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Among the engraving artworks stored in the Preserve's collection, there are unique examples of fireworks banners of the early 18th century. Fiery shows were an integral part of the festive culture of the Baroque period. They celebrated military victories, secular and church holidays, and memorable dates. Expressive, often compositionally complex images, presented in the form of burning paintings, necessarily had a symbolic, instructive meaning.
This work was made in the atelier of the famous Dutch engraver Adrian Schonebeck in 1702. The engraving depicts scenery for fireworks dedicated to the victory of one of the benefactors of the Kyiv-Pechersk Monastery, Field Marshal Borys Sheremetyev, near Erestfer.
The fiery performance was supposed to represent allegorical figures, traditional for Baroque art: Chronos (Time) next to Fortune (Luck). Both characters have specific attributes, such as a scythe, a sandglass, and a banner. This group embodied the idea time and fortune contribute to victories. So-called Emblems, i.e. allegorical paintings popular at that time in Europe, accompanied mythological characters: a beaver gnawing at a tree as the embodiment of stubborn diligence, and young branches sprouting from a dry stump as the symbol of hope. All images have concise mottos-explanations.
The presented engraving, made in the workshop of Schonebeck, has all the mentioned elements. The famous catalog of allegorical plots Symbols and Emblem became the main source of the images. This catalog inspired also the creation of a number of European coats of arms.
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