The Victoria and Albert Museum in London has changed the informational labels for items from the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. The descriptions stated that the exhibits originated from the "Russian Empire" and that some items were "a gift from Empress Catherine II." This was reported by Suspilne citing the Deputy General Director for Scientific Work of the National Conservation Area "Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra," Kostiantyn Krainiy.
According to him, Ukrainian representatives gained access to the exhibition and drew attention to the origin indicated on the museum labels. Researchers studied the history of the items and found that they were made by Ukrainian craftsmen specifically for the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Their creation was also financed by Ukrainian patrons. The mention of Catherine II only related to the period of their creation, as they were made during her reign. It did not mean that the empress was their donor.
Following the appeal from the Ukrainian side, the museum changed the relevant informational labels. Kostiantyn Krainiy noted that the Ukrainian side would also like to return these artifacts to Kyiv after the war. However, legal circumstances currently prevent this.
According to the scholar, changing the labels is part of a broader effort to decolonize museum collections. This includes researching the origin of items and presenting them in their proper Ukrainian historical and cultural context.
Read also: Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra plans to restore the tombstone at the burial site of Petro Mohyla
What is known about the exhibition
On September 14, the exhibition "Sacred Treasures from Kyiv" opened at the Victoria and Albert Museum. It presented seven items from the collection of the National Conservation Area "Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra" for the first time in Great Britain.
Among the exhibits are an icon, an altar cross, a chalice, a tabernacle, and a Gospel. The museum also houses two pairs of gilded silver royal doors from the churches of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra - the Exaltation of the Cross Church and the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church.
According to Krainiy, the exhibition aims not only to showcase individual museum pieces but also to present Ukrainian Baroque art and its place in the European cultural space to the British audience.
We remind you that French volunteers created a petition to remove Russia from UNESCO after the shelling of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
