Doors with images of the seasons were made by an unknown author in the 19th century. There is no exact information on the native land of the artifact: researchers only suppose that they were made in France. The doors are toned with natural colourants and varnished. Together with a wooden base, the craftsmen installed figurines of women symbolizing the seasons. Reliefs were cast in bronze and fastened to the doors with large metal pins. Previously the doors graced the interior of the Murzino estate in the Yaroslavl province. The house belonged to the Shebeko noble family. It is known that in 1918 a strong fire broke out in it. Apparently, the doors were removed before this happened.
Back in the Medieval times people used to decorate front doors of their houses with different compositions. It was considered that figurines were protecting hosts from the impact of dark forces, and that rightly chosen images were helping to establish a calm and prosperous way of life. Plots with seasons were quite frequent in the European art already in the 17th century.
The summer season was normally symbolized by a female figurine with ripe ears of wheat. In case of the doors from the Murzino estate, it is located in the right top corner.
The time of autumn was often pictured as a young woman with a bunch of grapes. On these doors the season’s composition is represented by two figurines: the first one is holding a bunch of ripe berries in the right hand, and the other one is submitting a jar, to which the grape juice will flow.
The winter period was presented by a female figurine with a shawl on her head. And the spring relief, unfortunately, was lost. It is known that spring was often depicted as a young girl with flowers. Researchers give as an example the engraving from the British Museum - reliefs for such doors were often made based on similar images.
Back in the Medieval times people used to decorate front doors of their houses with different compositions. It was considered that figurines were protecting hosts from the impact of dark forces, and that rightly chosen images were helping to establish a calm and prosperous way of life. Plots with seasons were quite frequent in the European art already in the 17th century.
The summer season was normally symbolized by a female figurine with ripe ears of wheat. In case of the doors from the Murzino estate, it is located in the right top corner.
The time of autumn was often pictured as a young woman with a bunch of grapes. On these doors the season’s composition is represented by two figurines: the first one is holding a bunch of ripe berries in the right hand, and the other one is submitting a jar, to which the grape juice will flow.
The winter period was presented by a female figurine with a shawl on her head. And the spring relief, unfortunately, was lost. It is known that spring was often depicted as a young girl with flowers. Researchers give as an example the engraving from the British Museum - reliefs for such doors were often made based on similar images.
