Marking the 350th anniversary of Peter the Great: The exhibition “Masterpieces of Tula Craftsmen” presented in the Tula State Museum of Weapons

The exhibition Masterpieces of Tula Craftsmen is open in the Hall of Glory of Russian Weapons of the Tula State Museum of Weapons. The exhibition project is held within the celebration of the 350th anniversary since the birth of Peter the Great and the 150th anniversary of the Tula State Museum of Weapons in 2022-2023.

The exposition features over 120 exclusive exhibits from the collections of the biggest museums of Moscow, St. Petersburg and private collections. These are authentic works by Tula masters of the XVIII-XXI centuries: dueling pistols, original edged weapons, every-day items, hunting and sports rifles with a delicate décor completed through various techniques of processing metal, wood, bone and stone, as well as functioning miniatures of weapons.

The high art of weapon decoration has been developing in Tula for three centuries. The exhibited objects clearly demonstrate the multidimensional talent of Tula gunsmiths. Relying on the traditions of European and Russian cultures, they have managed to create their own style of decorating weapons. Items created by Tula masters of the XVIII-XXI centuries truly deserve to be called the world-class masterpieces.

The exhibition reveals various forms of the phenomenon of Tula weapon art that has a special place in Russian and world cultures, as well as reflects on the role of the Imperial Tula Weapon Factory, established by Peter the Great in 1712, in the development of gunsmithing.