Operating schedule: 10.00 to 16.45 daily. Monday – day off.
Bus № 24 or trolleybus № 38 from the “Arsenalna” underground station to the bus stop “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra”.
__Among the leading and world famous museums of the state a prominent place by right belongs to the Museum of Historical Treasures of Ukraine – the branch of the National Museum of History of Ukraine. It was founded according to the Decree of the Council of Ministers of Ukraine in November 1963. Simultaneously on the same governmental decree there was outlined the thematic orientation of the establishment: saving, study and demonstration of historical and artistic sights made of precious metals and stones.
__Located on the territory of the “National Kyiv-Pechersk Historical and cultural Reserve”, the site of the Ukrainian baroque architecture of the 17th-18th centuries, in the so-called Kovnirovsky building, the museum underwent a long-awaited reconstruction in 2004. The building was capitally overhauled, the museum got the modern display and fund equipment, climate-control, signalling and fire extinguishing systems.
__Since its foundation the Museum of Historical Treasures of Ukraine has been carrying out scientific completing of its funds. If at the opening of the museum for visitors there were over 14 thousand archaeological units and objects of applied and decorative arts, at present its general fund numbers 55 thousand museum pieces made of precious metals and precious stones. The Museum collections of historical valuables of Ukraine are the original chronicle of our history and culture from the Bronze Age to the contemporaneity, engraved on a precious metal.
__The greater part of the museum collection is made of materials of archaeological researches. The largest in the world collection of the so-called “Scythian gold” is the pride of not only the Museum but the whole Ukraine as well and is well-known in the world. The pearl of it is the famous gold Pectoral 4th B.C.
__A great number of archaeological findings of precious metals were received from the NASU Archaeology Institute. For years of existence of the museum the fund-purchasing committee traced, took away and bought in thousands of articles of the museum value of different epochs both form individuals and establishments (Kyiv PU “Yuvelirprom”, OJSC “Kvartssamotsvity”, etc.). Quite a bit of exhibits were passed free of charge by the workers of the State custom service; several items were presented to the Museum.
__During 2004-2007 the funds of the Museum of Historical Treasures of Ukraine were added 138 exhibits. Chronologically the new items cover the period from the end of the 4th thousand B.C. to the contemporaneity.
__The most ancient are the four objects (copper axe, grindstone and two silver earrings) were found near-by the town of Brovary, Kyiv region in the burial place of the tribe chief, which belong to the pit culture of the Bronze Age (btw. the 4th-3rd thousands B.C.). It is them to open the renewed display of the museum.
__Farther on there are represented the wares of the pre-Scythian times (9th-8th cent. B.C.) from the Cymmerian burial places. These Iranian-speaking tribes are the first to be mentioned in the Assyrian and the ancient Greek written sources under this name. Afterwards they were conquered by the Nomadic tribes of Scythians who came to the Black Sea area steppes in the 7th century B.C. The Scythians were not the integral people, but the united tribes of different ethnic origin. They have left us, often hidden under the ground, blasted by Time and people large and small settlements and a great number of burial places under high barrows – burial mounds, the original earthen pyramids, that can be seen today in the boundless Ukrainian steppes. The ancient objects of the Scythian epoch occupy one of the central places in the display of the Museum.
__It is impossible to overestimate the role of the NAS Archaeology Institute of Ukraine in the forming of the collection of Scythian gold, that during 1964-1986 passed over 30 thousand of exhibits to the museum. This collection was considerably completed by the materials from the excavations conducted by the Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk State Universities. As for the completeness and informational content it is indeed unique in the world.
__Among the unique exhibits of the 4th century B.C., made by the ancient craftsman’s there is a gold upholstering of the festive case for a bow and arrows from the burial mound dug out in Melitopol, on the gold relief plate of which there are represented stages from the myth about the ancient Greek hero of Achilles; the silver gilded bowl from the Haymanova Mohyla burial mound (Zaporizhia region) with the pictures of negotiations of Scythian tsars; the gold “helmet” from Perederieva Mohyla burial mound (Donetsk region) with the pictures of Scythian warriors and, certainly, exhibit № 1 is the gold necklace is of the Scythian tsar from the Tovsta Mohyla burial mound (Dnipropetrovsk region). This masterpiece is often called the “find of the century”. Not only the exquisite performance technique, but also a huge emotional and artistic influence on a visitor causes admiration. The whole informational completeness of composition of the necklace is just incomprehensible today. The author of the find and its first researcher B. Mozolevskiy considered that its three levels contain the stages of preparation to the vernal equinox holiday and the mystery of a sacrifice. In the wide sense – it is a chart of transition from the world of Chaos to the world of Space.
