The breath of the Renaissance

The Pavilion Hall of the Small Hermitage was designed in the mid-19th century by Andrei Stakenschneider, the most significant Russian architect of the Eclecticism style. In the design of this interior he intermingled architectural elements of Classical Antiquity, Renaissance and the Orient. The combination of light marble with gilt stucco ornaments and the brightly shining twenty-eight crystal chandeliers make it particularly impressive. The hall is adorned with an arcade of columns supporting a graceful gallery. On display in the southern part of the hall is a copy of the floor mosaics, unearthed in 1780 in the ancient Roman bath at Ocriculum. The place had been originally occupied with the Greenhouse. The niche, leading to the staircase gallery and adorned with coloured marble columns, is surrounded with four marble fountains imitating with variations the Fountain of Tears in the Bakhchisarai Palace. Among the museum's exhibits which never fail to attract visitors' attention, is the Peacock Clock (James Cox, 18th century) from the collection of Catherine the Great. The Pavilion Room also contains the collection of mosaic tables made by Italian and Russian craftsmen in the mid-19th century.