Artistic features of silver tombstone complexes for the relics of Russian saints of the 1730s-1750s

Bykova Yuliya Igorevna PhD in Art History Researcher at Moscow Kremlin Museums 101000, Russia, Moscow region, Moscow, Kremlin street, - jib78@mail.ru Other publications by this author

The topic of the tombstones of Russian saints in the Russian scientific literature has recently attracted the attention of researchers more and more ^{[10],[13],[14],[15],[16],[17],[18],[19],[23],[26],[27],[28],[31]}. Their interest lies in various fields and touches on numerous topics and problems: icons, embroidered veils, silver reliquaries, funeral complexes in the context of veneration of the saint, etc. This work will be devoted only to those elements of the tombstone ensemble that were made of silver and are monuments of jewelry art. The subject of our research is the tombs over the relics of Orthodox saints created by imperial order in the first half of the 18th century, namely the cancer of St. Sergius of Radonezh (1731-1737), the cancer of St. Alexander Nevsky (1748-1752) and the cancer of St. Demetrius of Rostov (1758). For a long time in Russian science, these tombstone complexes almost did not come into the field of view of scientists, and individual studies were not devoted to them. However, in recent years, a number of works have appeared, including the works of the author of this article, based on archival documents, in which new information was introduced into scientific circulation about the circumstances of their creation and about the craftsmen who made them. ^{[14],[17],[12],[9],[10]}. Thus, the possibility of their art historical analysis appeared.

The purpose of the study is to identify the artistic features of these tombstone ensembles and to consider them in the context of jewelry art of the XVIII century. To achieve this goal, the author of the article applied a comprehensive method that combines an art criticism and a historical and cultural approach.

At the moment, the term "tombstone complex" has not yet been formed in Russian science. A. G. Melnik suggests calling it "... the whole set of design elements of the saint's resting place, expressing his veneration or cult" ^{[27, p. 443]}. When talking about the silver tombstone complex of St. Prince Alexander Nevsky, St. Petersburg researchers usually use the term "tomb ensemble". In the 18th century, the whole variety of elements of such a complex was most often called cancer. (Although in the modern sense, cancer is an ark with relics.) In this article, the term "tombstone complex" will be used in relation to all objects made of silver, which, according to the authors of the first half of the 18th century, are included in the newly created shrine over the relics of the saint.

In the XVI–XVII centuries, the tradition of creating silver shells by royal order for the relics of saints revered in Russia began to take root. A special surge in such orders was observed at the end of the XVI century. during the reign of tsars Fyodor Ioannovich and Boris Godunov. Such orders included, first of all, silver arks with lids, on which saints were depicted in the technique of coinage. Sometimes such lids were decorated with precious stones. Some of them have survived to the present day: for example, the covers from the cancer of St. Cyril Belozersky, Tsarevich Dimitri, St. Alexander Svirsky, St. Catherine ^[15],[19]. In the first half of the 18th century, the manufacture of precious tombstones to the relics of Orthodox saints was associated with the names of Empresses Anna Ioannovna and Elizabeth Petrovna.

St. Sergius of Radonezh Shrine

The first tomb in chronology was the shrine of St. Sergius of Radonezh, which was commissioned by Empress Anna Ioannovna shortly after her coronation in March 1730 in Moscow. Work on its creation began in the second half of 1731 (the issuance of money and government silver) ^[12].

The general drawing of the canopy above the shrine belongs to the court artist Louis Caravac ^{[15, p. 43],[12, p. 320-322]}. The French painter, who moved to Russia in 1716, was not only a court portrait painter. He also carried out works on the decoration of the courtyard, including sketches for the painting of royal residences, cardboard for tapestries, drawings for embroidery, commemorative medals and coins, triumphal arches, made projects of holidays and sad ceremonies, for example, the burial of Emperor Peter I in 1725, etc. He was responsible for a group of craftsmen (painters, gold seamstresses, etc.). He created a sketch of a crayfish in the summer of 1732 (when work on making a wooden model of a crayfish and coining a number of elements was already actively underway) ^{[12, p. 320]}.

