Kings of Orient, Bearing Gifts and Traveling Far

By Rebecca Park, Contributor

Ceremonial shield, Turkey, mid-17th century (courtesy of The Moscow Kremlin Museums)

At the Sackler Gallery through September 13, “The Tsars and the East: Gifts from Turkey and Iran in the Moscow Kremlin” is all about the art of diplomacy. Not just the finesse it takes to dialogue internationally, but the beauty that comes of protocol.

The exhibit traces the history of sixteenth and seventeenth century diplomatic relations between Tsarist Russia and Ottoman Turkey and Safavid Iran through the often bejeweled gifts the empires exchanged. Including objets d’art as varied as equestrian gear, Church and State regalia and other assorted luxury items, at center stage is less the exquisite craftsmanship of the pieces themselves (although their splendor alone merits the show a visit) but more the diplomatic relations that made sharing such production possible.

Striking is the practicality of what is on display. Rich velvet and precious stones mask the banal function of a horse’s saddle. Unnecessary excess and luxury are spurned for items to be used, perhaps not on a daily basis but publicly and routinely. Form follows function. Ambassadors win over their hosts with jeweled objects meant less to impress the tsar himself but his people.  Before there were Fabergé eggs, there were tabernacles, like the Russian example on display in the final gallery; ornately decorated yes, but serving the very specific purpose of impressing God and church-goers alike.

Diplomatic exchange becomes cultural exchange. The galleries progress, demonstrating how gifts from Turkey and later Iran eventually arrive at changing the fabric of Russian production itself. Whether reusing materials for new purposes or reinventing uniquely Russian forms with foreign influences, perhaps the greatest legacy of this period of diplomacy is the smooth blending of contrasting cultures that survives long after the death of regimes and their ambassadors. A seventeenth century Moscow sakkos takes the Arabic calligraphy-inspired floral patterns of an earlier Turkish textile and weaves it together with icon-like embroidered portraits of the Christ.

Muslim traditions influencing Russian Orthodox furnishings? Well, why not? the 17th century artisans and 21st century curators respond.    

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