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#Exhibit of the Month

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German porcelain is highly prized among antique collectors for its exceptional material quality, originality, and the meticulous craftsmanship of its decorative design.
The museum's collection preserves five figurines from one of the oldest porcelain manufactories in the Thuringia region of Germany - the statuary group known as *"The Musicians"*, crafted at the Volkstedt manufactory. These pieces entered the museum's holdings in 1991, acquired from a resident of Chișinău. With undeniable historical and artistic value, they bear the distinct imprint of the Rococo style.
The Volkstedt manufactory has a long-standing tradition in producing figurines, including those depicting musicians. In 1760, Georg Heinrich Macheleid - inventor of hard-paste porcelain in Thuringia - founded a production workshop in Zitzendorf, which was relocated to Volkstedt in 1762. Macheleid led the manufactory until 1764. Over time, the factory changed ownership and management multiple times. Under the direction of Christian Nonne, it flourished between 1767 and 1797, a period marked by significant artistic development. Volkstedt began creating figurines that would later gain international recognition.
It was during this flourishing period that the museum's porcelain statuettes, titled *"The Musicians"*, were produced. They depict five cherubic figures: four playing musical instruments (flute, mandolin, horn, and pipe), while the fifth conducts. Each figurine is entirely handcrafted - from modeling to painting - and delicately adorned with pastel tones and gilded details, capturing the playful movement and refined artistry of each musician. The base is made of mass-colored porcelain in a rare grey-green hue. The contrast between green, white, and gold accents lends the ensemble an unusually delicate appearance. These ornamental features are characteristic of the Rococo style, which emerged in France and is closely associated with the reign of King Louis XV.
The mark applied to the figurines consists of two crossed forks, clearly rendered in underglaze blue, with slightly blurred paint - a detail that helps date their production. Because the crossed forks often resembled the crossed swords of the Meissen trademark, the Volkstedt manufactory was compelled to change its mark starting in 1787. Initially represented by a single fork, the mark briefly returned to two forks before being replaced in 1800 by the graphic symbol "R", referencing the town of Rudolstadt. Therefore, the brief period during which the two-fork mark was reinstated - and during which the museum's figurines were likely produced - is estimated to be between 1787 and 1800.

The statuettes range in height from 10 to 18 cm and are preserved in relatively good condition.

These late 18th-century German porcelain pieces, now on display, are exceptionally rare. They stand as true works of art by German craftsmen and serve as important historical testimonies to the evolution of porcelain manufacturing in Germany.

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Museum structure

Management


General Director of NMHM

Eugen Sava, Doctor Habilitat of Historical Sciences

Education:
• Department of History, SUM (1983);
• Institute of History of Material Culture of AS of USSR (1985-1988) – doctorate;

Thesis „Kultura mnogovalikovoj keramiki Dnestrovsko-Prutskogo mejdurečja (kul'turno-istoričeskaja charakteristika, chronologija i periodizacija)". 1989, Leningrad, URSS.

• State University of Moldova (2003) – doctor habilitat.

Thesis "Cultural-chronological interferences in the Late Bronze Age in the Carpathian-Dniester area (Noua-Sabatinovka cultural complex)". 2003. State University, Chisinau.

Field of research: Prehistoric archaeology in the Carpathian-Dniester area
• Corresponding member of the German Institute of Archeology (Deutsches Arhaeologisches Institut), Berlin (2009)
• Honorary member of the Institute of Archeology of the Romanian Academy, Iasi (2010) 

Tel.: +373 (22) 24 43 25
Email: office@nationalmuseum.md

 

Deputy Director for Collections

Elena Postica, Doctor of Historical Sciences

Education:
• Department of History, SUM (1976);
• Institute of History of ASM (1998) – doctorate.

Thesis for the degree of Ph.D.: “Anti-Soviet Resistance in the Moldavian SSR (1944-1950)”.

Tel.: +373 (22) 24 15 61
Email: elena.postica@nationalmuseum.md; epostica@yahoo.com  

 

Deputy Director for Public Relations

Livia Ermurachi

• Education:Faculty of History and Ethnopedagogy of the State Pedagogical University „Ion Creanga” (2008-2010) - bachelor's / master's degree (2003-2010);

Tel.: +373 69 570 373
Email: livia.ermurachi@nationalmuseum.md

 

Project Director

Lilia Zabolotnaia, Doctor habilitate of Historical Sciences

Education:
• USM Faculty of History (1984);
• Institute of History of the ASM (1998) - PhD.

