Life at the Montenegrin court

29 Apr

The exhibition “Life at the Montenegrin court”, organized by the National Museum of Montenegro in cooperation with the JU Museums and Galleries of Podgorica, was opened in the Modern Gallery in Podgorica. Curators of the National Museum – Jelena Vujovic, Vukan Raznatovic, Ana Kapetanovic and Filip Kuzman, with a selection of items from the rich collections of the Museum of King Nikola, presented life at the Palace, which was home to the Montenegrin royal family for almost half a century. The presented exhibits give an insight into everyday life, the environment and interior in which it took place, the taste and fashion of clothing, while items from the collections of decorations, coats of arms and seals illustrate the role of the Palace as the political and diplomatic center of Montenegro. The exhibited objects come from the period of the second half of the 19th and the very beginning of the 20th century.

Opening the exhibition, the head of the King Nikola Museum, Vukan Ražnatović, said that the exhibition gives an insight into the life of a family, a family which, due to historical circumstances, thanks to the perseverance and skills of its members, was and remains one of the most significant in Montenegrin history.

– The members of the Petrović-Njegoš dynasty did not only have historically important moments in their lives, but, like all of us, they had moments of ordinary everyday life and days filled with leisure. They filled that free time with a new phenomenon in the Montenegrin society of that period, which is a hobby, the most famous of which is certainly the photography of Princess Xenia. King Nikola’s poetry was not only a hobby but also a political struggle, so it can be concluded that art pervaded every segment of Petrović’s life. In addition to the moments of creation, their lives were also made up of aristocratic things that they used every day, escajg during meals, fairy tales that they read to children and foreign fashion magazines that formed their clothing style – said Ražnatović and expressed the expectation that at the exhibition one can experience part of the atmosphere with of the Montenegrin court and invited those present to visit the Museum of King Nikola in Cetinje for a complete experience.

Jelena Vujović, one of the curators of the exhibition, pointed out that with the exhibition they wanted to bring closer the way of life at the Montenegrin court, to provide an insight into the emancipation of members of the royal family and the way in which they very subtly adopted European trends. She said that an important segment of the story of life at the court is the interior and interior decor, which for decades were a kind of backdrop, both for leading and ruling the country, and for the daily life of members of the royal family.

– The seemingly modest and simple architecture of the Montenegrin court hid the royal opulence and aristocratic luxury of the interior ambience. In the part that illustrates the palace interior, objects are presented that reflect the taste and design of interiors and home decor at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, which are characterized by eclecticism and a variety of stylistic languages ​​- explained Vujović. She also emphasized the refined taste of the Montenegrin princesses, as evidenced by the festive dresses, daily and travel wardrobe sets and other luxurious pieces of clothing.

The exhibition also presents a selection of photographs from the collection of the Museum of King Nikola, which show members of the Montenegrin royal family, both on festive occasions and in private, everyday moments.

The exhibition will be open until September 1, 2024.