__Appearance of Scythians in the Ukrainian steppes coincides with the beginning of Greek colonization of the North Black Sea Coast. Beginning from the 7th century B.C. the natives of Greece and Asia Minor, founded cities-states, such as Olbia, Panticapeum, Chersonesos, Tira and others, which become the centres of jeweller production and interrelation of the two cultures – the Greek and the Scythian ones.
__There are represented in the showcase of the museum the precious Sarmathian decorations (tribes of the Scythian family). They are distinguished by polychrome and brightness.
__The forest-steppe and forest natural areas of Ukraine were inhabited by the agricultural tribes of east Slavs, whose life and prosperity were constantly exposed to the raids of steppe nomads.
__The first among them were the Hunnes, the Turk tribes, who in the 4th-5th century A.D. forever did away with millennial domination of the Ancient-Scythian culture in the North Black Sea Coast. They opened the so called ” Migration Period”. Next to the Hunnes the territory of the present-day Ukraine was occupied by Avars (6th-7th cent.), Khazars (7th-10th cent.), Pechenigs and Polovets (9th-13th cent.), Golden Horde (13th-14th cent.).
__Archaeological excavations in burial places of medieval nomads here and there find various jeweller wares, executed by the craftsman’s of Middle Asia, Western Europe and Byzantium, taken by them as military trophies.
__The wares of the East Slavs of the 6th-8th centuries from the Prydniprov’ya districts cause considerable interest. The jeweller wares of this epoch reflect the centuries-old worship of Slavs of the powers of nature – Sun, Earth, Water that gives life to the human and all the living.
__Among the various in form, setting and technique of jewellery production of one of the mightiest states of the medieval Europe – the Kyiv Rus (9th-13th cent.) a special place is occupied by the decorations executed in the technique of cloisonn? enamel. These are such details of princely dressing, as pendants for the womanish head-dress – colts, diadems, barmy adornment, executed to the individual order without any copy. Multicoloured enamels combined with images full of sacred sense draw the attention of visitors.
__Quickly growing value of Kyiv as the most important political and cultural centre made this city the prominent one in the creation of jeweller decorations. The works of Kyiv jewellers were distributed in many towns of the Old Russian state. Artistic achievements of Kyivan Rus initiated the development of jeweller art in Ukraine.
__We become acquainted with the creativity of the Ukrainian jewellers of the 16th- beginning of the 20th centuries through the wares executed in various European styles: Baroque, Rococo, Classicism with the characteristics typical of the national Ukrainian traditions. This section displays multicoloured picturesque enamels and the whole range of precious and semi-precious stones which decorate mitres, potyras, panageas, epimannicias. Complicated technical and decorative techniques are typical of many both cultural and domestic objects.
__Created by such prominent Ukrainian goldsmiths, as Ivan Ravych, Matviy Narunovych, Ivan Atanazevych, Semen Taranovskyi, Fedir Levytskyi at the end of the 17th – middle of the 18th century the works of the cult art are the triumph of the Ukrainian baroque and demonstration of practically unlimited possibilities in application of different jeweller techniques.
__The works of the Russian jewellers and, as well as cult and decorative and household objects from the largest centres of metal treatment of Germany, Austria, Poland, Netherlands, France, England were wide-spread on the territory of Ukraine. Aesthetic tastes of that or another epoch are reflected in them.
__The museum also has the unique collection of Jewish cult silver. They are the original in structure and design crowns of Torah, plates-pendants – torah shield, aroma bsamim. Some of these objects received their second birth at the restoration workshop of the museum.
__There were found on the territory of Ukraine over 40 varieties of coloured stones are found, used by modern jewellers in their wares. The original works of the Ukrainian artists-jewellers have the wide range – from the classical in form, with the use of ancient traditions and motives, to the most advance ones.
__The long-lasting overseas exhibition activity gave the museum the real world popularity, and moreover, a great number of people in many countries got acquainted with Ukraine – the state with rich history and culture, the sources of which go back into millenniums.
__The museum is always in search of new ways of representation of its unique collections. For example, at present the employees carry out the nightly excursion “Golden Scythia”, which not only acquaints visitors with the display but also helps to enter the symbolic world of tsar’s Scythians, covers them with the atmosphere of mystery and grey remoteness amid the unique Kyiv night.
__Beauty and spirituality of treasures of the Museum of Historical Treasures of Ukraine penetrates the hearts and souls of everybody, who visited it.
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