Initially, two groups of craftsmen worked on the creation of the crayfish in Moscow. One of them made wooden and lead models in the "shelf" of the Lefortovo Palace, which were necessary for minting silver sheets. The wooden model was created by the "carving master Yegan Sengleran" with his son and two students ^{[1, l. 2ob.]}. The sculptor and carver, the "carved stone and wooden master" Jean de Saint Laurent (Jean de Saint Laurent) came from Paris to St. Petersburg in 1717 and after 1724 G. worked in Peterhof ^{[21, pp. 41, 553-554]}. The lead model was made by the "lead master Egan Semange" with three students. We are talking about the French master coiner, copper polisher Jean Noisette de Saint Mange ^{[21, pp. 549-551]}, who also arrived in St. Petersburg from Paris in February 1717. In the 1710s and 1720s, he worked mainly in Peterhof. In 1724-1729, under the direction of Bartolomeo Carlo Rastrelli, he minted the famous bust of Peter the Great, now kept in the State Hermitage Museum. The two French craftsmen apparently already had many years of experience working together, including in Peterhof, where the sculptural decoration of the palace park was made of lead. Together with their students, they worked for about a year – until the end of 1732 ^{[12, p. 320]}.

The second group of craftsmen, led by the "free" silversmith of the German settlement, David Prieff, worked with silver – initially in one of the "chambers" of the Funny Palace, then, possibly, in the Chudov Monastery. It is noteworthy that the crayfish–making process in August 1731 began with the fact that Mikhail Argamakov, sergeant of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, curator of the imperial order, was sent to take the hammered silverware "for a sample" to the Stroganov village of Davydkovo near Moscow and to the house of Count Yakov Bruce, possibly to the Glinka estate. David Priff was given silver and money, some of which went to pay for the work of the apprentices. The hammering works with silver were carried out in parallel with the production of the lead model. Probably, the silversmiths created flat embossed plates with ornaments, which later had to be approved by the customer. Later, several times – in 1732, 1734, and possibly in 1735 – various items were transported from Moscow to St. Petersburg to show to the Empress ^{[12, p. 320],[9, p. 134-136]}.

During the famous Moscow fire in May 1737, the roof of the building where the cancer was located burned down in the Chudov Monastery, and therefore it was transferred to storage in the Workshop and Armory. The documents of the chamber read: "A silver, hammered, prefabricated, non-gilded crayfish, and which craftsmen made it, and which are available in Moscow and will collect that crayfish, these same craftsmen, namely, the silversmith of the hammered works, the master inozemets David Prif, and the journeymen of the syromazhnaya sloboda Alexei Stepanov son Fryaskin" ^{[1, L. 232]}.

In its shape, the silver tombstone complex, consisting of valances in the lower part and a canopy above the shrine, supported by four pillars on the bases, is close to the ceremonial canopy. At the bottom of the cornices, silver craftsmen even imitated woven lambrequins. The canopy ensemble was not a unique phenomenon in the decoration of Russian churches in the first third of the 18th century.^[30] First of all, it is worth remembering the altar canopy in Peter and Paul Cathedral, created in 1722-1727. Ivan Zarudny designed by Domenico Trezzini, which dates back to the cathedral in St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome by Lorenzo Bernini (1624-1633). This bronze canopy over the grave of the Apostle Peter in the main Catholic church was a model for the decoration of many European churches. The court artist Louis Caravac, a Frenchman and a Catholic, was well aware of this artistic practice. The canopy above the shrine with the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh and the ciborium in St. Peter's Cathedral is also related to the completion in the form of four S-shaped arcs designed to hold the cross.

The overall artistic design of the tombstone complex can be attributed to the regency style. The shape of its columns is similar to the balusters represented in the sketches of the French draftsman and architect Nicolas Pinault, who actively worked on imperial commission in Russia in the 1720s, in particular in Peterhof ^{[37, p. 52]}.

