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| Count Aleksey A. Bobrinskoy |
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19.11.11 – 31.01.12. “Count A.A. Bobrinskoy – traveller, ethnographer and art historian” exhibition (commemorating the150th anniversary of his birth)
Count A.A. Bobrinskoy - traveller, ethnographer and art historian
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Count Aleksey Alekseevich Bobrinskoy (b. Moscow,21st December 1861 -d. Siuzi, Italy 4th December 1938), whose name is closely connected with the history of Russian science, primarily research in the field of traditional art and culture of Russian people, as well as the peoples of the Pamirs (Shugnanis, Rushanis, Wakhis, Ishkashimis, etc.).
Count A. A. Bobrinskoy belonged to the upper stratum of society in pre-revolutionary Russia. Unfortunately, during his lifetime,his name remained in the shadow of that of his better known second cousin Aleksey Alexandrovich Bobrinskoy, Chairman of the Archaeological Commission, who shared his initials. Some authors still attribute the works of the former to the latter.
Bobrinskoy is worthy of recognition for both his meritorious scientific achievements as for his high moral qualities. He was most demanding of himself, but also very modest,active in charity without publicity.
The purpose of the exhibition is to familiarise visitors with Count A. A. Bobrinskoy's life, his work and his heritage as well as with some cultural facets of the peoplesto whose study he had devoted his life.
Pamirs
His interest in the Pamirs determined the main direction of Bobrinskoy's scientific research. Organising, at his own expense, three expeditions tothe Pamirs (in 1895, 1897 and 1901), he alsohimself published the works of members of these expeditions.
In 1895, A.A. Bobrinsky, together with the renowned zoologist N.V. Bogoyavlensky (1870-1930), travelled to the Zarafshan valley, collecting substantial anthropological data.
The next trip, in 1898, was conducted under the auspices of the Imperial Moscow Society of the Enthusiasts of Natural Science, Anthropology and Ethnography. A new member of the expedition was A.A. Semenov (1873 - 1958), later a prominent Russian Orientalist. The expedition lasted nearly four months. Its route extended from Samarkand, throughthe Zarafshan mountains, Karategin, and Darvaz and then along theRiver Panj, to Kalai Khumb, by the Yakhsu river, to the village of Pata-Hissar on the right bank of the Amu Darya and on to Samarkand. The expedition had to cross five mountain passes and often treaded shaky wooden eaves overhanging precipices or the raging waters of the Panj. During this expedition, A.A. Bobrinsky investigated the culture of the local population while A.A. Semenov studied languages and folklore. N.V.Bogoyavlensky conducted anthropological and zoological research, made photographic records and undertook meteorological observations.
In 1901, A.A. Bobrinsky and N.V. Bogoyavlensky travelled up to the upper Panj river valley, where they became acquainted with the life of the inhabitants of Rushan, Shugnan, Rushan, Wakhan and Ishkashim.
In the mountainous regions of Tajikistan, A. A. Bobrinskoy acquired a unique collection of embroidered and crocheted garments, now kept at the Russian Museum of Ethnographyand displayed in the exhibition.
The collection of Russian embroidery
A. A.Bobrinskoy's scientific interest lay inRussian folk ornaments. The exhibited collection of embroidery of Northern Russiais preserved thanks to Sophia and Maria Ferzen, who kindly provided it for the exhibition. They were born in Italy, in thefamily of the Count and Countess Ferzen, descendants of Princess Dolgoruky and Counts Vorontsov-Dashkov and Shuvalov. Following the death in 1968of their mother, Alexandra Pavlovna (who, like four members of the Bobrinskoy family, ended her days in the in the Tyrolean village of Siuzi), theFerzen sisterscontinued to care for the tomb of Count A. A. Bobrinskoy and his wife. For more than half a century, Sofia and Maria Ferzen have been commemorating Bobrinskoy, an act worthy of the deepest gratitude of the people of Russia.
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