Ivan Astashev was born into the noble family of a minor official in Narym, Tomsk Governorate, in 1796. He studied at district schools of Tomsk and Narym, but never graduated. In 1809, he came to Tomsk and got hired as an official. Enjoying much success in moving up the career ladder both in Tomsk and in St. Petersburg, he eventually rose to the rank of Collegiate Councillor. In 1833, Ivan Astashev left the service and became a mine and trade attorney for the Popovs, who were famous gold mining tycoons.

Being smart, energetic, and calculating, as well as having studied entrepreneurship and mining, and gained support in a variety of circles, Astashev quickly made a huge fortune and became a millionaire. He was one of the richest and most influential people in 19th-century Tomsk. Ivan Astashev owned mines in the governorates of Yenisey and Tomsk, which brought him a considerable income. In 1842, Astashev built his estate, which now houses the Tomsk Museum of Local Lore.

The bust of Ivan Astashev displayed in the Museum’s merchant’s drawing room is made of ivory and stands on a wooden base. It was created by Yakov Seryakov, a Russian sculptor and bone carver. He was born into the family of a serf in the Kostroma Governorate in 1818. The family moved to St. Petersburg, where Seryakov and his father worked as clerks in an ironmonger’s. Even as early as this he made attempts at carving a bone that he had found at home. The first substantial piece created by Yakov Seryakov was his “Self Portrait, ” whose excellent resemblance to the original earned him the acclaim of his contemporaries. The most prolific period in Seryakov”s career were the 1840s and the 1850s. He created numerous portraits of people from all kinds of social strata, including officials, merchants, grand dukes, artists, and writers. Customers paid the sculptor both in money and in jewelry. Seryakov is well known for his portraits of Emperor Nicholas I, poet Vasily Zhukovsky, and Arina Rodionovna, the nanny of the poet Alexander Pushkin.

The bust of Ivan Astashev was found in the family of Ivan Yakushev, an illegitimate son of Astashev and his maid. After finding out about his son”s birth, the gold mining entrepreneur gave her a house at the intersection of Soldatskaya and Butkeyevskaya streets, which has been lost since then.