It is worth noting that the lower northern valance of the shrine was redone by a Moscow craftsman in 1866 ^{[9, p. 137]}. Also, the Baroque cartouche with the monogram A under the imperial crown on the north side of the central cornice is apparently a late addition, since it can be seen how roughly it is superimposed on top of the ornament of the XVIII century ^[9]. Both of these elements will not be the subject of research.

In 1731-1737, the craftsmen used floral ornaments in the form of garlands of flowers, rosettes, acanthuses and olive branches in the design of the complex. The elegant pillars supporting the canopy are decorated with the monogram of the Empress – crossed letters A and two I. The treillage element, characteristic of the regency style, is actively used in the decoration – an ornament in the form of an oblique grid decorated with small rosettes. He enters Russia together with French masters. A similar pattern is found in sketches by Nicolas Pinault (for example, in a sketch of a mirror depicting a Russian double-headed eagle ^{[37, p. 21]}), on the 1724 Peterhof lead fountain mascarons created by Bartolomeo Carlo Rastrelli based on a drawing by Mikhail Zemtsov ^{[35, p. 71]}, on silverware by masters of French origin – Claude Ballin, Paul de Lamery and Nicolas are at home. The latter came from Paris to St. Petersburg in 1717 ^[8]. Of the numerous silver objects made by Nicholas House by imperial order, three items with a trellis ornament have been preserved in the collections of Russian museums. This is a vodka glass from the State Historical Museum and two lids on a dish with the monogram of Empress Anna Ioannovna from the so-called All-Day Service, which are in the collections of the State Russian Museum and the State Hermitage Museum ^[6],[7]. The linings to the coffin of Tsarevna Praskovya Ioannovna in 1731 ^{[24, pp. 73-75]}, executed, according to archival materials, by a French master named Musudami unknown to us, also contain elements of a trellis ^{[12, l. 323]}. In general, the decoration of the princess's coffin is incredibly close to the design of a shrine. This is noticeable both in the coinage pattern and in the shape of cast linings, such as rosettes (perhaps a rose hip flower).

Thus, both the general artistic solution of the canopy and its ornamental design have French "roots", which is not surprising, since French specialists participated in the development of the decoration of the shrine. Apparently, the authorship of the decoration belongs to the carver Jean de Saint Laurent and the lead master, the coiner Jean Noisette de Saint Mange, who created models for further work on silver. In this regard, it is extremely difficult to consider this cancer as an unconditional example of the work of silversmith David Priff.

St. Alexander Nevsky Shrine

The next tombstone complex is the shrine of St. Alexander Nevsky, commissioned by Empress Elizabeth Petrovna in 1748-1752. In connection with the celebration of the 800th anniversary of the saint's birth in 2021, a detailed analysis of the creation of this monument of jewelry has appeared in the scientific literature, and in particular in publications written by Hermitage staff. ^{[13],[14],[17],[31],[32]}. (Although careful reference to archival documents made it possible to clarify the circumstances of its creation and note the constantly replicated error.) ^[10]

A large number of specialists worked on the embodiment of the silver tombstone complex of St. Alexander Nevsky. The author of the sarcophagus and the great pyramid was the court painter Georg Hristov Groot, the sketches for the bas–reliefs were executed by Jacob Steelin, the drawings of the statues by Louis Caravac, in addition, sculptors and carvers – Joseph Stalmeer, Karl Falkenclau, Johann Friedrich Dunker, Alberto Gianni, Giambatista Giani, Alexander Martelli, the engraver of inscriptions Mikhail Ivanovich participated in the work. Makhaev and about thirty silversmiths and coiners under the leadership of Eric Apelroth ^[2].

