What does it mean to be Russian? This is a question that plagued philosophers throughout the ages, but particularly during the 19th Century when the Russian Empire wished to foster a renewed sense of nationalism after the centuries of 'Europeanisation' started by Peter the Great. It is around this time that ideas of 'Russian style' began to be cemented. Folk art became popular art and clothing, furniture, crockery, posters and even food that looked distinctively traditional Russian became instantly fashionable. This exhibition explores the rise of those new fashions in the 19th and 20th Century and shows how designs which we may consider to be intrinsically ancient Russian were created by the best artists of the time.