An exhibition "Power and Status of Tomsk Voivodes" opened at the Tomsk Museum of History.
The exhibition has been supplemented with a model of a table featuring dishes typical of the city's founding period, recreated on the basis of historical sources, the Domostroy and old cookbooks.
A whole creative collaboration worked on the project: staff of the Tomsk Museum of History under the direction of director Svetlana Pavlovna Kozub and researchers led by Natalya Gennadyevna Panshina, as well as the team of artist-confectioner and historian Aldis Brichevs.
Experts studied how members of the noble estate ate during Tomsk's formation and recreated dishes with local delicacies prepared according to the requirements of the Bar Book from the voivode's chancery.
A certified master-historian, well acquainted with the history of culinary arts and possessing recipes and descriptions of old dishes from the 16th–20th centuries. "Court master-confectioner" Aldis Brichevs has repeatedly amazed Russians with his projects, which stand out in the gastronomic and confectionery fields for their high style, shaping aesthetic taste and food culture. He has already established himself with more than 45 ambitious projects.
The idea of the exhibition is to show the city's rulers of the 17th–18th centuries in all their variety — with their character, unique life contradictions, weaknesses and talents.
The exhibition includes both artifacts from archaeological excavations on Voskresenskaya Hill and reconstructions of costumes, household items and office records.
A separate section of the exhibition is devoted to chess, reflecting not only the nobility's and service people's enthusiasm for the game but also geopolitical themes.
Visitors to the exhibition will see a copy of an authentic 17th-century document about the building of the Tomsk town, get better acquainted with the voivodes and their contribution to Tomsk's history by leafing through the specially made "Velvet Book of Tomsk Voivodes" created by the museum staff.
The central installation of the porch that adorned the voivodes' chambers in the Tomsk Kremlin and the festive table of the Tomsk voivode will make a wonderful spot for commemorative photographs.
(Photo by Anastasia Medovnik, materials from the archive of the Tomsk Museum of History.)
A voivode's feast recreated at the Tomsk museum.
A voivode's feast recreated at the Tomsk museum.
A voivode's feast recreated at the Tomsk museum.
A voivode's feast recreated at the Tomsk museum.
A voivode's feast recreated at the Tomsk museum.
A voivode's feast recreated at the Tomsk museum.
A voivode's feast recreated at the Tomsk museum.
