#Exhibit of the Month

Bronze cauldrons of the Scythian time are rare in the Northern Black Sea region, especially on its western borders. Therefore, those few items found on the territory of the Republic of Moldova occupy a worthy place in the collection of the National Museum of History of Moldova (NMHM). In particular, in the archaeological exhibition, two bronze cauldrons are displayed, discovered near the village of Nicolscoe in 1988 in burial mounds no. 14 and 15. In addition, in 2020, two bronze cauldrons without any accompanying documents were found in the collection of NMHM; however, they were visually identified as coming from various excavations in the Low Dniester region, such as burial mound no. 45 near Dubăsari and burial mound no. 1 near the Răscăieții Noi village.

The object presented as the exhibit of the month is a little-known find discovered in 1979 in barrow 1 near the village of Răscăieții Noi in the Ștefan Vodă district. In addition to its outstanding size (about 10 m high), this mound is known for discovering a cast bronze finial in the Scythian animal style on its surface in 1953. However, by the beginning of excavations, the locals had damaged part of the mound and a Scythian cast bronze cauldron was found near it. The cauldron was seriously damaged by mechanical impact, as a result of which the rim was deformed, and the walls, with one preserved vertical handle, were bent inwards. Fragments in the upper part of the body and one handle have been lost. The total reconstructed height of the cauldron is 24 cm (excluding the handles), the reconstructed diameter of the hemispherical cauldron is 30 cm, and the weight is 6.5 kg. In 2020, data on the chemical composition of the bronze cauldron alloy were obtained, revealing that it was cast from an alloy of almost 95 per cent copper. Unfortunately, due to the loss of information on the context of the discovery of the cauldron at Răscăieții Noi, it is impossible to link its discovery with one or another Scythian burial of the barrow. Moreover, the grave goods of other Scythian burials of Barrow 1 do not allow them to date below the 4th century BC. However, the cauldron with vertical handles from Răscăieții Noi most likely belongs earlier. This may be indicated by a bronze finial from the first half of the 5th century BC, which was found on this barrow in 1953. In addition, burial 7 from the nearest excavated barrow 2 at Răscăieții Noi, containing a plaque depicting a rolled predator (a copy of which is also on display at the NMHM), belongs to the mid- 5th century BC. Thus, there is a high probability that the cauldron from Barrow 1 at Răscăieții Noi is associated with the late Middle Scythian period or the mid-5th century BC.

Scythian bronze cauldrons in the west area are concentrated in three main regions: Bukovina-Podolia, the Lower Danube, and the Lower Dniester. Some Scythian cauldrons have no reliable archaeological context. Nevertheless, in combination with the same "stray" finds like the Scythian statues, the finds of Scythian cauldrons mark the Scythian presence, most likely not earlier than the late 6th century or even the turn of the 6th-5th centuries BC. The cauldrons first appeared in Bukovina, where they have been known since the middle of the 7th century BC. Bronze cauldrons (with their carriers) entered the steppe region 150-200 years later, and the "military" burials that appeared in the western steppe regions were no earlier than the middle of the 5th century BC. Most burials with cauldrons (and, apparently, the stray finds) are dated back to the second half of the 5th century BC. Then, in the early 4th century BC, their quantity was reduced, and after the first quarter of the 4th century BC, they completely disappeared from the cultural practice of the population of the steppes of the North-Western Black Sea region.

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Conference and launch of the catalog raisonné "Valentina Rusu Ciobanu" in Iasi and Chisinau

October 26, 28, 2023

The Association for Culture and Arts Arbor (Romania) and the Arbor Institute for Culture (Republic of Moldova) are pleased to invite the public from Iasi and Chisinau to the conference dedicated to the life and creation of the painter Valentina Rusu Ciobanu and to the launch of the volume "Valentina Rusu Ciobanu", the first catalog raisonné dedicated to this great artist from across the Prut.

Valentina Rusu Ciobanu (1920 - 2021), born in Chisinau, in the Kingdom of Greater Romania, belonged to the generation formed in the intellectual effervescence of the interwar period. In the period 1942-1944 he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Iasi, in the class of Prof. J. L. Cosmovici, assisted by the one who would become the great Corneliu Baba. With the reoccupation of Bessarabia by the Soviet troops, the young painter is forced to return to Chisinau, where she finishes her studies, together with other repatriated artists. He will succeed in a few years, despite the intimidation and restrictions exercised by the communist censorship, to assert himself as the most important name of plastic art in Chisinau.

A synthetic picture of the difficult creative conditions of those turbulent years is provided by the painter herself:

I've been through hard times. The communists intended not only to change our way of life, but also our mentality and the criteria for appreciating good and evil; they came with absurd pretensions, their impertinence had a demoralizing effect especially on artists, since a painter was told what and how to draw, being required from the very beginning to shape his work differently than he had conceived.

We took refuge in workshops and thus preserved ourselves as a living cell from which a healthy organism could develop in more favorable times. We lived a time parallel to that lived by our bitter city. And I painted for you, the people of today, with the hope that you will understand the price we paid to remain whole people and true creators.

Valentina Rusu Ciobanu left an impressive heritage of works, today in the family collection and in the museums of the Republic of Moldova and the Russian Federation. In Romania, a single painting by the artist is in the collection of the Bucharest Municipal Art Gallery, thanks to a private donation from 2020.

