper Museum of the Academy of Science in Saint Petersburg. USA - Holland, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Science. 2005. P. 247-269.
17. Maria Menshikova, Exotic and Lavish China. Knowledge of the Orient: the exhibition celebrating the Year of Peter the Great in the State Hermitage. St. Petersburg, 2022.
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