Historic Hall Restored
The Chinese Hall in the Zubov Wing of the Catherine Palace at St Petersburg’s Tsarskoe Selo Museum reopened last month following the completion of a major restoration project to recreate its interior decoration, which was destroyed during World War II.
Over the course of 700 days, skilled specialists from China recreated 155 wall panels using traditional lacquer techniques.
Traditional Art Revived
Footage taken on Thursday shows the decorative panels depicting nature and Taoist immortals, as well as various landscapes with palaces, bridges, pavilions, gazebos, trees, capes and islands.
“The lacquer panels are the main decorative feature of this remarkably large reception hall, the largest in Catherine the Great’s Private Rooms. The lacquer panels are arranged in three tiers. The lower tier features trays with repeating motifs – as was originally designed – executed in the gold on black lacquer technique; the middle tier features Coromandel lacquer panels, or carved polychrome panels; and, finally, the upper tier also features lacquerwork in the miaojin technique, just like the lower tier,” explained the museum’s Deputy Director for Research and Education, Iraida Bott.
Centuries Of Heritage
According to the museum’s press office, the reconstruction of the panels was based on an authentic 17th-century Chinese screen from the State Hermitage collection, as well as on images on 18th-century furniture pieces preserved in Tsarskoe Selo and other museums. The total area painted on the panels covered almost 170 square metres.
Article by Viory
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