Carriages, 16th-18th centuries
View of the hall
The Armory Chamber has the world's largest collection of 16th-18th century carriages. They were crafted at the major carriage-makers' and artistic centers of Russia and Western Europe: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Vienna, Berlin, London, and Paris.
While every carriage on display here is a masterpiece in its own right, a superior example is the Berlin-type four-seater on the left. Made in St. Petersburg in 1769 by John Buckendale, it belonged to Catherine the Great. The body of the carriage is oval in form, and it is richly decorated with painting and relief carving in the classical style. The opulent gilded carving consists of floral ornament, rosettes, and a row of decorative beading. The sides of the carriage are decorated with paintings in pinkish silver tones. The oval roof is topped by gilded bronze decorations in the form of urns and a central crown, and edged by a design of pointed acanthus leaves.
The carriage was highly perfected from a technical point of view, having both vertical and horizontal springs, gracefully curved undercarriage supports on either side, and a rotation axle. The passenger steps are located on the exterior, and there is bevel-edged plate glass in the windows.
