The Summer Palace

The study of Peter the Great is a working room, where the emperor would examine young noblemen, listen to reports, write decrees and manage the state.

The most interesting object in the study of Peter the Great is a unique Wind Device. The functioning Wind Device is situated on the wall in a carved wooden frame. The three faces show: the upper – the clock time, the two lower – the power and direction of the wind. The hands of the lower faces are connected with a weathercock on the roof of the Summer Palace. The device was made in Dresden on the order of Peter the Great and brought to the Summer Palace in 1714. The frame of the device was made after the drawing by Johann Dinglinger, court jeweller of the Saxon elector. It is decorated with mythological characters representing naval elements (Neptune, Aeolus – the ruler of the winds, tridents, snouts of ships, rudders, etc.). The Sea Crown tops the frame.

The walls are decorated with picturesque paintings by Dutch artists of the early 18th century. There is a work by Adam Silo, a Dutch artist whom Peter the Great especially appreciated for his knowledge of ships’ fitting-out. He even used these paintings to test the knowledge of young sailors.

The glased tile stove is also decorated with detailed pictures of sailing ships (the tiles were made by Dutch artists in the early 18th century and partly reconstructed in the 1960s during the renovation).

The showcase displays Peter’s skipper’s dress of brown cloth – tarpaulin and trousers.

On the oak table there are books, an inkwell and an abacus.