Silver gifts from Swedish monarchs to Russian tsars during the seventeenth century is a sumptuously and lavishly illustrated volume about the magnificent silver gifts presented vy Swedish monarchs to Russian rulers. Six major diplomatic missions brought, under most difficult circumstances, magnificent gifts from Stockholm to Moscow. The first was sent by Queen Christina in 1647 and the last by King Charles XII in 1699. The Swedish gifts are of exceptional interest both as pre-eminent works of art and as objects of cultural importance that reflect the two countries' history. The major part of this massive silver treasure can still be seen today in the Kremlin Armoury in Moscow.

This work is the outcome of more than a decade of cooperation and the joint endeavour by Russian and European experts on the Kremlin's unique collection, regarded as one of the world's most important exhibitions of silver. Susann Silfverstolpe gives the historical background of the objects and provides a fascinating and informative description of how they were used to add lustre to extravagant Baroque festivities. Essays by other leading scholars from Russia, Sweden, Germany and Finland probe more deeply into the provenance of the silver gifts, the development of the relationship between Sweden and Russia and the significance of the diplomatic missions. The catalogue section presents here for the first time all the 195 objects with detailed descriptions and 84 colour illustrations.