The Ukrainian-Swedish Crossroads of History crosses the Atlantic
One hundred fifty unique artifacts belonging to 27 institutions (museums, archives, libraries, and private collectors) in Ukraine, Sweden, and the USA, are presented at the Ukrainian Museum of New York City in the recently opened exhibit “Ukraine-Sweden: the Crossroads of History (17th-18th centuries).”
The rarities include Cossack insignia (a club and flags), letters written by hetmans Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Ivan Vyhovsky, and Pylyp Orlyk, as well as maps, engravings, and diplomatic correspondence. There is also a 17th century Gospel, silver Royal doors from the Borys and Hlib Cathedral in Chernihiv, and the gilded silver icon case of Our Lady of St. Elias Church. The latter is from the collection of the Kharkiv Historical Museum, where it was exhibited for the first time a hundred years ago. The gold items were ordered by Mazepa, as testified by his coats of arms.
The display in NYC is a kind of sequel to an exhibit of the same name, which was displayed at the National Museum of Ukraine October 2007 through April 2008.
Apart from being an event of considerable significance by museum standards – it is the first time that Ukraine has presented its unique cultural and intellectual product on such a scale abroad – the exhibit at the Ukrainian Museum of New York has broad historical, political, academic, and educational implications. Preparing it, it was necessary to reassess little known materials. This has inspired new ideas.
The project was financed exclusively by the Ukrainian diaspora in the US. However, it is worth emphasizing that the creation of the project proper, and its first presentation in Ukraine, were only possible thanks to substantial governmental support. Without it, there would be no exhibit in NYC.
The unique exposition has received extremely positive feedback from visitors and American media.
