#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.
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 “putti”: 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.

Virtual Tour

#Exhibit of the Month

April 2022

Jesus Christ the True Vine (icon)

Bessarabia, 1920s-1930s, painter Ioan Protcenco
Wood, tempera, 60x95 cm
The icon comes from the Church of the Intercession of the Virgin in the village of Ghidighici

In the icon composition, Jesus Christ is depicted in an almost frontal position, on the altar table, with both feet in the vessel into which His blood flows. In the lower part of the icon, angels kneel on white clouds. On the speech scrolls of the angels in the upper part of the composition is written: "Take and eat of My Body", "Take and drink of My Blood". The nimbus of the Savior is rendered in the form of a gilded disc outlined with a brown line, and the biblical acrostic is inscribed on His cross: I.N.R.I. - Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum (Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews) (John 19:19). The border of the icon is a simple gold-colored frame with a wide brown line on the edges.

Several iconographic compositions from the collection of the National Museum of History of Moldova are dedicated to the Holy Eucharist, to which the icons "Jesus Christ the True Vine" are also related. These compositions on the theme of the mystery of salvation are characterized by images that have a deep symbolic meaning - the Altar Table, the Cross and the Holy Chalice. The content of the image of Christ the Vine goes beyond the historical context of the events of salvation, suggesting the transcendent concept of the sacraments performed on the Holy Altar during the Liturgy. In these compositions, the resurrected Jesus Christ sits on the Altar Table in front of the Cross, from His rib growing a vine with grapes squeezed by the Savior directly into the Holy Chalice. The theological content of the scene is in the true presence of the Savior in the Eucharist, through the wine in the Holy Chalice, which is the Blood of the Lord, and through His Body, which is right on the table of the Holy Altar. The Cross, which represents the passions, death and resurrection of the Lord, in these scenes emphasizes the character of the bloodless sacrifice in the Holy Liturgy, through which the sacrifice of Christ is constantly renewed. The Holy Chalice, the keeper of the sacrament, is a mystical vessel that symbolizes the cup of wine used by the Savior at the Last Supper, during which the Holy Eucharist was established, as well as the cup, which the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John used to catch blood from the wounds of the Savior at the crucifixion (John 19:34). It is also a vessel used in the Holy Liturgy, into which wine and a little water are poured, which symbolizes the blood of the Lord.

One of the first to touch upon this topic in his art creation was the famous Angelos Akotantos (†1450), a Greek painter of noble origin from Candia. Angelos Akotantos is considered to be the first painter to sign his icons, as Χειρ Αγγέλου (Greek: "Angel's Hand"). He is regarded as the greatest Greek painter of the first half of the 15th century, his highly artistic works inspired famous artists such as Andreas Ritzos, Andreas Pavias and Nikolaos Tzafouris. His icons on the theme of Christ the Vine could be seen in the first half of the 15th century in several holy places on the island of Crete, including the Hodegetria Monastery in Kenurgio, the monasteries of Varsamonero (Voriza) and Malles (Ierapetra). They depicted the Savior in a vine, surrounded at the level of His nimbus by the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and along the vertical edges of the icon by the other ten apostles; this iconographic model was inspired by the text of the Gospel "I am the vine; you are the branches" (John 15:5).