Russian royal artifacts come to Hubei

The Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan is presenting an exhibition featuring a selection of 129 sets of precious cultural relics dating from the 17th and 18th centuries.

The exhibition — called Treasures of the Kremlin: From Peter the Great to Catherine the Great — includes royal crowns, scepters, medals, court costumes, weaponry, silverware and more. It runs until Oct 25.

The relics come from the collections of the Moscow Kremlin Museums in Russia.

The artifacts embody the aesthetic tastes of the Russian nobility of the era, with numerous rare treasures seldom displayed outside the Kremlin. Together, they cover a sweeping 170-year historical timeline, from the early establishment of the Romanov Dynasty in the 17th century through the reforms of Peter the Great, the era of palace coups and the reign of Catherine the Great, organizers said.

Among the exhibits is an exquisitely crafted jewel masterpiece — a gilded filigree enamel ewer and lavabo basin — presumed to have been created by Turkish artisans in the 17th century.

To achieve optimal presentation for the exhibition in Hubei province, Russian conservation specialists spent an entire year restoring and preserving it.