In the archive file dedicated to this order, the conditions (i.e. conditions) have been preserved, which were put forward in the autumn of 1747 by three silversmiths Johann Bernhard Demuth, Martin Karl Doublon and Zachary Deichman when they offered their services to create a tombstone complex. When comparing the cost of canceling these three silver coins, it turned out that Deichman offered the lowest price (just over 7 thousand rubles), the difference in amounts was mainly due to the cost of "carbon monoxide" (i.e., the irretrievable consumption of silver during operation) ^[2]. Thus, since the time of Z. A. Bernyakovich ^[5], there has been a statement in the scientific literature (which is also found in modern publications) that Zachary Deichman led the work of jewelers to create crayfish. However, a careful reading of the documents makes it possible to question this thesis. It is possible that such a decision was made at first, although no contract was signed with the master. At the beginning of 1748 Deichman submitted a list of Russian coiners who could be contacted. Initially, he had to go to the Sestroretsk factories to order tools for silver work there. However, on May 12, 1748, master Apelroth was sent to the factory instead of Deichman. It is difficult to say for what reason Deichman's candidacy was rejected, but he is no longer mentioned in the documents related to the creation of cancer (and there are many of them).

For four years, 16 foreign silversmiths under the direction of Eric Apelroth and a little more than 20 Russian coiners worked on the creation of the crayfish. It is known about Eric Apelroth (who, according to tradition, received a slightly higher salary for his leadership than his comrades) that he arrived in St. Petersburg from Stockholm in 1739 and was enrolled in a jewelry workshop in 1743.

The monumental magnificent ensemble included a five-tiered pyramid, a sarcophagus with a lid, two decorative groups in the form of war trophies (in the documents "two small pyramids with armatures that will stand at the ends of the coffin" ^{[2, l. 120]}) and two candlesticks.

The artistic appearance of the tombstone complex, created by G.H. Groot, differs significantly from the shrine of Sergius of Radonezh and is closer to the tradition of Renaissance sarcophagi and funeral pyramids, characteristic of the culture of European sad celebrations of the second half of the XVII – first half of the XVIII century. The theme of the pyramid was repeatedly mentioned in the design of the Castrum doloris (Sad Hall) in the XVI–XVII centuries. The tombstone of a noble man inside the temple, which is related to architectural ornaments, which was created by the famous German draughtsman and architect Johann Jakob Schübler in the 1730s and 1740s, can also be called close to the Alexander Nevsky shrine. They are united by the silhouette of the central pyramid, the presence of angels on both sides, and the sculptural image of the deceased in the upper part of the pyramid. However, the tomb of the Russian prince has a more restrained silhouette, and the crying little angels in the German version, more reminiscent of putti, have been replaced by restrained angels depicted in adolescence. Thus, B.D. Zashlyapin believes that their pose echoes the allegory of drawing art from Cesare Ripa's collection Iconology ^{[17, p. 71]}.

The pyramid is 5 m high and has several tiers. The absolute smoothness of the lower base tier serves as a backdrop for the ornate sarcophagus. According to Guseva, this level symbolizes the earthly existence of the prince, and the process of transition to heavenly veneration is shown in the relief of the next tier, which depicts Alexander Nevsky in armor with a banner in his hand, going up behind a female figure with a cross – an allegory of the Christian faith ^{[14, p. 67]}. Shaped incense burners are placed on the corner supports of this level. The upper tier of the pyramid is decorated with a belt image of Alexander Nevsky in a grand ducal hat on the background of an ermine mantle. Previously, eagles (lost at the beginning of the 20th century) sat on the corners of the porphyry. The monogram of AN in the rays of heavenly radiance crowns the entire composition.

The sarcophagus with the relics is a free-standing element of the complex. On three sides it is decorated with high-relief embossed cartouches with scenes from the life of Alexander Nevsky. On the front side there are three scenes at once: the battle on the Neva (1240), the liberation of Pskov (1242), the battle on the ice of Lake Peipsi (1242), and on the sides – the arrival at Gorodetsky Monastery (1263), as well as the scene of death and burial (1263). The silhouette of the sarcophagus itself has curved lines characteristic of the Baroque, but it is even more "broken" due to the presence of large decorative elements protruding high above the surface, such as cherubs, lush bouquets of flowers, olive branches, cartouches, etc. The sarcophagus is crowned with the symbols of princely power lying on the pillow: the princely crown, the sword and the baton of the commander.

