Arapskii zal Zimnego dvortsa (Black Man’s Hall of the Winter Palace)
St. Petersburg: Herm, 2009. saddle-stitched. After serving as living quarters for Grand Prince Alexander Pavlovich’s family, the large hall on the second floor of the Winter Palace was redesigned in the late eighteenth century by Ivan Starov as a grand dining room. Restored after the fire of December 1837 by Alexander Briullov, the room has preserved its neoclassical beauty. Besides the distinctive design of the hall, the author examines an aspect of the Russian imperial court connected with it: black men usually from Ethiopia (arapy) were traditionally given prestigious posts as servants and sentinels in the palace, and this room became associated with them — hence its name Black Men's Hall (Arapskii zal). Reproduced are paintings and drawings by such artists as Luigi Premazzi and Mikhail Zichi of court ceremonies showing how black servants in their ornate uniforms contributed to the aura of the court. The author also notes a sociological aspect their service: many married Russian women, and their offspring were some among the first subjects of mixed race in the Russian Empire. Also noted is the dead end they came to, like other aspects of court ritural, in 1917. 63 p., 6 x 9 ins., 10 b-&-w illus., 48 color, Rus. Series: Halls and Buildings of the Hermitage (Zaly i zdaniia Ermitazha). Item #2279
ISBN: 9785935723132
Price: $27.00