Exhibition 'The Armory'

About exhibition

The exhibition 'The Armory' introduces visitors to unique examples of weapons and protective equipment from the museum collections. The collection began to take shape in the mid-19th century. Over 150 examples of edged weapons and firearms from the 17th to the 20th centuries are on display. The exhibition begins with weapons and armor produced in the 17th to 19th centuries in Iran and the adjacent Caucasus regions. Chain mail, helmets, curved swords, axes, spears and daggers made by Iranian armorers for Iran's feudal nobility are exhibited. Visitors will see bladed weapons and pistols that may have been used by various members of the Astrakhan garrison. Among the exhibits is a sword bearing the coat of arms of the imperial House of Habsburg, made in the early 17th century by craftsmen of a North German garrison. The exhibition concludes with a display of 20th-century weapons: the Maxim machine gun, the Degtyaryov light machine gun, the Sudaev submachine gun, the Shpagin and other examples of rapid-fire weapons.