Siberia, 5 Kopeks, from the series Coins of All Nations (N72, variation 1) for Duke brand cigarettes 1889

Curator: Here we have a piece titled "Siberia, 5 Kopeks," from the series "Coins of All Nations," created around 1889. It was made for Duke brand cigarettes. It’s currently housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: Oh, wow, he’s a character! My first thought is whimsical melancholy. The oversized head, the little rifle, it's all so sweetly absurd. I love it. Curator: Yes, it definitely captures a certain...charm. It’s a caricature, but the details are quite specific. Look at the coin he's holding, for example. It has very precise Cyrillic lettering and heraldic symbols. Do these things resonate with you? Editor: Absolutely! That coin becomes like a mask, or maybe a shield, doesn’t it? It speaks to the weight of history and cultural identity. His forlorn gaze contrasted against the rigid, historical object is fascinating. I feel I could dive deep into those colours - such lovely work in coloured pencil and print, by the way. Curator: It certainly asks questions about representation. Duke cigarettes were appealing to a very broad audience and using imagery like this was intended to evoke the exotic, playing on popular understandings—or, misunderstandings—of other cultures. How does this all align with what this kind of symbolism is now evoking for you? Editor: I am feeling the friction, the contrast. There is both humor and a real sense of exploitation here. We see this charming image, made for a mundane commodity, yet deeply embedded within are symbols of nationhood and history. Maybe that cognitive dissonance is why I'm initially responding to this image on this emotional level. It hits a raw nerve. Curator: A poignant intersection of commercial and cultural messaging indeed. It makes me wonder how consumers at the time would respond. Editor: Yeah, I wonder, too. Art's always shifting on us like that - a reflection and a distortion, sometimes all at once.