he Ukrainian Folk Decorative Art Museum is one of the largest art museums in Ukraine. It is located on the grounds of the National Kyiv-Pechersk historico-cultural preserve and is housed in the former Metropolitan's residence and the adjacent Annunciation church (ХVІІІ – beginning of ХХ century).

Collection of folk costume ХІХ-ХХ с. (fragment of exhibition)

The museum collection was established in 1899 as part of the collection of the newly founded City Antiquity and Art Museum, which was renamed in 1904 the "Kyiv Art, Industry and Science Museum".

Now the reserves and displays of the museum contain over 75,000 artifacts of Ukrainian traditional folk and professional decorative art dating from XV century to present days. Many of them are household and domestic articles varied in material, shape, decoration, and purpose which talented craftsmen had turned into highly artistic items inhering the wealth of regional specificities. Art works created by professional artisans demonstrate implementation of established folk traditions in their creative concepts.

The museum permanent exhibition which totals some 1,500 sq. m. represents all types of Ukrainian folk art: carpet weaving, weaving, print, embroidery, ceramics, wood carving and painting, artistic leatherwork, horn and metal work, glassware, porcelain, Easter egg painting ("pysankarstvo"), folk painting and iconography.

The pride of the Museum is its extensive collection of Ukrainian folk costumes of ХІХ —  first half of XX century representing all regions of Ukraine, in which are synthesized folk arts of style, sewing, weaving, embroidery, applique, print, wicker-work, artistic leatherwork and metalwork.

Deserve attention traditional trappings: “duckachs” (necklaces with coins as lockets), coral and Venetian glass beads, beadwork.

Especially valuable objects, both from the historical and artistic viewpoints, are wooden carved silver-mounted cross of 1576, clay glazed tiles of ХV  — ХVІІІ centuries, Kozak(Cossack) tobacco-pipes and powder-flasks of ХVІІІ — ХІХ centuries, silk woven sashes of ХVІІІ century, embroidered in gold and silver canonicals items of ХVІІІ century, "guta" (a traditional glass workshop in the 16th - 19th centuries) glassware of ХVІ — ХVІІІ centuries, production of leading Ukrainian porcelain and faience enterprises of ХVІІІ — ХІХ centuries: Kyevo-Mezhighirskaya faience factory and Volokitinsky porcelain works.

The Museum possesses the Ukraine's largest collection of works by Marija Primachenko (1909 — 1997), which includes more than 500 fabulous and fantastic paintings.
A special showroom accommodates the canvases by Katerina  Bilokur (1900 — 1961). They are deservedly considered the masterpieces of the Museum's collection and belong to riches of world art.

Numerous temporary exhibitions feature works by contemporary artisans as well as the exhibits stored in the Museum's repositaries.

The history of the Museum >>

Address: 01015, Kyiv, 21 Sichnevogo povstannya, bld. 29;
Tel.\Fax: 380(44) 280-13-43,
Tel.: 380(44) 280-36-93, 380(44) 280-58-12, 380(44) 280-36-88;
E-mail: musukrndm@kv.ukrtel.net
Public transport: bus 24, trolleybus 38, stop „Kyivo - Pechersk Lavra” Opening hours from 10.00 to 18.00, closed on Tuesday.

Links:
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