#Exhibit of the Month

Bronze cauldrons of the Scythian time are rare in the Northern Black Sea region, especially on its western borders. Therefore, those few items found on the territory of the Republic of Moldova occupy a worthy place in the collection of the National Museum of History of Moldova (NMHM). In particular, in the archaeological exhibition, two bronze cauldrons are displayed, discovered near the village of Nicolscoe in 1988 in burial mounds no. 14 and 15. In addition, in 2020, two bronze cauldrons without any accompanying documents were found in the collection of NMHM; however, they were visually identified as coming from various excavations in the Low Dniester region, such as burial mound no. 45 near Dubăsari and burial mound no. 1 near the Răscăieții Noi village.

The object presented as the exhibit of the month is a little-known find discovered in 1979 in barrow 1 near the village of Răscăieții Noi in the Ștefan Vodă district. In addition to its outstanding size (about 10 m high), this mound is known for discovering a cast bronze finial in the Scythian animal style on its surface in 1953. However, by the beginning of excavations, the locals had damaged part of the mound and a Scythian cast bronze cauldron was found near it. The cauldron was seriously damaged by mechanical impact, as a result of which the rim was deformed, and the walls, with one preserved vertical handle, were bent inwards. Fragments in the upper part of the body and one handle have been lost. The total reconstructed height of the cauldron is 24 cm (excluding the handles), the reconstructed diameter of the hemispherical cauldron is 30 cm, and the weight is 6.5 kg. In 2020, data on the chemical composition of the bronze cauldron alloy were obtained, revealing that it was cast from an alloy of almost 95 per cent copper. Unfortunately, due to the loss of information on the context of the discovery of the cauldron at Răscăieții Noi, it is impossible to link its discovery with one or another Scythian burial of the barrow. Moreover, the grave goods of other Scythian burials of Barrow 1 do not allow them to date below the 4th century BC. However, the cauldron with vertical handles from Răscăieții Noi most likely belongs earlier. This may be indicated by a bronze finial from the first half of the 5th century BC, which was found on this barrow in 1953. In addition, burial 7 from the nearest excavated barrow 2 at Răscăieții Noi, containing a plaque depicting a rolled predator (a copy of which is also on display at the NMHM), belongs to the mid- 5th century BC. Thus, there is a high probability that the cauldron from Barrow 1 at Răscăieții Noi is associated with the late Middle Scythian period or the mid-5th century BC.

Scythian bronze cauldrons in the west area are concentrated in three main regions: Bukovina-Podolia, the Lower Danube, and the Lower Dniester. Some Scythian cauldrons have no reliable archaeological context. Nevertheless, in combination with the same "stray" finds like the Scythian statues, the finds of Scythian cauldrons mark the Scythian presence, most likely not earlier than the late 6th century or even the turn of the 6th-5th centuries BC. The cauldrons first appeared in Bukovina, where they have been known since the middle of the 7th century BC. Bronze cauldrons (with their carriers) entered the steppe region 150-200 years later, and the "military" burials that appeared in the western steppe regions were no earlier than the middle of the 5th century BC. Most burials with cauldrons (and, apparently, the stray finds) are dated back to the second half of the 5th century BC. Then, in the early 4th century BC, their quantity was reduced, and after the first quarter of the 4th century BC, they completely disappeared from the cultural practice of the population of the steppes of the North-Western Black Sea region.

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Publications

Albums

Adelaida Chiroșca

Marial icon collection of the National Museum of History of Moldova (17th-20th centuries)

Series “Albums” II, Chisinau, 2014. 200 p. ISBN 978-9975-80-902-3.

The text of the publication starts with an Introduction with general notions about what icons are, what are their messages, their symbolic language and which are their role in society, church and a museum collection, arguing how important is the valorification of an icon collection and what opportunities open with its publication.

