In the 16th and 17th centuries, the term saadak referred to the complete set of armaments for a horseman. This included the bow, its case and the quiver and arrows. Until the 16th century, this was the principal weapon of the feudal forces. In the 17th century, it was replaced by firearms: saddle pistols and carbines. Thereafter, bows were used as offensive weapons only by the national militia. They continued in use for hunting. But from the middle of the 16th century and throughout the 17th century, a set of three saadaki was the most important item of royal Russian ceremonial armaments. These form the basis of the small and unique collection kept in the Kremlin Armory.

The most important features of Russian royal saadaki of the 17th century were the richness of its ornamentation, the precision of its finish and the portrayal of state emblems. Each ceremonial assemblage consisted of the bow and arrows themselves, a quiver, bow case, and takhtui (cover for the bow case), and a cover for the complete saadak.

The three saadaki were graded in importance; this artifact is an example of a "tertiary" saadak. It was made by Master Dmitrii Astaf'ev as an Easter gift for Czar Alexei Mikhailovich. In documents from the 17th century, it is referred to as "saadak quiver and lube (quiver and bow case);" that is, it did not include other elements -- the cover, bow and arrows. The saadak originally included a takhtui made of yellow silk from Shemakha, a region of the Caucasus and part of the state of Persia. The takhtui was the work of Pronka Andreev, a student of Astaf'ev. This, however, has not survived.

The lube is made from red Persian leather. Both the quiver and the bow case are embroidered with stylized foliate ornament in silver thread. The Russian emblem of a two-headed eagle under three crowns is portrayed in the center. In the upper corner of the bow case is a silver plate decorated with precious stones and enamel. A similar plate in the upper corner of the quiver bears a heraldic lion.

The belt of the saadak is of silk, with silver and enamel fittings. Seventeenth-century documents indicate that the silver decoration of the saadak was prepared in the Silver Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin.

Text taken from catalog description by Alexei K. Levykin