Exhibition 'The History of the Merchant Class in the Urals'

About exhibition

An old 19th-century mansion that once belonged to the Pokrovsky merchant dynasty today forms part of the Southern Ural Historical Museum's exhibition. It is one of the oldest surviving buildings in the city. In 2021 the building's historic role was restored when its period interiors were recreated. The second floor houses the largest collection of antique furniture in Chelyabinsk. Two floors of luxurious period interiors are furnished with notable pieces that were used by the city's upper classes in the 19th century: elegant Art Nouveau side tables, chairs made from the rare colonial rattan, ornate sideboards with dinner services — the merchant's salon looks as if the owners had just been here and stepped out for a moment. The antique furniture can tell about the tastes of the provincial elite, fashionable trends in home interiors of the period, and the connections between the Ural provinces and furniture centers in Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod and even Western Europe. The collection includes French, Belgian, Breton and Russian furniture. Of particular interest is the study furnished in the Victorian style. This 'red room' evokes the difficult history of the Russian bourgeoisie. The exhibition 'The History of the Merchant Class in the Urals' will appeal not only to antique enthusiasts, local historians and lovers of the past, but above all to students and schoolchildren.