This picture of the Russian Samovars, standing on the upper shelfes near ceiling, I took inside the souvenirs shop on the Old Arbat street.
Samovar (Tea-urn) is a purely Russian invention. Its origin is connected with tea. Tea was delivered to Russia from the territory of West Mongolia in the 17-th century and was used as medicine among the nobility. The samovars became the symbol of Russian hospitality and family comfort as well as the sign of prosperity. It remains most stable attribute of domestic cosiness.