The dining room in the Pavlov house was located on the first floor. Several times a day, the big family gathered there at a rectangular table. The children were taught how to observe the rules of etiquette and use cutlery, so the table was always fully served. The talent of serving the table belonged to Varvara Pavlova, who was an impeccable hostess and mother of five children. She knew how to create an atmosphere of warmth and comfort in the house every day, using beautiful dishware and exquisite cutlery to serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

The Ivan Pavlov Estate Museum has preserved six table knives from the “Hunting” series. Each of them is beautiful in its own way. The metal knife with a wide blade is engraved on both sides. One side depicts floral motifs, a bird, and a rectangular frame, decorated with a pattern, that features an inscription — “E.A. Moiseiva”.
On the other side of the blade, there is the same floral motif and bird, however, the framed image here shows a hunter with a gun on his shoulder, a sprawling tree, and tall grass. The knife handle is convenient to use and is made in the form of facets with the rounded shape getting slightly wider at the end. The handle features drawings on both sides. The central part is embellished with a floral motif — a strawberry bush with berries, leaves, tendrils, flowers, and ovaries. At the top the drawing on the handle is a flying bird.

It is no coincidence that the series of knives with the “Hunting” theme ended up in the Pavlov house. The academician Pavlov’s younger brothers, Dmitry and Pyotr, loved to go hunting. Pyotr was interested in watching the life of birds; he also brought various trophies and was a skilled taxidermist. He sent his works to the Zoological Museum at the Imperial Saint Petersburg University, where he was listed as a curator. Pyotr Petrovich Pavlov’s article titled “Ornithological observations in the Ryazan Governorate” described 140 birds that lived near Ryazan.

In his observations of 1877, Pyotr Pavlov wrote,