There is
no great variety in the cups, but some forms are peculiar to the
country. There are especially the cups called _bratini_ (loving
cups, from _brat_, a brother), the bowls or ladles termed _kovsh_,
and the small cups with one flat handle for strong liquors. Tall
beakers expanding at the lip and contracted at the middle are also
favourite forms, but the bulbous shape is the most frequent. Indeed,
that form of bulb or cupola which we see upon the churches is peculiarly
characteristic. We find it with more or less resemblance, in the
ancient crowns, in the mitres of the popes, in the bowls of chalices
and in vases and bowls for drinking. In the _bratini_ and _kovsh_
the bulging form of ornament, the coving up of the bottoms of the
bowls, and the use of twisted lobes are very common.
The Cathedral of the Assumption is one of the many churches situated
within the precincts of the Kremlin. It was reconstructed by Fioraventi
in 1475 after the model of the Cathedral of Vladimir, and in spite
of the frequent calamities and fires which have half ruined Moscow
still preserves in a great measure its primitive character.
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