their private collection, together with the villa and library, accessible to the public (Bohdan Ivanovych in his will in 1917, Varvara Nykolivna in a deed of gift in 1918). Since the official foundation of the museum, the collection has grown, but there have also been losses. During the Soviet period (1921–1991), the museum received works from other museums, nationalised collections and private individuals. But the losses outweighed the gains. Many pieces were lost – through the redistribution of exhibits to various museums in the USSR in the 1920s, through looting by Soviet authorities in the 1930s with the aim of selling museum treasures abroad, and through transfer abroad at the behest of the German High Command during the Second World War. More than 400 paintings and many more archaeological and decorative artefacts are believed to have been lost (fig. 6). The Asian collection suffered particularly during the Nazi occupation. In addition to works of art, documents relating to the history of the family Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko built up a collection of some six thousand objects, ranging from archaeological artefacts from ancient Egypt to European paintings, prints and works on paper, sculptures and decorative arts. The list of objects also includes a number of works of Islamic art, particularly from medieval Iran, as well as Chinese scrolls, sculptures and porcelain, Japanese art prints, tsuba (sword guards) and ceramics. The collection also includes Buddhist and Hindu art objects. The book collection comprises some ten thousand volumes. In the late 1880s, Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko settled in Kyiv with their collection in a city mansion belonging to Varvara. Built in 1887–1888 and decorated in the 1890s, the building now features numerous relics of its original state, both in its exterior and interior. During the couple’s lifetime, works from very different periods and countries coexisted harmoniously in the rooms of the villa. Asian objects of art were displayed alongside masterpieces from Western Europe, Byzantium, Ancient Russia and Classical Antiquity (figs. 4, 5). This principle corresponds to the European fashion of the time and the contemporary idea of the appearance of the living space of educated and art-loving people. In 1919, the property of the Khanenkos was nationalised and the building was declared a municipal museum, although the owners had already expressed their intention to make Fig. 2 Bohdan Ivanovych Khanenko (1849–1917), photo early 20th century Fig. 3 Varvara Nykolivna Khanenko (1852–1922), photo of the portrait by Alexei Harlamoff (1840–1925), lost during World War II Fig. 4 Grand Staircase in the Khanenkos’ mansion, photo before 1919 15 14
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