The "Small pyramids" flanking the sarcophagus are armature compositions symbolizing war trophies. The type of armature with a pole, on which parts of armor, weapons and banners are hung, became widespread in Ancient Rome, and later passed into the culture of Western Europe of Modern times. This decorative element was especially often used in the design of the triumphal gates, for example, in the famous triumphal arch of Cardinal–Infante Ferdinand, created in 1635 by P.P. Rubens to decorate the ceremonial entry of the new viceroy into Antwerp. The image of trophies on these gates is similar to the decoration of the shrine of St. Alexander and, in addition, there is a rare combination of a Roman cuirass with a knight's helmet on a pillar. The drawing of the "small pyramids" also echoes the four images from the book "Symbols and Emblems" of 1705 ^[33]. It is worth paying attention to the silversmiths' execution of two fringed banners decorating the right armature, where the banner's material is artfully conveyed in metal – silk fabric decorated with flowers (daffodils, irises, sunflowers differ) on stems with acanthus leaves. A similar technique can be seen in one of the elements of the shrine of St. Demetrius.

On all parts of the tombstone complex of St. Alexander Nevsky there are decorative elements characteristic of the "Elizabethan Baroque", such as cartouches, cherubs, large garlands of flowers, palm, olive and acanthus branches. The dynamics inherent in this style also attracts attention, largely due to the variety of the height of the decoration receding from the surface of the monument.

St. Demetrius of Rostov's Shrine

In the autumn of 1757, Empress Elizabeth Petrovna ordered the creation of a silver shrine over the relics of the canonized St. Demetrius of Rostov only this year. This work was entrusted to the chief judge of the Mint and Director of the St. Petersburg Mint Ivan Andreevich Schlatter. He proved himself to be a talented organizer and a knowledgeable specialist in metallurgy when he led the creation of the silver shrine of St. Alexander Nevsky in 1748-1752 ^[10]. At Schlatter's suggestion, the porcelain factory's craftsmen were contacted to implement the new project. This solution seems unusual only at first. The first domestic porcelain factory was subordinate to the Secretary of the Cabinet A.I. Cherkasov, and practically from the beginning of its foundation I.A. Schlatter was involved in its affairs. Researcher Baron von Wulff writes that since 1751 Cherkasov's relations with Schlatter on the affairs of the porcelline factory became permanent, as Schlatter took a direct part in its affairs, especially in the artistic part of production ^{[20, p. 29]}. "The inscriptions on snuffboxes, their setting in gold, the decoration of porcelain dolls in gold, even the modeling of dolls, as well as the painting on snuffboxes and other objects – all these works were performed under his supervision and for the most part at the Mint" ^{[20, p. 29]}. The shrine was made in the chambers of the Peter and Paul Cathedral, in the same place as the tombstone complex of St. Alexander Nevsky.

The main artist for the creation of the complex was appointed sculptor Jean-Baptiste Vistarini (signed – Jeanbatis de Vistariny ^{[4, l. 264 vol.]}). In 1755, he entered the factory, signing a contract with the Cabinet of Her Imperial Majesty, according to which he committed "three years all to the porcelain manufactory, to the Peterhof grinding mill, for the production of gold and silver objects, all those things that happen to be done in these places, the proper drawings or necessary models, both wooden and waxed, should be done properly and with good equipment according to these models, if necessary, properly molded with alabaster" ^{[4, l. 432],[20, p. 384]}. He was entitled to a salary of 500 rubles. for a year, materials for work and two "dormitories" heated by government firewood. Vistarini could also receive additional remuneration for teaching students for three years, "who have already learned several times how to make models of both wood and wax and molding them with alabaster" ^{[4, l. 432 vol.]}.

