Excursion in the Hermitage: Hara-Hoto - the "dead" city

When we say that the Hermitage is the largest museum in our country, an encyclopedic museum, we largely perceive it as a museum of Western European art. But the Hermitage is also famous for its collections of art from the countries of the East, among which there are completely unique collections.

One of them is a collection of medieval Buddhist paintings of the XII-XIV centuries from the “dead” city of Khara-Hoto, lost for centuries in the sands of the desert and discovered by Peter Kuzmich Kozlov in the early twentieth century. The fascinating history of the Tangut state, which once belonged to the city, still holds many secrets, the death is connected with the name of Genghis Khan. Who are the Tanguts? Why did their state die?

Where does the Hermitage have such a unique collection of scrolls made in both Tibetan and Chinese traditions? What are they talking about scrolls - and how beautiful paintings, and as a historical source? We will find answers to these questions during the online tour "The Caretaker". Our guide is Marina Vadimovna Kozlovskaya, an employee of the Scientific and Educational Department of the State Hermitage Museum.