10.05.2021
Tulip Day is celebrated from March to May in different regions - from the Netherlands to Kalmykia
In Moscow, especially in recent years, tulips are symbolizing spring and May holidays. About 12 million flower bulbs were rooted in the capital for Victory Day 2021
The gorgeous Tulip is a symbol of love, joy and happiness. With the onset of spring, the first bright flowers - tulips appear in the flowerbeds and in the gardens. The mention of those flowers were found in ancient Persian songs and legends. A tulip got its name from the shape of the bud, which resembles a turban - the headdress of the Persians. A tulip was also a favorite flower of Turkish women, who bred it in huge quantities in the Sultans’ gardens. In the middle of the 16th century, tulip spread from Turkey to Austria and then spread throughout Europe. Such recognized celebrities as Voltaire, Cardinal Richelieu, Austrian Emperor Franz II and French King Louis XVIII were very fond of this flower. Hence, a tulip flower was most widely recognized in Holland, where it was rooted in the entire plantations, and plant selectionists created a great variety of breeds, including black flower.
Nowadays, a tulip is one of the national symbols in the Netherlands. Today you can enjoy all the splendor and diversity of this amazingly lovely flower in the Netherlands Royal Park, which attracts crowds of tourists every year.
In Russia, the first tulip flowers appeared during the reign of Peter The Great. That is to say, the tulip flower in the wild nature was known long ago. Later luxurious decorative varieties were breeded. Today these flowers are grown in the North and in hot climate in the South.
They easily endure severe frosts and long droughts. The nutrients accumulated in the bulb are enough to endure rather long dormant period without any damage.
During the "tulip" fever, tulips were rooted not only in gardens, the images of this flower were on all fabrics, they were woven on the most expensive Brabant laces, and appeared on oil paintings by the Dutch painters. The entire schools of painting flowers were established, where the tulip played the commanding share, and memories of the cult-favorite tulip have survived to our days on the pictures of the prominent artists - Jan Bruegel (senior and junior), Rembrandt Van Rhine, Vincent Van Gogh, and Philippe de Champagne. In all times the tulip was a real symbol of inspiration for artists, beautiful and mysterious at the same time.
The Museum Collection repository features the painted images of tulips and images made as a décor element on glassware, as well as tulip flowers and buds carved from stone or bone.
Tulips that were carved by the Chinese artisans from ivory in 1900 and presented in the collection section "Lapidary Works of Art" represent a spectacular example of the Naturalistic style.
The collection section "Russian Glass Art and Ceramic Art" features numerous items created at the beginning of the 20th century and decorated with carved images of tulips.