#Exhibit of the Month

The Chișinău Diocesan Girls' School opened its doors on May 3, 1864, addressing a pressing need: in Bessarabia there were no institutions dedicated to the education of clergy's daughters. According to the 1864 circular, teaching was conducted in the Romanian language, a provision applied throughout the diocese. The school's first headmistress was noblewoman Anastasia Dmitrievna Rizo, invited by Archbishop Antonie.
The curriculum, approved by the Ministry of Public Education and the Chișinău Diocese, combined theoretical subjects with practical training. Students studied religion, reading and writing in Romanian, Slavonic, and Russian, arithmetic and mental calculation, world history and geography. The program was complemented by church singing and practical skills such as sewing, embroidery, knitting, as well as household management - baking bread and prosphora, preparing meals and preserves, caring for livestock, and cultivating gardens.
The vignette, created in 1911 at the photographic studio of Z. N. Sumovski in Chișinău, depicts 29 graduates and 13 teachers. At the center are portraits of Bishop Serafim (Ciciagov), headmistress N. R. Mihelson, teacher V. E. Bejerian, and priests F. Ghiliarov and P. Jurikas. A notable figure is Praskovia Vasilievna Cuciurenko, a calligraphy teacher for 37 years, who in 1911 became senior educator and assistant headmistress. For her dedication, she was awarded the gold medal "For Long Service."
By 1911, the school had 648 students across 17 classes. Its library contained 7,414 volumes, including 3,955 for students and 3,459 for teachers. Graduates, often becoming priests' wives or teachers in rural and urban schools, contributed to spreading faith and moral education, strengthening the cultural and spiritual role of the institution.
On the reverse of the vignette is a label reading: "Store and workshop for frames, paintings, mirrors, and window glass, A. D. Kon'gova, Chișinău, Gogol Street no. 37, next to the State Bank."
This unique vignette was donated at the end of 2025 to the National Museum of History of Moldova by the Dadiștian family from Drochia.

Virtual Tour

Exhibitions

"Porcelain Object – the Art and the Evidence"

May 18 - November 18, 2012

It is a temporary exhibition focused on the most representative pieces of porcelain collection of the museum; it can illustrate certain realities, issues, occupations, in other words, it contains historical information. There is displayed only a part of the porcelain collection, which to some extent illustrates its typological variety and marks the stages of development of porcelain in various European countries. The selected and displayed pieces in the vast majority fall into the category of functional decorative porcelain made in countries with rich traditions of porcelain art.

The exhibition invites to a trip into the world of porcelain, the pieces on display ensuring a charming and instructive journey into the past. The historical value of the collection covers a large period of three centuries. Despite the different eras and styles, all the pieces have something in common - they can be classified as historical evidences. The exhibition traces a very interesting connection - it uses the porcelain as a means of enlightening the aspects of social and cultural history of the Bessarabian society. We should mention that the historic value of many of the exhibits is amplified due to their production on famous porcelain factories. And the diversity and beauty of forms and an impressive range of ornaments on the items made by large world-class companies or small workshops justify the proposed approach. Historical and documentary value of these pieces is enhanced when they refer to eminent figures of the past. In this sense, it should be noted porcelain items once belonging to N. Morosanu, M. Gamburd, L. Deleanu, N. Masalski, V. Miliutin, N. Kamenev, the families of Lazo and Cantacuzino.

#Exhibit of the Month

Vignette of Graduates and Teachers of the Chișinău Diocesan Girls’ School, 1911

"Porcelain Object – the Art and the Evidence"

May 18 - November 18, 2012

#Exhibit of the Month