The International Charitable Foundation “Oleksandr Feldman Foundation” has comprehensively supported THE WORRIOR’S WAY – ONE FOR TWO exhibition: Cossack and Samurai weapons from the Feldman Family Museum.
A very interesting and conceptually original exhibition was opened in the Ancient Chernihiv, the Chernihiv National Architectural-Historical Park, on May 18 at 2 p.m.. The single place divided into two exhibition halls presented the ancient Samurai swords and priceless relics of the Cossacks, arms and signet rings belonging to the Cossack leaders and even hetmans. All 77 exhibits were taken from the Feldman Family Museum collection.
The exhibition took place in the Ancient Chernihiv, the Chernihiv National Architectural-Historical Park. It provided the unique opportunity to compare these different from the first sight sociocultural phenomena and military traditions – the Cossacks and the Samurai.
THE WORRIOR’S WAY – ONE FOR TWO exhibition was opened by Oleksandr Feldman, the famous Ukrainian collector and patron, Ukrainian MP. Speaking during the opening ceremony, he noted the identity of these two phenomena.
This unexpected comparison helps to understand and to assess own, Ukrainian cultural and historical heritage, to see it in the context of global history, to acknowledge the imperishable significance of moral values – courage, honour, patriotism, and self-sacrifice.
Yurii Sobol, the director general of the Ancient Chernihiv, the Chernihiv National Architectural-Historical Park thanked the Oleksandr Feldman during the opening of the exhibition for his selfless activity and patriotism.
As for Oleksii Artiukhin, the director of the FELDMAN FAMILY MUSEUM, noted that the main purpose of this exhibition activity is the increase of Ukraine’s self-evaluation by way of the society’s study of very rich Cossack heritage.
The opening ceremony was also attended by the mayor and the military commissar of Chernihiv, who emphasized the importance of the popularization of the Cossack heritage in the context of development and strengthening of patriotism, love to Ukraine, and in turn, thanked for the opening of the exhibition, for extremely interesting and useful exhibits.
In the end of the official part of the ceremony, a little boy came up to Oleksandr Feldman and told that he wants to be a Cossack. So, the patron and collector accompanied with a Cossack-boy invited everyone to the exhibition and paid attention to the unique, ancient printed books exhibited in the central hall.
Many visitors displayed a keen interest in the exhibits of the exhibition from the FELDMAN FAMILY MUSEUM. The unique exhibition interested the cadets and officers of the Academy of the State Penitentiary Service, schoolchildren and teachers of Chernihiv and even Kyiv, adults and children, as they spent several hours to have a good look at all exhibits.
The Samurai section of the exposition included the skilfully adorned swords and knives cloaked in legends, with ancient blades forged by the best Japanese masters. The oldest of them are dated to the first half of 15th century, when Ukrainian Cossacks only began to appear.
The Cossacks section consists of sabres, yataghans, knives, daggers, spearheads and tips of bear spears, chisels and ‘becs de corbin’, as well as decoration symbols belonging to the leaders – pernachs, shestopyors, silver belt, and signet rings dated to the middle of 16th – the beginning of 18th centuries, without which it is impossible to imagine neither Ukrainian hetman, nor the representative of high-rank Cossack leaders. These things gained sacred meaning in the eyes of their owners and their surroundings; they were heritable and turned from family relics into historical symbols of the whole country.
Each of these unique objects is interesting as a weapons artwork, and as a heraldic attraction, as a rarity related to the destinies of certain people, historical figures, and the past of Ukraine.
The exhibition is Chernihiv is the second one carried out within the framework of the new historical and educative project of the International Charitable Foundation “Olekdandr Feldman Foundation.” The first one took place in the Bogdan and Varvara Khanenko Museum of Art (Kyiv) during near two months (from March 10 to May 8, 2016).
Now, the exhibition takes place at the following address: city of Chernihiv, 1, Preobrazhenska Str., the Ancient Chernihiv, the Chernihiv National Architectural-Historical Park (Collegium classroom).
In the near future, it is planned to show the exhibits from the FELDMAN FAMILY MUSEUM in Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Lviv, Zaporizhzhia.
