Depository exhibition

About exhibition

The depository is arranged as an open, visitor-accessible storage of objects, allowing visitors to view the museum's extensive collections. In the large hall on the first floor Ustyuzh tiles and mirrors from tiled stoves are displayed, assembled from authentic items of the 18th–19th centuries. The interiors of 19th-century living rooms have been recreated in glass-fronted niches. Chairs, sofas, buffets and dressing tables complement the picture of the tastes and preferences of Ustyuzh residents. A collection of spinning wheels is exhibited on a specially constructed display ramp. On the gallery of the second floor a central place is given to the unique Ustyuzh craft — Shemogod carved birchbark. Here are works by masters of the first half of the 20th century with traditional ornamentation, as well as products of Soviet-era artels. Two separate showcases are devoted to the works of the incomparable birchbark carving master A. E. Markova. Visitors are also presented with highly artistic liturgical objects from the 16th to the early 20th centuries from the museum's silver treasury, including items decorated with enamel, niello, gilding, and precious and semi-precious stones. Also exhibited are bone-carving pieces from various centers and porcelain items from Russian and foreign factories. In a separate room on the second floor a collection of metal objects is displayed — mainly samovars; the earliest dates from the first half of the 18th century. Also shown here are harness bells, candlesticks, candelabra, locks and keys.