The exhibition «Kabarda. From Antiquity to the Present», dedicated to the 460th anniversary of the conclusion of the military-political alliance between Russia and Kabarda, opens on Saturday at the State Museum of the East in Moscow.
Visitors will be presented with objects of decorative and applied art of the region, the traditions of which have evolved over the centuries.
«The exhibition presents archeology, ethnography, arts and crafts from the fund of the National Museum. People’s masters of our republic have been invited to participate in the show, who will present their works in the halls of the Museum of the East,» the Director General of the National Museum of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic told TASS ( KBR) Felix Nakov.
The «voluminous and versatile» exhibition occupies seven halls, he noted. «This is the first serious exhibition of such a scale, which covers various aspects of culture , history and gives an idea of the spiritual and material culture of Kabarda,» the agency’s interlocutor said.
Exposition elements
The exposition of the museum includes samples of artistic processing of wood and metal, bone carving, embossing and appliqué on leather, weaving of mats and felt products.
According to Nakov, special attention should be paid to the «gold» embroidery of the Kabardian (Adyghe) craftswomen. «These are original works of the 19th century and works of modern masters, made in the same technique. Women’s costumes, accessories for them, handbags, fans. That is, this is such a crossover between antiquity and modernity,» Nakov said.
The Adygs widely used embroidery for the manufacture of decorative elements of a traditional women’s costume, as well as for decorating men’s clothing, weapons and horse harness, and household items. The exhibition will also feature a collection of edged weapons and jewelry. Artistic processing of leather is presented in horse equipment, tobacco pouches, handbags and various small household items.
The director of the National Museum of the KBR noted the high importance of the exhibition for understanding the culture of Kabarda. “An exhibition in such a complex, in such a volume, with a versatile approach, perhaps for the first time, is presented, — he noted. — In terms of equipment and weapons, the Kabardian culture had a rather serious impact on the Russian Empire, these are checkers, Circassian coat, etc. important for understanding the culture of Kabarda, and for understanding, say, the history of the development of uniforms in the Russian Empire. »
According to Nakov, the exposition will be of interest to visitors from the point of view of literary analysis, since the Russian poets Pushkin and Lermontov described the equipment and weapons of the Circassians in their works. “And here our visitors will be able to see them with their own eyes,” the agency’s interlocutor concluded.
About date
The exhibition is dedicated to the anniversary of the conclusion of the military-political alliance between Russia and Kabarda in 1557. The agreement was secured by the dynastic marriage of Ivan the Terrible with the daughter of the famous Kabardian prince Temryuk Idarov — Idarhe Guasheni, who was given the name Maria at baptism. Subsequently, the Kabardian military leaders and statesmen not only occupied a prominent place among the Russian aristocracy, but also played an important role in the formation of the Moscow state.
Among them, the family of the princes of Circassian became famous, who entered the history of Russia as the princes of Cherkassk. A separate part of the exposition is devoted to them. «This is a Russian princely family of Kabardian origin, one of the most noble families of the Russian kingdom, the Russian Empire, at least until the 19th century,» Nakov noted. In the same room, one will be able to get acquainted with the documents of the Russian historical chronicles of the 16th century, telling about the annexation of Kabarda to Russia.
The exhibition will run until October 29.
