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Alexey Kudenko/RIA Novosti
In mounting the exhibition the Kremlin Museum had not only to negotiate with the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Museum of London, and the Royal Maritime Museum, but also had to obtain the Queen’s private permission for the display of the suit of armour of King Henry VIII.
Alexey Kudenko/RIA Novosti
Another important artistic theme was the royal joust. Today the royal jousting armour impresses us as the finest work of jewellers. The Royal Workshops at Greenwich even had a special post for a ‘gilder and engraver of the royal armour’, whose duties included inscribing Holbein’s designs.
Alexey Kudenko/RIA Novosti
More crucially, the Tudors fully understood the value of the arts as an element of soft power in buttressing their dynastic standing. Henry VIII was the first king to encourage his vassals to pay allegiance by placing his portrait in a prominent position.
Alexey Kudenko/RIA Novosti
A visitor looks at Sir Henry Risley's portret (1613)
Alexey Kudenko/RIA Novosti
Along with the other items sent to Moscow was a set of drawings by Hans Holbein the Younger, who was Henry VIII’s court painter – including a monument portrait of Queen Elizabeth I.
Alexey Kudenko/RIA Novosti
Among the 174 items on show we find elegant portrait miniatures of Nicholas Hilliard, which became a symbol of the Elizabethan era; jewellery belonging to the notorious privateer, explorer and admiral, Sir Francis Drake; and a silver platter depicting three dolphins by the famous Dutch craftsman Christian Van Vianen, treasured by Charles I in his private chambers.
Alexey Kudenko/RIA Novosti
To sum it up, the glittering splendour and weaponry of two dynasties, the Tudors and the Stuarts, displayed with all the excitement and allure of a thrilling blockbuster.
Alexey Kudenko/RIA Novosti
Yet unlike the Hollywood treatments of Good Queen Bess and ‘Shakespeare in Love’, this banquet is ruled by truth, and not illusion. To back this up, we see a number of copies of illustrious royal portraits. They circulated during the lives of ‘Their Royal Highnesses’ and were copied with their permission.
Alexey Kudenko/RIA Novosti
Decorative vessel, "Leopards", presented in the exhibition "Golden Age" of the English court, from Henry VIII to Charles I "in the Moscow Kremlin Museums.
Alexey Kudenko/RIA Novosti
Henry VIII’s armour – created for the tournaments in honour of his wedding to his beloved, in this case Anne of Cleves – remind of us a made-to-measure suit. Henry’s armourer consulted with his tailor over the matter.
