The STaTe hermiTage muSeum annual reporT

most notable acquIsItIons of 2010
Karl Kollmann (1835–1889)
a SerieS of drawingS made during
The grand duKe KonSTanTin’S grand Tour
of europe in auTumn 1858 – Spring 1859
Acquired through the Purchasing Commission
These are sixteen drawings made during the voyage around
Europe made by Grand Duke Konstantin and his wife
Grand Duchess Alexandra on the frigate Gromoboy, with
a squadron, in autumn 1858 – spring 1859. The drawings
are not signed. But it is known from contemporary reports
that Kollmann, an architect and watercolour artist, was
present aboard one of the ships and “adorned the Grand
Duke’s album with many exquisite sketches” (see A. and
V. Golovin. Materials for the Biography of Tsarevich and Grand
Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich. St. Petersburg, 2006: 175–
176). The Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary
confirms that the architect Karl Kollmann (1835–1889),
sent abroad in 1858 on an Academy of Arts scholarship,
“accompanied HRH Duke Konstantin in his voyage around
the Mediterranean and made an extensive album of drawings
which then passed to His Royal Highness” (Vol. XV,
p. 790). Thus, the authorship of Karl Kollmann can hardly
be called into doubt. A son of a prominent watercolour
painter and a pupil of Karl Briullov and Konstantin Thon,
Kollmann had a profound understanding of architectural
styles and a considerable talent as a graphic artist. After he
returned from his scholarship trip in 1864, he was granted
the title of Academician for his drawings documenting the
restoration of the Alhambra, and in 1886 he was made Professor
in recognition of his design for the World Fair Building
in St. Petersburg.
Kollmann’s works, drawn from nature in a light, sketchlike
manner, demonstrate an unquestionable professionalism.
They serve as snapshots of places visited by the Grand
Duke in Greece, Italy, Spain, Egypt and other countries.
The landscapes are often animated by the addition of staffage
figures of local people or the voyagers themselves.
They also bear authorial inscriptions which make it easier
to identify the place depicted.
By Alexander Solovyov
SheaThed Sword
China, late 18th – first half of the 19th century
Steel, wood, alloy, leather, fabric, enamel; forging, casting,
embossing, engraving, encrustation
Acquired through the Purchasing Commission
Typologically, such swords could be used as both military
and secular weapons; they could also be attributes of important
government officials. A curved blade, a characteristic
form of the hilt and guard, which are decorated with
images of dragons, are typical of the Qing period. Such
a sword could have belonged to a martial arts teacher
or commander of a self-defence squad. The sword has
a curved blade which is wider near the tip, with wide and
most notable acquIsItIons of 2010
narrow fullers in its central part. The tang end is decorated
on both sides with an engraved image of a dragon playing
with a sacred pearl. The wooden hilt is covered with
braided cords, and the steel pommel is decorated with
embossed white metal with geometric patterns and dragon
designs. The sheath is wooden and pasted over with dark
pebble leather and over it with narrow leather strips.
The acquisition of this sword by the State Hermitage becomes
especially important if we consider its exceptionally
fine workmanship seen in both the design of the weapon
and the decoration. Moreover, the artifact is in a good condition
and is a rare sample of Chinese weaponry.
By Yuri Yefimov
20 21