Doctoral thesis: "Formation and establishment of the urban market in Moldova at the end of the 16th century -  the beginning of the 18th century"
Post-Doctoral thesis entitled "The status of women in medieval society in Moldova and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (XIV-XVII centuries). Comparative study"

Tel.: +373 (22) 24 43 25
Email: lilizab61@gmail.com

 

Chief Accountant

Angela Marchitan

Education: International Management Institute, Chisinau (2006)

Tel.: +373 (22) 23 82 69
Email: angela.marchitan@gmail.com

 

Departments

Curatorial Department

Head: Irina Goncharova

Education: State Pedagogical Institute named after Ion Creanga (1978)

Tel.: +373 (22) 23 82 82 

 

Restoration Department

Head: Ecaterina Bondarenco

Education: Department of History, SUM (1980)

Tel.: +373 (22) 23 82 84 

 

Department of Public Relations and Museum Education

Head: Natalia Popovici

Education: State Pedagogical University named after Ion Creanga (1992)

Tel.: +373 (22) 24 04 26
Email: natalia.popovici@nationalmuseum.md 

 

Exhibition Department

Head: Victor Toi

Education: Department of History, SUM (1983)

Tel.: +373 (22) 24 13 48
Email: victsoi@rambler.ru

 

Informatics Department

Head: Lilia Calughin

Education: Department of Library Science and Bibliography, SUM  (1992)

Tel.: +373 (22) 24 36 71
Email: lilia.calughin@nationalmuseum.md  

 

Publications and editorial marketing Center

Head: Aurel Zanoci, Doctor of Historical Sciences

Education:
• Department of History, SUM (1991);
• State University of Moldova (1993-1996) – doctorate.

Thesis for the degree of Ph.D.:  “The Getae-Dacian Fortifications in the Area outside the Carpathians in 6th – 3rd centuries B.C.”

Tel.: +373 (22) 23 82 79
Email: aurel.zanoci@nationalmuseum.md

 

Library and scientific archive

Head: Mariana Balan

Education:
• Department of Letters, SUM (1995);
• Department of Post-University Studies, SUM (1997)

Tel.: +373 (22) 24 36 69
Email: marilibr@mail.ru  

 
Research Departments

Archaeology

Head: Gheorghe Postică, Dr. habil. in history, university lecturer

• Moldova State University, Faculty of History (1976), licentiate studies.
• M. V. Lomonosov State University in Moscow (1988), doctoral studies.

Ph.D. thesis: "Pottery of Central Moldova of the late 1st - early 2nd millennia AD as a historical source".

• Moldova State University (2006), postdoctoral studies.

Habilitation thesis: "Early medieval civilization of the Prut-Dniester region (5th-13th centuries)".

Tel.: +373 68 896 767
Email: gpostica@gmail.com   

 

History and Museology

Head: Anuta Boldureanu, Doctor of Historical Sciences

Education:
• Department of History, SUM (1994);
• Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of ASM (2003) – doctorate.
Thesis for the degree of Ph.D.: “Ottoman Coin in Moldova (1512-1603)”

Tel.: +373 (22) 23 82 85
Email: anuta.boldureanu@nationalmuseum.md

 



 

 


Independent Moldova
Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic
Bessarabia and MASSR between the Two World Wars
Bessarabia and Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in the Period between the Two World Wars
Revival of National Movement
Time of Reforms and their Consequences
Abolition of Autonomy. Bessarabia – a New Tsarist Colony
Period of Relative Autonomy of Bessarabia within the Russian Empire
Phanariot Regime
Golden Age of the Romanian Culture
Struggle for Maintaining of Independence of Moldova
Formation of Independent Medieval State of Moldova
Era of the
Great Nomad Migrations
Early Middle Ages
Iron Age and Antiquity
Bronze Age
Aeneolithic Age
Neolithic Age
Palaeolithic Age
  
  

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#Exhibit of the Month

German porcelain is highly prized among antique collectors for its exceptional material quality, originality, and the meticulous craftsmanship of its decorative design...

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The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
©2006-2025 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC

 



The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
©2006-2025 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC

menu
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
©2006-2025 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC