#Exhibit of the Month

German porcelain is highly prized among antique collectors for its exceptional material quality, originality, and the meticulous craftsmanship of its decorative design.
The museum's collection preserves five figurines from one of the oldest porcelain manufactories in the Thuringia region of Germany - the statuary group known as *"The Musicians"*, crafted at the Volkstedt manufactory. These pieces entered the museum's holdings in 1991, acquired from a resident of Chișinău. With undeniable historical and artistic value, they bear the distinct imprint of the Rococo style.
The Volkstedt manufactory has a long-standing tradition in producing figurines, including those depicting musicians. In 1760, Georg Heinrich Macheleid - inventor of hard-paste porcelain in Thuringia - founded a production workshop in Zitzendorf, which was relocated to Volkstedt in 1762. Macheleid led the manufactory until 1764. Over time, the factory changed ownership and management multiple times. Under the direction of Christian Nonne, it flourished between 1767 and 1797, a period marked by significant artistic development. Volkstedt began creating figurines that would later gain international recognition.
It was during this flourishing period that the museum's porcelain statuettes, titled *"The Musicians"*, were produced. They depict five “putti”: four playing musical instruments (flute, mandolin, horn, and pipe), while the fifth conducts. Each figurine is entirely handcrafted - from modeling to painting - and delicately adorned with pastel tones and gilded details, capturing the playful movement and refined artistry of each musician. The base is made of mass-colored porcelain in a rare grey-green hue. The contrast between green, white, and gold accents lends the ensemble an unusually delicate appearance. These ornamental features are characteristic of the Rococo style, which emerged in France and is closely associated with the reign of King Louis XV.

The mark applied to the figurines consists of two crossed forks, clearly rendered in underglaze blue, with slightly blurred paint - a detail that helps date their production. Because the crossed forks often resembled the crossed swords of the Meissen trademark, the Volkstedt manufactory was compelled to change its mark starting in 1787. Initially represented by a single fork, the mark briefly returned to two forks before being replaced in 1800 by the graphic symbol "R", referencing the town of Rudolstadt. Therefore, the brief period during which the two-fork mark was reinstated - and during which the museum's figurines were likely produced - is estimated to be between 1787 and 1800.

The statuettes range in height from 10 to 18 cm and are preserved in relatively good condition.

These late 18th-century German porcelain pieces, now on display, are exceptionally rare. They stand as true works of art by German craftsmen and serve as important historical testimonies to the evolution of porcelain manufacturing in Germany.

Virtual Tour

Exhibitions

„Images of Women in Soviet Posters”

August – November 2020

The museum fulfills its natural purpose, that of preserving and making available for public viewing various categories of exhibits. This time in the focus is the collection of posters featuring the image of a Soviet woman who played an important role in all areas of socio-economic and cultural life.

The first Soviet posters were dated 1917, the time of the Bolshevik coup in Russia; they served as a means of mass communication used in order to justify the Bolshevik dictatorship. The Soviet authorities saw the poster as an effective tool for mobilizing the masses, who could not read or write. Today, looking at these posters, it is easy to imagine that the production of posters in the Soviet Union was extremely intense. Hundreds of posters were created and printed in tens or even hundreds of thousands of copies, displayed everywhere: in towns and villages, in factories and plants, in kolkhozes, schools, hospitals, etc. The process of creating the posters was very complicated and included the effort of a large number of painters, writers, poets, journalists.¶

The exhibition Images of Women in Soviet Posters is the result of research and development of the National Museum of History of Moldova collection of Soviet posters (about 3000 exhibits). Posters from the collection that has been made up for several decades of the 20th century on the basis of donations and acquisitions feature women involved in the construction of a new Soviet society. The chronological framework of the exhibition covers the period from 1920 to 1985. The oldest poster dates from 1920 and is dedicated to the rights and opportunities acquired by women after the 1917 revolution. Through the 50 posters on display, we offer the visitors an overview of the image of women in the Soviet poster. These objects, of documentary, historical and artistic value, were also an effective means of propaganda, being an evidence of the past and briefly reflecting the processes and events that took place in Soviet society. ¶

Diverse in message, format and design, as well as in terms of theme, the posters was structured in several groups: women after the 1917 revolution, equal in rights with men; the role of women in the collectivization process; women in the war front and behind the front line; the contribution of women to the restoration of the national economy (at a lathe, in a mine, in a tractor); woman as a mother; women of various professions; women fighting for peace; women and sports, etc. Important by message and valuable by design are the posters with the image of a woman during the Second World War, used to the maximum during military mobilization, in the recruitment of civilians and their employment in the war industry. A shrill expressiveness and colorfulness are inherent in the posters depicting women in agriculture. The posters dedicated to the motherhood, with concise texts and suggestive images, had a special role, representing the portrait of the new woman who, most of the times, was urged to give up the household and to participate in work and social activities. Posters depicting women in the restoration of the national economy, in sports, etc., are also very clear. Famous artists from the USSR, including the MSSR, contributed to the creation of the posters: D. Bedny, N. Coretsky, A. Bubnov, N. Vatolina, I. Bogdesco, G. Dimitriu, O. Cojocaru, I. Taburţă, and others.

The exhibition once again demonstrates that the Soviet poster was one of the most effective methods of promoting state ideology and policy.

Curator: Vera Stăvilă.