#Exhibit of the Month

The history of this icon traces back to the 10th century at the Protaton Monastery on Mount Athos. In one of the cells named "The Dormition of the Mother of God," an elderly hieromonk lived with his disciple. They preserved a superb depiction of the Virgin Mary. This old icon became renowned through the revelation of the prayer "It Is Truly Meet."
Between the years 980-982, on a Saturday evening before an all-night vigil, the elder monk left for the nearby church, instructing his disciple to continue the religious routine in the cell. Being obedient, the disciple followed the instructions. When he reached the 9th Ode of the Canons, "More Honorable Than the Cherubim...," he suddenly heard someone beginning to chant alongside him: "It is truly meet to bless thee, O Theotokos..." It was a mysterious pilgrim monk who had appeared unexpectedly and joined in the prayers. At that moment, the icon began to radiate light, as if it were broad daylight. Astonished by the events, the disciple asked the mysterious monk to write down the verses. The monk wrote them on a tile with his finger as if it were soft wax and said, "From now on, this is how you Orthodox Christians should chant," and, saying this, he vanished. Left alone, the disciple realized he had witnessed a great miracle. Enlightened, he understood that the pilgrim was none other than the Archangel Gabriel, who had come, as he had before, to deliver the word of the Highest to humanity.

The icon was transferred from the cell to the Holy Altar of the Protaton Church, where a similar icon is preserved to this day. The tile with the divine hymn was taken to Constantinople and included in the Orthodox Church's liturgical books. Soon after, Archangel Gabriel's prayer was incorporated into the Divine Liturgy, immediately following the Consecration of the Gifts of Bread and Wine. The valley with the cells has since been called Adin, meaning "to chant," "chanting."

The icon "It Is Truly Meet" is of inestimable value and has become the protector of Mount Athos. The icon is celebrated on June 11/24, commemorating the miraculous appearance of the Archangel, and on July 13/26, in honor of the Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel.

This icon, of the Eleusa type, portrays gentleness and tenderness in its central figures. The Virgin holds the Child with her right hand, while her left hand, placed beneath His feet, grips the hem of His tunic. The small Jesus wears a short tunic reaching His knees and holds a scroll in His right hand inscribed with the words of the Axion hymn. His left-hand slips under the veil of the Virgin towards her left shoulder. Both figures are crowned with golden halos. Two angels flank the Virgin's halo, while the Almighty in an open heaven blesses with both hands.

Crafted using tempera on wood, the icon is adorned with gold leaf and multicolored enamel, giving the image a unique delicacy. The inscription on the lower frame indicates that the icon was created by the painter Ioasaf in 1905.

The painter monk Ioasaf Berghie (1862-?) of the New Neamț Monastery resided there between 1887 and the 1940s, occupying three rooms to set up his studio, where he worked continuously on icons and church artworks. Born into the family of a church teacher in Jabca village, Ștefan Berghie, Ioan Berghie developed a passion for sacred iconography from an early age. In 1890, Andronic, the abbot of the New Neamț Monastery, blessed him to paint icons. Taking monastic vows in 1895 under the name Ioasaf, he traveled by foot to visit major ecclesiastical centers nearby and further afield, learning the art of iconography. Starting with naive-style interpretations, he eventually mastered professional painting techniques and acquired new decorative skills. His works became highly popular throughout Bessarabia and abroad. Painting a significant number of icons, they were often mistakenly sold as coming from major artisan workshops. To prevent such confusion, he received the abbot's blessing to sign his works, earning recognition and fame for his name.

Virtual Tour

#Exhibit of the Month

August 2022

Buckles (“paftas”)

Jewelry workshop from the town of Orhei, Bessarabia, the 19th century

The word pafta is of Turkish origin and is used in almost identical forms in Romanian, Greek, Bulgarian, and Serbian languages and some Aromanian dialects, denoting clothing accessories of a functional and decorative use, which secure or catch one's girdle, sash or belt.

Such buckles are accessories of ceremonial and everyday costumes, they were worn by both prince's courtiers and commoners in the Romanian principalities during the reign of the Phanariots, when the influence of Greek culture increased.

Throughout the Balkan Peninsula, silversmiths' workshops produced buckles very different in size, alloys, technique, style, and decoration. Turkish buckles were usually lace-like, often gilded, with many stones, emphasizing opulence. At the Bulgarians and Aromanians, they are simpler, but have a specific model and symbolism. Greek buckles are mostly silver, elegantly shaped, decorated with corals and small coins. The difference between the West and the East in this regard lies in the ability of the Turks to combine other materials with precious stones. Another feature is the predominance of floral motifs over the representations of animals and birds. The peoples under Ottoman rule assimilated these features and integrated them into their own cultures.

The buckles exhibited testify to the presence of a jewelry workshop in the town of Orhei in Bessarabia in the second half of the 19th century, and the quality of workmanship, the fine processing of the details, the complex composition denote the mastery and skill of the craftsmen.

Similar in style, these three buckles are two-piece, germinating seed-shaped, with strongly pronounced tips. The border is decorated with a garland motif, which circumscribes floral decorative elements. Hook and loop fastening is covered with a decorative button. On the reverse side, both sides are equipped with two plus two vertical straps with which the belt was attached.

The buckles are made of silver, as evidenced by the metal fineness hallmark stamp "84", applied according to the regulations on both parts of the buckle, and the hallmark stamp of the jewelry workshop in Orhei - the symbol of oak in a stylized shield. The quality of the metal and workmanship is also certified by the stamp of the assayer, moreover, one of the buckles was expertized by Dmitry Tiunov and has a "ДТ" (DT) stamp on it. On both parts of the buckle, the year of manufacture 1858 and the stamp of the assayer "ПН" (PN) are stamped. The stamp on the second buckle, the initials "МИ" (MI), indicates only the craftsman who made the product. The third buckle, made in the Orhei workshop, does not have the hallmark stamps required by law on the back side, but retains the same hallmarks stamped on the side of the products: the symbol of oak, the metal fineness hallmark stamp "84", the year of manufacture - 1871, and the initials of the assayer "КС" (KS), identified as Klim Sergeev, who worked from 1868 to 1871.

Between the 1840s and 1870s, wearing buckles became obsolete, and women's fashion completely adopted Western cuts and colors. These accessories came back into fashion around 1870 thanks to Princess Elisabeth, the future Queen of Romania. She introduced at court the fashion for the Romanian national costume, decorated with buckles. Her example was followed by the female elite of that time until the eve of the First World War. And her successor, Queen Maria, with her usual elegance and refinement, continued this fashionable tradition with in the interwar period.