"Moscovite glass. The art of mica craftsmen"

The exposition is open from August 31 to November 14, 2021
in the exhibition hall "Podklet of the palace of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich"

The Kolomenskoye Museum-Reserve presents the inter-museum exhibition project “Moskovitskoye Glass. The art of mica craftsmen ”. The exposition presented in the exhibition hall "Podklet of the palace of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich" introduces one of the most common forms of mica - muscovite, and its use in Russian decorative and applied art of the 17th-20th centuries. The exhibition features about 150 exhibits, including not only historical items, but also mineralogical samples, archival documents and images from the collections of the 10 largest museums in the country. Most of the items are presented to the public for the first time.

“This exhibition is not just an excursion into the history of the mica industry, but also a story about how“ living glass ”is used in modern times. Previously, it was only available to the privileged strata of society, as glazing or decoration for household items, such as chests or icons. Now the use of mica is not so noticeable, but everywhere - it is included in refractory enamels, wallpaper, cardboard, and in the cosmetic industry it is used as organic glitter. Visitors have a unique opportunity to trace the history of the material from the moment of its discovery to its use in modern times, ”said project coordinator Natalya Polonnikova.

Mica is one of the most common minerals that can break down into thin, flexible and strong leaves. Russian mica was considered the best in the world and was known in Western Europe as "muscovite". The name comes from "Muscovy", as foreigners called Russia in the Middle Ages.

The exhibition consists of three sections. The first tells about the formation of the medieval mica industry, mining technology and trade, it presents archival documents and samples of crystals from all over the world. The organizers of mining in Russia in the Middle Ages were the Solovetsky, Kandalaksha, Kirensky and other monasteries. In the XVI-XVII centuries. mica was mined on the Karelian coast of the White Sea, along the rivers Kem and Keret. In the XVII-XVIII centuries. mica mining spread in Eastern Siberia: on Lake Baikal and on the Aldan River. Russia exported mica to England, Holland, Sweden, Denmark, China and Persia.

The second section is devoted to the use of mica in architecture and arts and crafts. It came into use in Novgorod in the 11th – 12th centuries, later it was widespread on the territory of Russia in the 16th – 18th centuries. Mica was used as a substitute for expensive glass in the manufacture of windows in houses and carts, in lanterns and mirrors, for appliqués and inlays of icons, liturgy items, furniture, and monastery souvenirs.

Muscovite was used as a constructive and decorative material in church decoration and secular life in combination with iron, tin, silver, wood and bone. Many mica products are a synthesis of the craftsmanship of various artisans: pewter, carpenter, locksmith, carver, window cutter and artist. They are distinguished by high-class craftsmanship, sophistication of color solutions and emphasized elegance.

One of the gems of the exposition are fragments of the altar canopy from the Church of the Grebnevskaya Icon of the Mother of God, decorated with stylized painted mica with pewter overlays. This monument of decorative and applied arts entered the collection of the museum-reserve in 1932 during the dismantling of the church, known since the 15th century and located in Moscow on Lubyanskaya Square.

The third section of the exhibition tells about the further history of mica in the 19th-20th centuries, when it began to be used mainly for household needs, and then in the chemical and electrical industries. For example, this mineral is currently used as an electrical and thermal insulator.

Project participants: Polytechnic Museum, State Historical Museum, State Geological Museum. V.I. Vernadsky, Mineralogical Museum named after V.I. A.E. Fersman, State Research Museum of Architecture named after A.V.Shchusev, Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts, Central Museum of Old Russian Culture and Art named after Andrei Rublev, Novgorod State United Museum-Reserve, Pereslavl-Zalessky State Historical and Architectural and art museum-reserve.