#Exhibit of the Month

Several icons from the collection of the National Museum of History of Moldova reproduce in their compositions the miracle that would have been performed around the beginning of the 10th century in the church of Mother of God of Vlacherne in Constantinople. According to the legend, the townspeople retreated to the place for fear of an invasion that threatened the capital of the empire. The gathered crowd prayed incessantly, asking the Blessed Virgin to save the city. In the church of Vlacherne, her ancient vestments, which are said to make miracles, have been preserved for centuries. Among the Christians praying in the church was Saint Andrew the Fool-For-Christ, who came with his disciple Epiphanius, who would later become the Patriarch of Constantinople Polyevkt. After hours of fervent prayers, Saint Andrew was worthy to see the Mother of God passing through the royal doors with a procession of saints, who rose above the crowd, praying together with those present. In the end, the Blessed Virgin spread her garment over the crowd, as a sign of defense and protection, leaving the place. Also, from the legend we know that the city was really saved then.

Later, in memory of this miracle, the Church will order the Feast of the Protection of the Mother of God, celebrated on October 1/14.

The composition of the exposed icon highlights the interior of the Vlacherne church. In the upper register, in a radiate oval mandorla, the Mother of God soars on the clouds, holding the omophorus in her hands. She wears loose robes, trimmed with gold thread, beneath which red, gilded shoes can be seen. In the lower register, in the center of the gathered crowd, Romanos the Melodist is depicted sitting on the pulpit with the timetable in his hands, his head being framed by a radiant nimbus. He is dressed in festive robes, of the same shades as the vestments of the Mother of God. Romanus the Melodist is surrounded by several ecclesiastical faces and simple people, including Saint Andrew, who urges his disciple Epiphanie to look up at the miracle that was taking place in the church. The appearance of the hymnographer Romanos the Melodist (490-556) in this composition is not accidental. The young deacon began his activity in the Vlacherne church, where, five centuries later, Saint Andrew experienced his miraculous revelation. The legend tells that it was the Mother of God who endowed the young man with the grace of a wonderful voice, he later glorified her in his songs, writing, in all probability, the Akathist Hymn of the Mother of God. The Church commemorates Romanos the Melodist on October 1/14, the same day when the Protection of the Mother of God is commemorated.

The icon comes from the 19th century, from one of the workshops in southern Russia, being painted in tempera on a wooden support with dimensions 59x90x3 cm.

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Exhibitions

“Magic of Lights of Other Times”

May 18, 2022 – December 31, 2022

The temporary exhibition "Magic of Lights of Other Times" is the result of research and scientific development of the collection of lighting fixtures from the National Museum of History of Moldova.

The exhibition presents a variety of forms and types of devices that reflect the evolution and role of artificial lighting in everyday and spiritual life. It brings together more than fifty authentic objects of scientific, historical, commemorative and aesthetic value, which form the basis of the exhibition; these pieces came into the museum's collections through transfers, purchases and donations and date back to the period from the 5^th-4^th centuries BC to the 1990s. Many of these authentic pieces have undergone a process of restoration and conservation.

The exhibition takes us back to the past of this "miracle", providing an opportunity to leaf through the history of the evolution of indoor and outdoor artificial lighting by the display of a variety of light sources: hearth fire, torch, oil lamp, made of ceramic and metal. This is followed by candlesticks, which, in terms of their functionality and symbolism, served and continue to serve as a support for light, being used in church and secular environments. A candle, initially made of animal fat with a cane wick, then of beeswax and cotton or hemp thread, was easy to use and simple and economical to manufacture compared to other devices, helped to create a whole family of different lamps. The typological range of fixtures continues with a variety of gas and electric table lamps, some of which bear the brand of the manufacturer: Otto Muller, Berlin, Ehrich &Graetz Berlin, Anna Brenner (Germany), Brunner, Schneider, Ditmar (Warsaw), Triumph (France), and others. With the beginning of the process of modernization of society, table and ceiling chandeliers began to be used more and more, differing in material, size, style and elegance. Although in small quantities, professional lighting devices are also presented at the exhibition: lanterns used by miners in underground mines and lanterns of railway workers. Among the portable lanterns are those for everyday use, called "Bat" after the name of the German company "Fledermaus" that produced them, which were used for lighting at night. Lanterns played an important role in illuminating public places, initially by burning animal fat, with which the wick was impregnated, and later gas lanterns appeared, which illuminated only central or commercial roads.

Noteworthy are objects that, in addition to their historical, scientific and artistic value, also have memorial significance. Here we should mention the silver candlestick that belonged to the family of the Bessarabian writer Constantin Stamati, the kerosene ceiling lamp from the prominent politician and philanthropist Vasile Stroescu's mansion in the village of Brânzeni, Edineț district, the electric table lamp of Academician Nicolae Dimo, the night lamp of film director Valeriu Gagiu and the table lamp of conductor B. Milyutin.

The exhibition is complemented by thematic photographs and reconstructions of mini-interiors with artificial lighting.

The temporary exhibition "Magic of Lights of Other Times" can be visited from May 18, 2022 to December 31, 2022.