#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

"When Sweden was ruled from Moldova"

1 - 20 February 2013

On February 1, 2013, in the upstairs hall of the National Museum of Archaeology and History of Moldova there was opened the exhibition „When Sweden was ruled from Moldova" designed and built by the Royal Armory (Stockholm) and the National Museum of Archaeology and History of Moldova. Curators of the exhibition: Dr. Per Sandin and Dr. hab. Elena Ploșnița.

It is dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the Kalabalik at Varnița and Swedish King Charles XII's stay in Bender and Varnița from 1709 to 1713. The exhibition aims to elucidate a significant joint part of the Moldavian-Swedish history related to the name of the brave King Charles XII and offers a retrospective of the events that took place in the early 18^th century.

Content of the exhibition is divided into two parts. The first part brings together images of various items from the collections that are part of the national heritage of Sweden: portrait of the Swedish king; Charles XII's personal items (cassette, wig, otter-skin cap, black felt hat); panorama of Constantinople; photograph of the monument dedicated to the king at Varnița, which was made in 1920s; weapons of the past.

The second part of the exhibition includes authentic objects from the collections of National Museum of Archaeology and History of Moldova. Among these there are "Plan of Swedish king's camp" made by B. Eitner in 1840 and a collection of objects (nails, candleholder, horseshoe, cannonballs, window glass, ceramic and glass vessels of the 17^th - 18^th centuries) discovered during archaeological excavations at Varnița in 1993.

The exhibition is accompanied by an essay on the life of Swedish King Charles XII by Dr. Per Sandin, in Romanian, English, and Russian, and a leaflet in Romanian and English prepared by Elena Ploșnița.

The exhibition will be open to visitors until February 20, 2013.

#Exhibit of the Month

Roman Bronze Situla (1st century BC – 2nd century AD)

"When Sweden was ruled from Moldova"

1 - 20 February 2013

#Exhibit of the Month