Two Illuminated Letters of Queen Anne Stuart from the Russian State Archive of Ancient Documents Сollection in Moscow

Abstract

The article for the first time publishes two illuminated parchment letters of Queen Anne Stuart of 1707 and 1708 addressed to Tsar Peter the Great from the collection of the Russian State Archive of Ancient Documents (RGADA) in Moscow. The analysis of their artistic decoration allows establishing that the letters were decorated in the royal workshop in London by its head, Thomas Brand, using the samples of ornamental engraving by the French master of the second half of the 17th century, Alexis Loir. Based on the material of the illuminated letters of the epoch from Charles II of England to Anne Stuart, including those stored in the English fund of the Russian State Archive of Ancient Documents (No. 35), the article for the first time presents a brief outline of the history of decorating parchment documents in England for half a century: the author traces the history of the royal workshop in the 1660s — 1710s, considers the issues of the influence of ornamental engraving and the evolution of style, and assesses the contribution of the leading craftsmen, as well as the role of the Queen Anne era and the court master Thomas Brand in updating the art of decorating letters at the beginning of the 18th century.

Keywords

• english illuminated letters
• printing press
• engraved pattern
• ornamental framing
• royal coats of arms and emblems