Sputnik news agency

Sputnik news agency

Video blog “My Russia”

May 2, 2021

Written by journalist Olivera Ikodinovich

 

“My Russia: Old timers, antiques, Zhirinovsky and one Serbian art collector”

Where do Moscow common people buy antiques and works of art? How much do art collectors and rich people pay for such pieces and how much does the average person from Moscow has to pay.

There are dozens of antique stores and markets in Moscow where you can find rarities not only from various Russian eras, but also imported. The offer is diverse – there is something for everyone. However, not everyone buys at the same place. Wealthy clientele and art collectors mostly purchase works of art at the auctions, antique shops and at great antique exhibitions, while common people find unique pieces at flea markets.

For the ones with bigger income the 46th Russian Antique Salon was recently held in the center of Moscow. Famous art collectors, art critics and art lovers gathered at the Salon.

According to tradition, various unique works of art were exhibited at the stands of the participants of the Russian Antique Salon – paintings, icons, sculptures, furniture, jewellery, dishes and decorative objects made of finest china and silver etc. Antique and contemporary works of art were exhibited at the Salon. Old timers were exhibited for the first time this year.

Serbian art collector Vladimir Peshich exhibited part of his collection. Vladimir’s great-grandfather Andrija started creating the family collection more than a century ago, so Vladimir was surrounded by paintings that decorated his family home from the earliest childhood.

Vladimir was born in London, then he lived in Paris and then he moved to Moscow, where along with his father, well known correspondent of newspaper Politika, Dushan Peshich, met Soviet and Russian artists and visited famous Russian museums.

Paintings from the family collection Vladimir exhibited for the third time at this Russian Antiques Salon. The organisers highly appreciate the Peshich family collection which is proved by the fact that these paintings were exhibited at the prestigious part of Gostiny Dvor, and Russian journalists and art critics wrote positive reviews about the Peshich family collection.

Icons from the 15th century, masterpieces of the greatest Russian and European painters, unique pieces of furniture including a display case that Tsar Peter the Great ordered from China were exhibited at the Russian Antiques Salon in Moscow. Prices range from a few hundred euros for works of contemporary art to millions of euros for antiques. One could even use cryptocurrencies to make a purchase.

Antique lovers with lower income mainly go to flea markets and antique markets. One of places of this kind is a Retro shop where part of the goods is sold at fixed price – for only 100 rubles, which is just over one euro. Here you can buy various decorative figurines, glasses, cups, even books. You can buy samovars, clothes, shoes, sculptures, jewellery, gramophone records, watches, dishes, furniture and decorative items painted in Russian technique “gzhel”. In other words, you can buy anything here, there is something for everyone’s taste.

The prices vary as the offer itself, so, for example, a floor lamp or a samovar from the 19th century can be bought for about 500 euros. You can also purchase amber necklaces for a little less than 50 euros, but also other amber jewellery, probably from Kaliningrad, considering that as much as 90 percent of the world’s amber reserves come from the Russian region Kaliningrad.

Auctions and exhibitions are occasionally organised here, personal collections of art lovers and even Russian politicians’ collections are exhibited here. This time personal collection of the liberal leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky is exhibited here along with the presents he received from Saddam Hussein, Jack Nicholson and other famous people.

Sputnik journalist Olivera Ikodinovich in her video blog My Russia takes you every other week to familiar and hidden places of Moscow and Russia. Take a peek with us in different parts of Russia and its capital, get to know their beauty and traditions and feel the spirit of the country and the Russian soul.

https://odysee.com/@Sputnjik.Srbija:7/oldtajmeri,-antikviteti,-%C5%BEirinovski-i:d

https://rs.sputniknews.com/rusija/202105021125244862-moja-rusija-oldtajmeri-antikviteti-zirinovski-i-jedan-srpski-kolekcionar-video/