Items from the Kunstkamera in the exhibition project of the Tsaritsyno Museum-Reserve “Incredible India. View from Russia"

From June 20, in the Grand Palace of the Tsaritsyno Museum-Reserve a large-scale temporary exhibition “Incredible India. A View from Russia,” which tells how over the course of several centuries, starting with Afanasy Nikitin’s “journey across three seas” in the 15th century and ending with friendly ties between the USSR and India in the 20th century, the image of this mysterious country took shape in Russian culture. The project includes several large sections presented in 8 halls of the palace, and brings together more than 450 exhibits, as well as film and photographic materials selected from the collections of 18 museums, private collections, libraries and archives in Russia.

“This exhibition is a view from Russia today,” says curator Olga Sosnina. — And it is clear that the concept is subjective. The route through the exhibition will help the visitor imagine how the perception of India by our compatriots has changed over the course of five hundred years.”

More than 50 items were sent from the Kunstkamera to participate in this exhibition: elegant jewelry and expensive weapons, samples of embroidery and brocade, ceramic vases and sculptures, trays made using the traditional papier-mâché technique, musical instruments and images of Hindu deities.

A publication “India in the cultural space of Russia. XV-XX centuries”, which recreates a large-scale picture of the assimilation of Indian heritage by Russian culture - from ancient teachings and unique artifacts to cinema, has been prepared for the exhibition. The articles are accompanied by images of objects, including both those presented at the exhibition and those that were not included in the exhibition. One of the articles for the publication was prepared by Margarita Albedil, leading researcher of the Department of Ethnography of South and South-West Asia at the MAE RAS.