Ivanovo Calico Museum

About museum

Dmitry Gennadyevich Burylin was a well-known entrepreneur and a respected figure in Ivanovo-Voznesensk. From the age of 14 he and his brother Nikolai began working at their grandfather's cotton factory; afterwards he held various public posts, helped the poor, restored churches, and planted linden-lined avenues. For his merits he was awarded the title of honorary citizen of the city. But Dmitry Burylin's main legacy is his collection of rare and ancient exhibits, begun by his grandfather Diodor. Dmitry Gennadyevich traveled the world buying coins, smoking pipes, jewelry, icons, playing cards, paintings and engravings. In 1913 he returned from a trip to Egypt with a mummy. The initial exhibits were kept in his house, and only in 1912–1915 was a museum building constructed, which could also be accessed via an underground passage from the mansion.