The Tsar Carpenter Saint Petersburg

Originally sculpted in bronze, the Tsar Carpenter has since faded to a handsome greenish hue and depicts Peter the Great as a young man, doing about the job of building a ship. In classic Russian tradition placing value on workmanship, the figure’s sleeves are rolled back, and he firmly grips an axe in one hand. This pose captures the moment when Peter the Great set out to learn the art of shipbuilding, something that would later prove instrumental to his successful reign.