#Exhibit of the Month

The 21 beads form part of a bronze hoard found in 2019 within a forested area close to the town of Nisporeni. Alongside the beads, the hoard included numerous bronze ornaments (2 Röschitz-Sanislău-type fibulae, 7 necklaces, 12 rings, 22 tubes, 23 bracelets, and approximately 80 appliqués), one coral bead and a pendant made from a wild animal's tooth. At present, the amber beads are preserved in the collections of the Muzeul Național de Istorie a Moldovei, while the remainder of the hoard is in the possession of a private collector.
The hoard was discovered accidentally in a pit about 50 cm deep. The objects in this hoard are of Western origin, with known parallels in archaeological complexes from Poland, Hungary, Serbia, and Slovakia, and, to a lesser extent, in Romania. The presence of this bronze hoard on the territory of the Republic of Moldova illustrates the cultural dynamics of the region during the Early Iron Age and a fundamental shift in the vector of cultural influences from east to west.

The amber bead strand comprises 16 whole beads and five fragmentary ones. They have an elongated biconical shape and vary in size. The beads are brown-reddish in color; their lengths range from 1.1 to 3.1 cm, widths from 0.6 to 1.4 cm, thicknesses from 0.6 to 1.1 cm, and the perforation diameter ranges between 0.2 and 0.3 cm.
Amber beads appear in several bronze hoards dated to the Late Bronze Age in the eastern half of Slovakia and in Transdanubian Hungary. Parallels are also known from the Cioclovina Cave in Romania. With the onset of the Iron Age, amber items disappear from the Carpathian Basin for approximately 300 years, reappearing alongside the arrival of Scythian elements.
The bronze hoard discovered at Nisporeni is dated to the HaA2-HaB1-2 interval (1050/1000 - 800/750 B.C.).

Virtual Tour

Exhibitions

"A walk through 20th century Chișinău"

Opening: November 5, 2019, 17:00, Suțu Palace

November 5 – 24, 2019

Chisinau is, without a doubt, a city of contrasts. A settlement that leads life between "was" and "is". We live this contrast sharply, we see and experience it every day, and its architecture is deeply marked by the transition from the old to the new, being a witness and main indicator of change.

Known from the pictures from the beginning of the last century as a small but very friendly city, today we are increasingly confronted with the nostalgic phrase "here it was" ... "Here was the Diocese", "here was the Hotel Suisse", "here was the girls' gymnasium where the deputies from the Sfatul Țării voted the Union in 1918". Of the architectural jewels that once enjoyed the eyes of the townspeople, today we have only pictures left. These pictures are included in collection catalogs and today, the unknown treasures of architecture and urban life, reflected in 48 images, are brought to the public's attention in an exhibition dedicated to Chișinău in the 20th century.

Chișinău is an open air museum, where thousands of people throughout their lives have lived, loved, built with meaning and humility the image of the city "carved in white stone". Each street keeps the footsteps of those who admired it, whether they were simple or noble people. Each villa retains the living memory of its masters and some are still waiting for them, and the holy places in Chișinău are illuminated by the thoughts of those who admired them or passed through the entrance door.

This exhibition is a challenge for all of us to rediscover Chișinău in times when we have and give so little time for the beauty. It is an invitation to a virtual walk on the streets of former times in an attempt to bring back to attention known or forgotten facts, places loaded with history or emotions. And, as in any place that tends to validate its authenticity through culture, Chișinău, today, perhaps more than ever, needs the exercise of memory in order to survive and develop.

The exhibition of these images at the Suțu Palace was made possible thanks to the combined effort of two teams formed of Dr. hab. Eugen SAVA - General director, Mariana VASILACHE-CUROȘU - Deputy director, Ana GRIȚCO - Head of History section, Cătălina PLINSCHI and Denis TOPAL - exhibition graphics (National Museum of History of Moldova); and Dr. Adrian MAJURU - Manager and Dr. Dan PÎRVULESCU - Deputy director (Bucharest Municipal Museum), hosts of this event.