The Crowned Collectors | Tsarskoe Selo State Museum and Heritage Site

01.03.2025

'The Crowned Collectors: On the History of Imperial Arsenals' exhibition at Vyborg Castle'The Crowned Collectors: On the History of Imperial Arsenals' exhibition at Vyborg Castle Gleb Arlyuk, Tsarskoe Selo Arms Curator gives the first tour of the exhibition

Gleb Arlyuk, Tsarskoe Selo Arms Curator gives the first tour of the exhibitionGleb Arlyuk, Tsarskoe Selo Arms Curator gives the first tour of the exhibition Director Olga Taratynova of Tsarskoe Selo and Director Valentin Belousov of Vyborg Museum

Director Olga Taratynova of Tsarskoe Selo and Director Valentin Belousov of Vyborg MuseumDirector Olga Taratynova of Tsarskoe Selo and Director Valentin Belousov of Vyborg Museum Exhibition in the Arsenal of Vyborg Castle

Exhibition in the Arsenal of Vyborg CastleExhibition in the Arsenal of Vyborg Castle Late-18th-century Turkish flintlock carbine

Late-18th-century Turkish flintlock carbineLate-18th-century Turkish flintlock carbine 19th-century Persian sabre

19th-century Persian sabre19th-century Persian sabre Early 19th-century Turkish daggers

Early 19th-century Turkish daggersEarly 19th-century Turkish daggers The Mournful Knight suit of armour

The Mournful Knight suit of armourThe Mournful Knight suit of armour Reproductions of 18th-century English prints

Reproductions of 18th-century English printsReproductions of 18th-century English prints 19th-century Western European suit of armour

19th-century Western European suit of armour19th-century Western European suit of armour Mid-19th-century Russian "gothic cathedral" desktop clock

Mid-19th-century Russian "gothic cathedral" desktop clockMid-19th-century Russian "gothic cathedral" desktop clock The Gothic Service

The Gothic ServiceThe Gothic Service 19th-century objects by the St Petersburg Imperial Glass Factory

19th-century objects by the St Petersburg Imperial Glass Factory19th-century objects by the St Petersburg Imperial Glass Factory Uniform and portrait of Nicholas I

Uniform and portrait of Nicholas IUniform and portrait of Nicholas I Exhibition in the Arsenal of Vyborg Castle

Exhibition in the Arsenal of Vyborg CastleExhibition in the Arsenal of Vyborg Castle

The Crowned Collectors: On the History of Imperial Arsenals exhibition is a joint project by Tsarskoe Selo and the Vyborg United Museum and Heritage Site (Vyborg Museum) running at Vyborg Castle from 28 February to 24 August 2025.

Open by Director Olga Taratynova of Tsarskoe Selo and Director Valentin Belousov of Vyborg Museum, the exhibition at the newly-restored Arsenal (armoury) of Vyborg Castle highlights arsenals as imperial arms and armour collections and showcases over a hundred rarest artefacts from Tsarskoe Sleo that belonged to Russian emperors. Some of them are on display for the first time.

Mr Gleb Arlyuk, our Arms Curator gave the first tour of the exhibition which among other objects includes:

Portraits and military uniforms of Emperors Alexander I, Nicholas I and Alexander II;
19th-century Wester European suits of armour, one of them the Mournful Knight used during Alexander I's ceremonial funeral procession in 1826;
Oriental swords and firearms from the Asiatic Room of the Catherine Palace, including a 1800s Turkish yataghan of Alexander II, a 1839-50s Turkish bulat-steel shamshir with a scabbard of Alexander II, and a late-18th-century Turkish Damascus-steel flintlock carbine decorated with gold false-damascening, silver, corals and almandine garnets;
A mid-19th-century Russian "gothic cathedral" desktop clock from the private rooms of Nicholas I in the Alexander Palace;
The Gothic Service and other 19th-century objects by the St Petersburg Imperial Glass Factory;
19th-century books.

Our earlier project at Vyborg Museum