#Exhibit of the Month

The Roman bronze situla comes from a collection of archaeological artifacts confiscated at customs and transferred to the holdings of the National Museum of History of Moldova in 2009. Its place of discovery remains unknown.

A situla (Latin for "bucket") is a metal vessel-usually made of bronze-shaped like a pail and equipped with two movable handles at the top, traditionally used for mixing wine with water. The handles are attached to the vessel via two decorated ears that are welded to the rim.

The body of the situla is truncated-conical in shape and features two decorative bands with small circular patterns formed by hammering, located just below the rim.

Its base is double-layered: the inner bottom is hemispherical and hammered, while the outer bottom is flat and lathe-made. The outer base is welded to the inner bottom, serving as the vessel's foot-support.

This object was crafted using a combination of casting, hammering, and partial lathe-finishing. Dimensions: Maximum height - 31.7 cm; Maximum diameter - 22.8 cm; Base diameter - 13.5 cm

Situlae of this type originated in the Roman Empire and were later adopted by various ancient peoples, including those from the northwestern Pontic region.

Virtual Tour

Exhibitions

“The works of Voltaire, the great French figure of the Enlightenment – part of the Koch’s book collection from the Scientific Library of the State University of Medicine and Pharmacy named after Nicolae Testemitanu”

May 16th – 31st, 2015

The exhibition was organized in collaboration with the Scientific Library of the State University of Medicine and Pharmacy named after Nicolae Testemitanu in order to familiarize the public with the old and rare books of the Koch's collection.

There were exhibited 63 volumes of the complete works of Voltaire published in 1819-1821, including: "Theatre", "La Henriade", "La Pucelle d'Orléans", "Poèmes", "Épitres, stances et odes", "Contes en vers, satire, et poésies mêlées", "Essai sur les moeurs et l'esprit des nations", "Siècle de Louis XIV", "Précis du siècle de Louis XV", "Histoire de l'Empire de Russie", "Annales de l'Empire", "Histoire du parlement de Paris", "Mélanges historiques", "Politique et législation", "Physique", "Philosophie", "Dialoques et entretiens philosophiques", "Dictionnaire philosophique", "Romans", "Faceties", "Mélanges litteraires", "Commentaires sur Corneille", "Correspondance générale", "Correspondance avec l'Impératrice de Russie", "Correspondance avec de roi de Prusse", "Correspondance avec d'Alembert", "À Mademoiselle Quinault, À M. D'argental, Au Président Hénault... Et Autres Personnages Remarquables...", "Vie de Voltaire", "Table analytique des matièrs".

“The works of Voltaire, the great French figure of the Enlightenment – part of the Koch’s book collection from the Scientific Library of the State University of Medicine and Pharmacy named after Nicolae Testemitanu”