Museum complex

Architectural tiles. Fragment of the tiled frieze of the Holy Trinity Church in Kostroma

Moscow
1645–1650-s
Red clay; engobe, glazing, relief, burning
20 x 20 x 10,5 cm; 20 x 20 x 10,5 cm; 20 x 20 cm; 19,5 x 19,5 x 12 cm
From: adopted after the demolition of the Holy Trinity Church in Kostroma in 1936
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Architectural tiles with subject images decorated the frieze of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Kostroma, built in 1645–1650s at the expense of the merchant I. Postnikov (dismantled in 1936). The tile frieze consisted of approximately 230 tiles and was placed along the perimeter of the building at a height of 14 meters from the ground.
The small size of images that makes it difficult to view them from a distance, suggests that these tiles were not made specifically for the exterior decoration of the church. In the middle of the XVII century similar "enamelled" (covered with green glaze) tiles depicting the siege of the fortress, foot and horse soldiers, the double-headed eagle, the fantastic "beast-griva" (griffin) were often covered with a single pattern of the furnace, decorating the interior of residential and public buildings. It was at this time that stove tiles were widely used for exterior decoration of monumental structures.

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Shapes for tiles of the frieze of the Church of the Holy Trinity were made by a first-class carver, well acquainted with literary monuments of that time. Subject images provide a visual representation of the artistic tastes of the citizens of Muscovy in the middle of the XVII century. All tiles of the frieze of the Trinity Church have embossed descriptive inscriptions about the content of the plot depicted.
Plots:
1. The front plate depicts the scene of the siege of the fortress. On the right side, two warriors climb a siege ladder, the first with a standard in his hand, the second with an arquebuse and a spear. Near the foot of the ladder there is a group of three warriors: one holds a standard, the other – a bardiche (poleaxe), and the third has a spear and a arquebuse. In the upper left corner, two warriors charge guns. Under the siege ladder are fallen warriors. The inscription "Assaulting" is placed at the top of the tile. The image on the tile is a part of a plot composition popular in tiled art, narrating about Alexander the Great (Alexander of Macedon) taking the city of Egypt – it is an illustration to “Pseudo-Callisthenes Alexandria”.
2. The front plate depicts the scene of the battle of epic characters bogatyr (epic character, hero of folk Russian legends) Bova and centaurus Polkan. It illustrates a widespread book story about Bova Korolevich. Bova stands on the left side in a short caftan. With his left hand he holds Polkan by his belt, in his right hand he holds a sword, and behind him is a quiver full of arrows. Polkan, according to the legend, had a canine body and a tail curved in a loop. In his left hand raised up, he holds a bludgeon. In the right corner of the tile Princess Druzhenna is depicted - the reason of the battle between the heroes. Relief inscription is the following: "BOVA IS FIGHTING WITH POLKAN ".
3. The front plate depicts a double-headed eagle with crowns on its heads and raised wings. There is a relief inscription at the top: "EAGLE THE BIRD OF TSARS".
4. The front plate depicts the fight between an eagle and a snake, and the inscription is: “THAT VISION WAS IN TSARGRAD”. It illustrates the well-known book story by Nestor Iskander in Russia about the capture of Tsargrad (Constantinople). At the beginning of the legend there is a story about a sign that happened during the founding of Constantinople by Emperor Flavius, when this legendary battle took place in the air.

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