#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.

Virtual Tour

Exhibitions

“ANCIENT JEWELRY. The treasures of the National Museum of History of Moldova”

Virtual exhibition

The National Museum of History of Moldova, in partnership with the Arbor Institute for Culture, invites you to discover or rediscover the exhibition "ANCIENT JEWELRY. The Treasures of the National Museum of History of Moldova", the new virtual exhibition hosted on Theopen-art.com, the first platform for art exhibitions in virtual reality in the Republic of Moldova and Romania.

The 24 pieces of jewelry presented in this virtual exhibition belong to the period between the 5th millennium BC and the 17th century AD, although all come from archaeological research of the sites between the Prut and the Dniester, their origin is associated with the communities which lived between the Balkans and the Carpathians and up to the Caucasus and had trade relations with the population of the Northern Black Sea region. The objects selected for this exhibition are rare, exceptional artifacts, made by our predecessors in metal and precious stones; they are of great cultural, historical and artistic value.

These impressive museum pieces, which can be admired in real at the permanent exhibition "Treasures of the Past" of the National Museum of History of Moldova, were found by Moldavian archaeologists during the period from the 1960s to 2015, if we refer to the latest find that is part of this collection presented in virtual reality. Although some of the discoveries were made by teams, we still want to mention a few names of archaeologists who brought to light and researched these valuable adornments: G. Fedorov, G. Chebotarenko, T. Shcherbakova, N. Chetraru, V. Vornic, V. Bubulici, and S. Popovici.

Made of gold or silver, adorned with precious stones or without, jewelry has always symbolized the wealth, influence, and sometimes magical power of its owners.

The National Museum of History of Moldova (NMHM) is one of the most important museum institutions in the Republic of Moldova, both in terms of its collections and its scientific prestige. Founded in 1983, the museum keeps 348,619 heritage items, a varied typology of which reflects the history of Moldova over the centuries, from prehistoric eras to the present, showing the human habitat, facts, events, outstanding personalities. Since its establishment until now, NMHM has organized over 650 temporary exhibitions in the country and abroad, focusing on its own collections, as well as on cooperation with other cultural and research institutions.

In recent years, the archaeological heritage of the Republic of Moldova has been highlighted in important international exhibitions organized in partnership with European and overseas museums, such as the exhibition "Cucuteni-Trypillia, Una Grande Civilta dell 'Antica Europa" at the Vatican, the exhibition "The Lost World of Old Europe. The Danube Valley, 5000-3500 BC" held in New York (USA), Oxford (UK), and Athens (Greece), "KRIEG - Eine Archaeologishe Spurensuche" in Halle (Germany), and "Visigoths. Rois de Toulouse" in Toulouse (France). In Romania, the NMHM heritage was part of important thematic exhibitions held in Bucharest, Iași, Suceava, Brăila, Vaslui, and Alba Iulia.

The Arbor Institute for Culture is a subsidiary of the Arbor Association for Culture and Arts in Romania, founded by cultural manager Victoria Nagy Vajda, whose mission is to promote the high artistic values of the Republic of Moldova and to support cultural mobility within the Romanian cultural space and abroad. The activity program of the association provides for the implementation of joint cultural projects with state cultural institutions, in addition to the extensive activities that it carries out in partnership with the independent artistic field. "ANCIENT JEWELRY. The Treasures of the National Museum of History of Moldova" is the second exhibition realized by the Arbor in partnership with a museum from the Republic of Moldova. The first VR exhibition, "Tribute to the Romanian Language: Bessarabian writers in the work of artist Valentina Rusu Ciobanu" was organized in partnership with the Mihail Kogălniceanu National Museum of Literature in the Republic of Moldova, under the curatorship of Maria Șleahtițchi and Victoria Nagy Vajda.

The VR gallery on the Theopen-art.com platform has an area of 300 square meters, distributed in 5 exhibition areas, where large or smaller exhibitions of painting, sculpture, photography, and multimedia can be held. The creation of the Theopen-art.com platform was supported by the Swiss Cooperation Office in the Republic of Moldova and by the non-governmental organizations Arbor Institute for Culture (Republic of Moldova) and the Arbor Association for Culture and Arts (Romania) through Victoria Nagy Vajda.

Virtual exhibitions can only be visited on a desktop or laptop computer with an updated web browser. VR exhibitions are not available from mobile phones.
Instructions: Use the arrow keys and the mouse/trackpad to navigate in the VR exhibition. To exit, press the ESC key twice.

Organizers: National Museum of History of Moldova, Arbor Institute for Culture
Curators: Mariana Vasilache, deputy director; Victoria Nagy Vajda, cultural manager
Photographers: Iurie Foca, Mihail Băț, Denis Topal
The photographs are taken from the catalog "Piese de giuvaiergerie antică din colecțiile Muzeului Național de Istorie a Moldovei" ("Pieces of ancient jewelry from the collections of the National Museum of History of Moldova") by Ana Niculiță, 2018; editors: Eugen Sava, Aurel Zanoci.
Link: https://www.theopen-art.com
VR: Augmented Space Agency - virtual frontier explorers, architects of augmented spaces and designers of new digitally mediated experiences.

#Exhibit of the Month

Scythian bronze cauldron from Răscăieții Noi

“ANCIENT JEWELRY. The treasures of the National Museum of History of Moldova”

Virtual exhibition

#Exhibit of the Month