In Chapter I with the title From the history of making the marial icon collection of the National Museum of History of Moldova. Variety of composition, materials and techniques we present in detail the ways in which the collection was formed, noting, in this context, the transfers from other museums, from the customs and police departments. We mention here icons that entered into the museum heritage through acquisitions and donations, substantially completing the collection of local icons. In this chapter we also presented the origin and structure of the collection, commenting in detail the place of origin and icon chronology and the many marial compositions. While highlighting theological types, we mentioned symbolic iconography and subjects inspired by revelatory experiences of the protagonists. Then follow detailed description of icon wood and painting base modeling techniques, we paid attention to inscriptions on their front and back sides, emphasizing the importance of these messages in establishing icon typology, chronology, in knowing name of the painter, engraver and of the person who ordered the icon or where the icon was kept etc. We mentioned icons respecting iconographic rules and those where they were less respected, stressing the skill of craftsmen who have allowed themselves the freedom of artistic expression.

Chapter II. Icons of the Holly Virgin form the Collection of the National Museum of History of Moldova. Classifications and iconographic reference. Icon identification reflects a complete description of these heritage objects. This section describes the methods that have helped identify anonymous icons or with incorrect title. For some Russian and Ukrainian icons the title has been adjusted based on the meanings and theological content of the compositions. These clarifications required thorough and dedicated involvement that contributed to a rigorous presentation of the collection with precious information to those interested in knowing the rich content of this collection.

A particular aspect of the research was the typological classification of icons, their systematization, with given priority to early icons that have served as models for later compositions. We start with topics that reflect the Virgin Holidays (Birth of the Virgin, the Mother of God in the Church, the Annunciation of Virgin Mary and Assumption of Virgin Mary) and general main types - Panakranta, Oranta, Hodighitria and Eleusa, then we continue with symbolic representations evoking homiletic texts and those inspired by revelatory experiences of central characters. Given the presence of several icons in the collection of the same type, we decided to classify icons into iconographic categories according to chronological criteria, giving the opportunity to the reader to follow the evolution of iconographic compositions, their stylistic and artistic peculiarities.

Next comes the repertoire of icons with photos and general descriptions. The presence in the collection of a variety of iconographic types motivated us to describe in general lines the famous models that influenced the development of other icons. Also, in descriptions is indicated the day each icon is celebrated by the Orthodox Church.

The icons are numbered from 1 to 172. Description of each icon contains information about: 1. Provenance, chronology, author. Indication of the country of origin and the time of the icon, name of the painter and engraver. If the icon is not signed, we use the phrase "anonymous painter." 2. Material, technique, dimensions. Determination of what the icon is made of - cloth, wood, metal, gold leaf and which is the icon painting technique - oil, tempera, engraving, enamel, pearl. Information about the width, length and thickness of the support. If the icon contains coffer, information about its dimensions and integrated frame is given. 3. Number of inventory, method of holding. FB is used for icons stored in the basic fund of the museum collection, while FA is used for the auxiliary fund. Information on how the piece entered the icon collection, date and place of transfer, donation or (and) purchase. For many icons there is no data about the place they were kept before reaching the museum collection, therefore under heading referring to holding is indicated their last owner. 4. Conservation. Detailed description of icon condition, degradation degree of the support and of painting layer. 5. Earlier restorations. It is indicated if there are traces of earlier restoration works. If so, is mentioned the name of the restorer, date and institution where the intervention took place. 6. Bibliography. Indication about the time and place where the icon was mentioned. 7. Original inscriptions. Mentions about inscriptions found on icons, stressing their importance in determining iconographic subjects and represented characters. 8. Chromatics. Specification about color range of background, garments and figures.

Then follows a presentation of icon composition with given priority to the description of prototypes, mention of background and architecture, remarks about symbolic expressions and stylistic peculiarities.

The Abstract in Russian and English provides a general description of the collection of icons from the heritage of the National Museum of History of Moldova with mention of all methods of creation, classification and ordering of icons, particularities in making the wood base, technical execution of color layers and all research methods used for elaborating the collection description.

The typological classification along with the history of iconography and elaboration of the present catalogue - all required a lot of names and concepts. In a separate section is included the critical apparatus provided with an Abbreviations list which includes the abbreviations used, a Glossary with explanations, a useful Name index to facilitate the search of topics and a baseline and selective Bibliography, with approximately 170 listed titles.