A Mongolian travel document

Printed colour on textile. The centre of the document is decorated with various auspicious animals such as a bat, pheasant, sheep and elephant, between a vase on one side and a dragon to the other, all below Buddhist symbols. The two margins of the document bear text and are stamped with the Russian royal emblem.

Provenance: Paul Rutten collection, Amsterdam. Jan Brummelhuis collection, Amsterdam.

Catalogue notes: This colourful and interesting piece is a travel permit dating back to the time of Catharine the Great. It is decorated with Buddhist Mongolian good luck charms and royal emblems from the Russian Empire. The text states that the beholder of this document can travel freely and cross the Russian borders. In the eastern and north-eastern part of the Czardom bordering the Gobi desert and Buriathya, Mongolian would have been one of the spoken languages.