The masters of the porcelain factory also worked on the model of the crayfish: two carvers, Yakov Ilyin and Vasily Vereshchagin, and two carpenters, Peter Zakharov (in another spelling Sakharov) and Gavrila Surikov ^{[10, p. 82]}. silversmiths Eric Gagstat (Gakstet, Gakstet) and Danila Vaksmut worked with metal on the shrine, as well as coiners Nikifor Timofeevich Bespalov, Ivan Ilyin and Semyon Yakovlev ^{[10, pp. 84-85]}. Almost all of them (except Waxmuth) took part in the creation of the tombstone complex of St. Alexander Nevsky ^{[10, p. 85]}.

The tomb complex of St. Demetrius of Rostov included a sarcophagus with a lid, which housed a wooden coffin with relics, and a massive kiosk with an image of the saint painted on canvas. In the documents of the XVIII century it was noted: "... in the cancer there is a weight with a lid with all the trimmings of 10 pud. 24 lb. 31 gold, in the iconostasis with dyes, the circle of the image is 8 pud. 19 lb. 8 evils." ^{[3, l. 75]}.

The sarcophagus was lost in the 1920s (handed over to the Famine Relief Committee and, apparently, melted down). However, three photographs of this sarcophagus with the relics of the saint of the late 19th and early 20th centuries have survived to this day. It had a characteristic Baroque wavy shape with beveled corners. A certain elegance was given to it by the combination of a large space of smoothly polished silver and a rocaille hammered ornament that decorated the beveled corners of the sarcophagus and a cartouche with an inscription on the end side. The sarcophagus was crowned with symbols of episcopal authority. In the documents of 1763 it was written: "a silver-plated bishop's hammered pillow on it, on it a staff and a torch of silver hammered on top of this... a silver bishop's hat with a cross is minted and with a device similar to pearls" ^{[3, l. 76 vol.]}, and in the description of the XIX century it says: "silver The roof is decorated from the outside with a pulpit, mitre, staff, dikirias, and tricyrias also made of silver" ^{[29, p. 23]}. This artistic design of the sarcophagus lid makes the shrine of St. Demetrius similar to the shrine of St. Alexander Nevsky, which also had symbols of princely power on the pillow – a baton, a sword, and a princely hat.

The silver kiot with the image of St. Demetrius formed a separate significant part of the tombstone complex. In the documents of the XVIII century . It was often called an iconostasis. In the middle of the 19th century . He was described as follows: "In front of the shrine, at the foot of the Saint, there is an image of his Italian work on canvas in a silver frame. A smooth silver cross is erected on top of the frame, the foot of which is made in the form of clouds, also made of silver; an inscription composed by Lomonosov is depicted on the silver pedestal serving as the base of the frame" ^{[29, p. 24]}. According to the inventory of 1758, the kiosk included "... two conzoles (consoles), two lower hammered pieces from the frame, two upper hammered pieces from the frame, three clouds, two palm branches, a fringed dress consisting of five pieces, a shell, a cross, a lower smooth board..." ^{[3, l. 78]}.

For a long time, the image of the kiosk was not known. It was discovered and published by A. G. Melnik only in 2008. This is a photograph from 1925, which shows a kiosk with the image of St. Demetrius, located in the Church of the Savior on the Porch in the Rostov Episcopal House. Apparently, the transfer of the kiosk from the monastery in 1922 to the museum that had already existed since 1883 (from 1918 to 1934 – the State Museum of Antiquities) saved the monument. Now it is disassembled and stored in the Rostov Kremlin Museum-Reserve ^{[10, p. 88]}.

