The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Tsar of All Russia. Holiness and Splendour of Power Audio Tour Script

Goblet in the shape of a melon, jug in the shape of a female bust, jug, table decoration and platter

The exchange of diplomatic gifts was an important part of the ambassadorial ceremonial. European monarchs mainly presented the tsars of Russia with silverware, such as the unique goblet given by King Christian IV of Denmark to Tsar Mikhail

Fyodorovich in 1644. In the 17th century, the melon had a top in the centre which acted as a lid, lending the goblet a sense of completion, while the leaves and flowers of the still-life were coated in coloured varnish. Such an object might have been exhibited in a display cabinet or used as a table decoration when creating a composition on the theme of the four seasons of the year or the four elements of nature.

A pair of silver embossed jugs created by Melchior I Gelb, a leading silversmith from Augsburg in Germany, was brought to Russia among the gifts from King Charles

X Gustav of Sweden to Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovich between 1655 and 1658. This is one of them. The two jugs in the shape of a female bust are the only ones of their kind.

The large silver jug was brought to the court of Tsar Ivan V and Tsar Peter I in

1686 among a group of presents from Jan III Sobieski, king of Poland and grand duke of Lithuania. The Russo-Polish War began in 1654 and ended with the

Truce of Andrusovo in 1667, although the Treaty of Perpetual Peace was not signed until 1686. Sets of figured vessels, wash jugs and plates were popular in the Baroque period. The table decoration on show at the exhibition was given by King Charles

XII of Sweden to Tsar Peter the Great in 1699. The numerous presents made that year by the Swedish king to Peter the Great are known to have included 10 wash sets, many of which consisted of massive silver platters and jugs in the form of different figures.

The enormous oval platter made of gilded silver is decorated with an embossed composition depicting the biblical subject of the dance of Salome inside a frame of large flowers on a wide border. The multi-figured scene shows Salome dancing at the banquet in front of King Herod and his high officials. This platter was one of a number of presents made by King Charles XII of Sweden to Tsar Peter the Great in 1699.