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By following the links on this page you can go on a virtual tour of some of the Ukrainian artefacts and art works in museum and gallery collections in London.
(Note: the territory which became the modern state of Ukraine has had a complex history, and has been known under many different names. The artists who were born, lived their formative years and worked in Ukraine were often known as nationals of the countries under whose rule Ukraine was at the time. Some of the exhibits, therefore, may not have Ukraine as their provenance, even though they originate from this territory and were created by people who either were Ukrainians or had strong links to Ukraine.)
Ancient Kyiv jewellery at the British Museum
The British Museum owns a set of jewellery dating from the time of Kyivan Rus鈥� and spanning the 7th to the 12th centuries. The pieces were all found in Kyiv or its environs, and are beautifully crafted from gold or silver. Some of the pieces were researched by Dr Ludmila Pekarska, who is currently curator of the Shevchenko Library and Archive.
The pieces include a silver bow brooch, a silver pendant (which would have been worn by a lady at the court of the Kyivan princes), a silver bracelet and a gold pendant with enamel.
Maps of Ukraine at the British Library
The British Library (BL) holds a number of ancient maps of Ukraine, both as pages in atlases and as separate items. An example is this 1662 map of part of the Dnipro river, by the Dutch cartographer Johannes Blaeu: 鈥楾ractus Borysthenis, vulgo Dniepr et Niepr dicti鈥�. The photograph (left) is of an identical map in a private collection in London. At the beginning of the 20th century there was considerable interest in the maps of Ukraine held at the BL: for example, in 1914 the writer George Raffalovich (pseudonym Bedwin Sands) compiled and published a list of the maps, and in 1912 a short article about them appeared in 芦校泻褉邪懈薪褋泻邪褟 卸懈蟹薪褜禄 (Ukrainian Life), a periodical published in Moscow.
Cossack baroque and Bauhaus at the Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert (V&A) has a wide range of exhibits relating to Ukraine, including photography by (from his series 芦小褍屑械褉泻禄, 鈥楢t dusk鈥�), works by Jacob Kramer and political posters from early Soviet Ukraine.
Among the ancient treasures at the V&A is a , made in the Crimea in 350-300 BC, and two sets of 18th century 芦褑邪褉褋褜泻褨 胁芯褉芯褌邪禄 (central iconostasis doors), both made in Kyiv, , and the .
The V&A also has a collection of and by the Kyiv-born goldsmith and industrial designer Naum Slutsky (1894-1965), whose father was also a goldsmith, in Kyiv. Slutsky emigrated to Vienna and became a prominent member of the Bauhaus. In 1933 he came to England and taught design at the London Central College of Arts and Crafts, at the Royal College of Art and other institutions.
Artists originating from Ukraine in major art galleries
Many well-known artists from the 19th and 20th centuries, including (one of the few East European painters at the National Gallery), and others, had their origins in, or strong associations with, Ukraine. Some of their works, which often reflect their Ukrainian associations, may be found in the main London art galleries.
The Tate Gallery collections include several works by the cubist sculptor (1887-1964), the Ukraine-born painters (1892-1962), (1894-1962) and others.
Ukrainian folk art at the Horniman Museum
The Horniman Museum has in its collections examples of Ukrainian folk art, including 芦锌懈褋邪薪泻懈禄 (Easter eggs) and a 芦斜邪薪写褍褉邪禄 (bandura, folk instrument originating in cossack times, shown in the sculpture below).
Gregor Kruk at the Shevchenko Library and Archive
The Shevchenko Library and Archive has on display works by Ukrainian artists from Ukraine and the diaspora, including a collection of sculptures by Gregor Kruk (1911-1988), who, after the Second World War, worked in Germany. The photograph shows Kruk鈥檚 sculpture 鈥楤andura player鈥�.
Films relating to Ukraine at the British Film Institute National Archive
The National Archive at the British Film Institute (BFI) has a collection of Ukrainian and Ukraine-related films, including works by Oleksandr Dovzhenko, Sergei Paradzhanov and a number of contemporary directors. To see the collection go to the BFI and enter the search terms 鈥楿kraine鈥� and 鈥楿krainian鈥�.