#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 Anastasia Rizo, of noble origin, 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 exercises in 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 composite, taken in 1911 at the 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. Among the teaching staff was Paraskovia 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."

On the reverse of the vignette is a label from the store and workshop of frames, paintings, mirrors, and window glass owned by A. D. Kon'gova, Chișinău, Gogol Street no. 37, near the State Bank.

This graduation composite was donated at the end of 2025 to the National Museum of History of Moldova by the Dadiștian family from Drochia.

Virtual Tour

Exhibitions

„ROYAL”

Exhibition Dedicated to Queen Marie

2 December 2025 – 4 January 2026

The ROYAL exhibition, produced by the Bucharest Academy of Handmade Art and curated by PhD candidate Mioara Iofciulescu, offers a reflective reading of Queen Marie's personality through a body of handcrafted works: costume, jewelry, decor, painting and graphic art. Conceived as an installation of visual memory, the exhibition brings together more than 150 works by 15 Romanian artists - a project formed over six months of research, documentation and rigorous execution that reimagines and interprets the symbols of royalty through the language of handmade art.

At the heart of the project is the costume collection by Mioara Iofciulescu: dresses and pieces inspired by royal attire, alongside interwar costumes from the Academy's heritage, handcrafted jewelry collections (Adriana Câmpean, Victoria Semen, Magda Stan, Iuliana Șoaită, Gabriella Jasz, Anișoara Mușat, Delia Lobonț) and a digital reconstruction of one of the Queen's crowns (Radu Iofciulescu). Complementing these are pieces of refurbished small furniture, floral arrangements by Feudalia Peter, Lăcrămioara Anton, Angela Camenschi and Mioara Iofciulescu, as well as visual artworks by Valentina Butoi, Iulia Săsărman and Ianis Radu.

ROYAL has already enjoyed a well-received run: it premiered at the National Museum of Romanian Literature (July 2025) and toured to Balchik Castle, Craiova, Iași and the "King Michael I" Hall of the Palace of the Parliament. In Chișinău, the opening on 2 December (near Romania's National Day) will include a theatrical moment - a fragment from The Heart of Queen Marie performed by actress Claudia Motea - and will bring together figures from the cultural, diplomatic and public spheres.

Supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Moldova and partners, the project aims to revive not only the public image of Queen Marie but also her aesthetic sensibility, love of the arts and sense of civic responsibility. After Chișinău, the exhibition will continue at Pelișor Castle (9 January - 15 March 2026) and is planned for other European cities.

We invite you to discover ROYAL, a story of elegance, identity and artistic reinterpretation from 2 December 2025 to 4 January 2026, in Hall 4 of the National Museum of History of Moldova.