Lot Essay
A monumental work on the antiquities and works of art of Russia, it covers icons and church artifacts, the tsars' personal belongings and clothes, arms and armour, costumes, domestic utensils and architectural monuments. The publication was authorised and financed by the Tsar Nicholas I, and was edited under the supervision of Count S.G. Stroganov, using the original illustration of Solntsev, an artist as well as archaeologist. It is regarded as the best example of Russian lithography of the mid-19th century.