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Bronze Mask of Peter the Great of Russia (1672-1725): M.20-1938

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Current Location: In storage

Titles

Bronze Mask of Peter the Great of Russia (1672-1725)

Maker(s)

Production: Unknown

Entities

Categories

Description

Bronze, cast.

Notes

History note: General Perroffski, Orenburgh, Russia, by whom given to General Sir James Abbott, KCB in 1839; by descent to the donor

Legal notes

Given by Raymond Abbott in memory of his father General Sir James Abbott, KCB

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1938-08-16) by Abbott, Raymond

Dating

18th Century
Circa 1725 CE - Circa 1800 CE

Note

Peter the Great died in bed on 28 January 1725, after suffering an excruciatingly painful illness. This bronze cast after a death mask, together with a bronze death mask of Charles XII of Sweden (1682-1718), was presented to Captain James Abbot as a parting gift by General Perroffski, while he was at Orenburgh in Russia in 1839. In his 'Narrative of a Journey from Heraut to Khiva, Moscow, and St Petersburg . . .' 1843 (see Documentation) Abbot noted the gift: 'It was a pair of bronze casts from the masks (taken immediately after death), of Peter the Great and of his rival Charles XII of Sweden. There were but two casts made from the original masks. The Emperor of Russia has one, and James Abbot the other. I assured Perroffski in thanking him for these most precious relics, that the Russian empire contained no gem that I should value more highly. That they should be preserved in my family as a sacred memento of the friendship and hospitality of Perroffski..

People, subjects and objects depicted

Materials used in production

Bronze

Techniques used in production

Casting (process) : Bronze, cast

References and bibliographic entries

Related exhibitions

Identification numbers

Accession number: M.20-1938
Primary reference Number: 14058

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Tuesday 13 August 2024

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Bronze Mask of Peter the Great of Russia (1672-1725)" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/14058 Accessed: 2025-12-05 11:10:27

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{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/14058 |title=Bronze Mask of Peter the Great of Russia (1672-1725) |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 11:10:27|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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