Lavish vestments adorned with plates of gold and pearls, intended for the higher levels of the clergy, were customary in Russia already since the fourteenth century. During the sixteenth and seventeenth century this tradition of lavish decoration was popular with the Kremlin workshops in Moscow, expecially for the production of works of art funded by donation from the court of the Tsar. This miter of Sinai is the offering of the devout Muscovite Tsar, Mikhail. The plates of gold are decorated with engraved scenes (the Deesis, archangels, saints, and six-winged seraphim) encircled with pearls and precious stones. This is a rather contained and balanced work of art characterized by the finesse of its layout and the harmonious color arrangement.