The kiosk can be visually divided into two parts – upper and lower. The upper part is a frame framing the image of St. Demetrius, which was painted on canvas. The frame has many diverse elements typical of the Baroque style. Her silhouette is based on a cartouche framed by an ornament with a palmette motif. The cartouche is crowned by a cross on clouds, from under which the wings of angels are visible. On the sides, the frame is decorated with two palm branches lying on fringed curtains flowing down. The silversmiths masterfully managed to convey the fabric material in metal – its texture, folds, and ornaments in the form of roses and tulips, characteristic of rocaille silk fabrics of the middle of the XVIII century. The lower part of the kiosk is a three–part pedestal, in the center of which is an epitaph, believed to have been composed by M. V. Lomonosov ^{[25, pp. 646, 1088-1090]}. The clear, straight lines of the pedestal balance the dynamics and splendor of the Baroque frame. Of the decorations on it, there is only a barely noticeable engraving with angels in the clouds around the inscription.

Thus, the study showed that the creation of all three tombstones was based on completely different artistic principles than in ancient Russian culture. It should be noted that their design is extremely relevant to the modern art of Western Europe. In their design and forms, the grave complexes of the Elizabethan period differ from the funerary ensembles of the second half of the XVIII – XIX centuries, when a different type prevailed – the canopy over the shrine of the saint, dating back to a certain architectural prototype. In addition, attention should be paid to the significant panegyric meaning that monuments commissioned by Empress Elizabeth Petrovna have, where many decorative elements are directly related to the personality of the saint. At the same time, if we look at the stylistic features of the three tombstones mentioned above, we can see how individual they are, both in their overall design and decor. Undoubtedly, in the design of the shrine of St. St. Sergius of Radonezh is dominated by the so-called regency style, with an abundance of elegant flower garlands, rocaille curls, thin acanthus stalks and a variety of trellis netting. The St. Alexander Nevsky Shrine is closer to the magnificent Elizabethan Baroque, which uses large shapes with sculptural elements (both round and bas-relief). Against its background, St. Demetrius's shrine attracts the viewer's attention with its grace and sophistication, resulting from the skillful combination of a large space of smooth polished silver with a delicate rocaille ornament. Undoubtedly, these tombstones, created by the best craftsmen of their time, made a significant contribution to the development of Russian decorative and applied art and deserve further research.

Illustrations

The canopy over the shrine of St. Sergius of Radonezh. Moscow, 1731-1737. Silver; casting, coinage, engraving. Photo by V. E. Overchenko, 2023

The canopy over the shrine of St. Sergius of Radonezh. Moscow, 1731-1737. Silver; casting, coinage. A fragment. Photo – V. E. Overchenko, 2023

The tomb of the Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky. St. Petersburg, 1747-1752. Silver; casting, forging, stamping, engraving. The State Hermitage. Photo by Yu. I. Bykova, 2020

Front pedestal with military trophies ("small pyramid"). St. Petersburg, 1749-1750. Silver; casting, forging, coinage, engraving. The State Hermitage. Photo by Yu. I. Bykova, 2020

The sarcophagus of the tomb of the Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky. St. Petersburg, 1747-1752. Silver; casting, forging, coinage, engraving. The State Hermitage. Photo by Yu. I. Bykova, 2020

Front pedestal with military trophies ("small pyramid"). St. Petersburg, 1749-1750. Silver; casting, forging, coinage, engraving. The State Hermitage. A fragment. Photo by Yu. I. Bykova, 2020

Barshchevsky I. F. The silver shrine of St. Demetrius in the Church of the Conception of the Savior Yakovlevsky Monastery. The end of the 19th century. Photo

Prokudin-Gorsky S. M. A cancer with the relics of St. Demetrius of Rostov in the Dmitrov Cathedral of the Savior-Yakovlevsky Monastery. 1911 Photo

A kiosk with the image of St. Demetrius of Rostov from the Zachatievsky Cathedral of the Savior-Yakovlevsky Monastery. 1925 Photo

The kiosk of the tombstone complex of St. Demetrius of Rostov. St. Petersburg, 1758. Silver; coinage, engraving. The Rostov Kremlin State Museum-Reserve. The fragment

The kiosk of the tombstone complex of St. Demetrius of Rostov. St. Petersburg, 1758. Silver; coinage, engraving. The Rostov Kremlin State Museum-Reserve. The fragment