Traditionally, merchant houses had several staterooms, which included at least a single hall and a drawing room. The hall was intended for major holidays and special occasions. Directly adjacent to the hall was the drawing room. It was also used for entertaining guests, though in a more modest manner: by talking, playing cards, performing music, and hosting tea and evening parties. Drawing rooms were also used by the owners themselves, who rested there in their spare time. For this reason, its interior had to combine both utmost comfort and sophisticated appearance. Usually, it was the most beautiful room of the house that was adorned with the most valuable and beautiful possessions of its owners, such as ceremonial portraits, expensive paintings, rugs, clocks, and vases. Drawing rooms always featured upholstered furniture, where both guests and owners could take a seat and relax. A sofa was usually placed opposite the windows, with a small oval side table beside it and a few chairs or armchairs nearby. This was considered a traditional set of drawing room furniture at the turn of the 20th century.

The merchant’s drawing room of the Tomsk History Museum is a reconstruction of precisely such an area intended for receiving guests, holding pleasant conversations, and drinking tea. It features a set of furniture consisting of a sofa, an armchair, and a table. All of them were hand-crafted in limited quantities. The table beside the sofa is adorned with a tea set; here you can see a candy dish, a sugar bowl, and two teacups with saucers, among other items. The museum obtained the sofa along with the armchair in 2014. The wooden top rails on the backs and ornaments on the armrests were created using the relief carving technique. The wood is painted black, while the seat and the back are upholstered in a burgundy-colored fabric. Researchers discovered that the furniture was originally upholstered in a different material, but it was replaced at some point.

Acquiring furniture was rather difficult in Tomsk in the late 19th century. Physician and archaeologist Vladimir Florinsky, who traveled to Tomsk in 1880 with the goal of establishing the first university beyond the Urals, wrote: “…If you need a table, a cabinet, or a set of chairs, you are but compelled to either wait for the opportunity, or look for it at a flea market, or commission it from local joiners.”