The Treasures of Ukraine's Hetmanate

Precious gifts from the Ukrainian nobility to Orthodox churches and monasteries

These contributions are vivid examples of the Baroque style, which dominated all spheres of cultural life. 

The valuables, commissioned by the Cossack government, were crafted by master goldsmiths using gold and silver, and embellished with carving, engraving, multicolored stones, and enamels, as well as depictions of saints.

The historical evidence of the ruler's involvement is his coat of arms "Kurch," located at the bottom.

Bowing before the icon, Ivan Mazepa not only dressed it in luxurious attire but also built a stone temple of the Protection of the Mother of God in the village of Dyhtyariwka near the town of Novhorod-Siverskyi in Chernihiv region.

Before the start of the Great Northern War, during which the issue of Swedish protectorate for Ukraine was to be resolved with the participation of Mazepa and his supporters, the Blessed Mother shed tears in anticipation of misfortune on the icon.

Two woman

From the collection of the Museum Treasury come a pair of goblets by Konstantin Mokievsky (1691-1708), a Kyiv colonel and relative of Hetman Ivan Mazepa, crafted by Nathanael Schlaubitz, a goldsmith from the Polish city of Gdansk. 

The vessels contain depictions of early Christian martyrs - Faith, Hope, Love, and their mother Sophia - who were named after Christian virtues. 

The goblets were donated to the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, as indicated by the inscription on the reverse of the tray: "Colonel Konstantin Mokievsky donated 2 vessels to the monastery of the Pechersk on March 9, 1697."  . 

Most of the gifts-contributions to the museum belong to church utensils. These are including the Gospel donated by Nizhyn Colonel Vasyl Zolotarenko (1659-1663), according to the gift inscription, to the St. Nicholas Cathedral in Nizhyn

The cross - contribution from Vasyl Rodzyanko (1723-1734), a transport officer of the Myrhorod regiment, "to the temple of the Three Holy Hierarchs for the forgiveness of sins in the year AΨKΣ (1726)" and the wine chalices for the liturgy.

The museum's treasury preserves deposits from not only the religious but also the secular purpose of the Cossack era. 

Among them is a small-sized teapot with the coat of arms of Colonel Stepan Tomara from Pereyaslav, crafted in 1715 by the Kyiv goldsmith Ivan Ravich.

The item resembles a pumpkin in shape, with its spout resembling the head of a goose. The lid of the exhibit is crowned with a coral bead. This precious vessel is a contribution from the treasury of the Uspensky Cathedral of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.

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