The Romanian public discovered the work of Valentina Rusu Ciobanu relatively late, 3 years ago, on the occasion of an anniversary exhibition, marking the painting's centenary, organized at the Bucharest City Museum (Suțu Palace) by the Arbor Association. The echo among the public was a notable one, the impact being increased by a series of related events: a VR workshop of the painter, video materials about the life and creation of the artist, a dedicated website, fundraising campaigns for the restoration of four works of -hers, and other exhibitions.

In 2023, the Arbor Association published the catalog raisonné, which is meant to contribute to the rediscovery of Valentina Rusu Ciobanu as a major female figure in contemporary Romanian art.

The realization of the catalog was based on an impressive research work, with archival documents unexploited until now, with the up-to-date analysis of all the works of the artist, including those found in private collections and in museums abroad. Crowning a sustained effort over the course of an entire year, the catalog raisonné brought together specialists from both banks of the Prut: art historians, museographers, librarians, archivists, translators, writers, literary historians, printers, audio animators and sound designers. The 400-page, two-volume catalog makes available to the public a solid critical apparatus (70 pages), vintage photographs, archival documents and 650 art reproductions in high graphic quality. The mapped work covers the period 1940 - 1993. In the last decades of her life, for health reasons, Valentina Rusu Ciobanu gave up painting, dedicating herself to her family. The hardships of the 90s, which the artist remembers with a certain frustration, will perhaps be weighed in making this decision:

Why should we struggle, why should we paint, criticize, etc... when everyone is concerned only with their material well-being, when everywhere they prey and rob, just like in fairy tales with kites and monsters disfigured by greed ?

The launch of the "Valentina Rusu Ciobanu" catalog raisonné will take place at the "George Enescu" National University of Arts in Iasi, through a conference dedicated to the painter's work, on October 26, and in Chisinau, at Casa Sainciuc Rusu Ciobanu, on October 28, 2023. During these events, the 8-9/2023 issue of Timpul Magazine will also be launched, which includes a substantial file dedicated to Valentina Rusu Ciobanu, designed around Bessarabian writers and filmmakers portrayed by the artist, including Alecu Russo, Lidia Istrati, Serafic Saca, Emil Loteanu, Vera Malev. The reproductions are accompanied by texts signed by chroniclers, essayists and film critics: Cristian Ispas, Ioan Stanomir, Mirela Nagâț, Victor Cobuz, Adina Dinițoiu and Victor Morozov, under the coordination of Bogdan Crețu.

The catalog was printed in 200 copies, which will be distributed free of charge in art museums, higher institutions of artistic education and in county and city libraries in Romania, the Republic of Moldova and abroad.

The cultural project also includes a descriptive component of 20 works by Valentina Rusu Ciobanu, video materials collected in a "playlist" entitled "Narrative paintings", accessible for free on http://www.valentinarusuciobanu.com/opere) and on the YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@arborassociationforculture3726 of the Arbor Association. The authors of the animation and sound design are Rivulet.studio, collaborators of the Arbor Association.

Last but not least, the Arbor example demonstrates the strength of an NGO to carry out projects of major interest to the Romanian public, in a more efficient dynamic than state institutions in the field.

Event details:

Conference: "Valentina Rusu Ciobanu. Rediscovery"

"George Enescu" National University of Arts

Faculty of Visual Arts and Design

Str. Saltworks, no. 168, Iasi

October 26, 2023, 11:00 a.m

Speakers: Dr. Adrian Stoleriu, Dean of the Faculty of Visual Arts and Design of UNAGE (opening speech), Dr. Constantin I. Ciobanu, Prof. Univ. Dr. Codrina-Laura Ioniță, Vladislava Pahomea, student of Art History from Chisinau, moderator Mirela Nagâț.

Launch: Catalog raisonné "Valentina Rusu Ciobanu"

Sainciuc House – Rusu Ciobanu

Str. Grigore Ureche no. 38, Chisinau

October 28, 2023, 11:00 a.m

Speakers: Guido Beltrani, director of the Swiss Cooperation Office (SDC) in the Republic of Moldova (welcome message), Dr. Constantin I. Ciobanu, Prof. Univ. Dr. Codrina-Laura Ioniță, other members of the editorial team, moderator Vitalie Ciobanu.

Entry is free, subject to availability. Registration for these events is done by email at: contact@arborinstitute.eu

Event video presentation: https://youtu.be/ADYQm3UIMMA

Editorial team, collaborators and project partners

Editorial team:

Victoria Nagy Vajda, project manager, publisher

Constantin I. Ciobanu, art historian

Codrina-Laura Ioniță, art historian

Rodica Ursachi, art historian

Vitalie Ciobanu, writer

Mircea V. Ciobanu, literary historian

Lica Sainciuc, descendant

Mirela Nagât, editor

Ioana-Raluca Flangea, proofreader

Elena Balinschi, researcher, National Library of the Republic of Moldavia

Aurelian Lavric, researcher, National Archives Agency

Serioja Bocsok, graphic designer

Aurelian Ardeleanu, pre-press

Iurie Foca, photographer

Collaborators:

Ludmila Toma, art historian

Natalia Chernysheva, curator, State Tretyakov Gallery

Polina Kolomeeț, deputy director of Heritage, MNAM

Tudor Stavilă, art historian

Natalia Polikarpov, translator

Doina Gaideu, librarian

Ludmila Vasilache, director, Moldova 2, Teleradio-Moldova

Nina Parfentie, director of Heritage, Radio Moldova

Project co-financed by:

The Government of Switzerland through the Swiss Cooperation Office in Chisinau*

Administration of the National Cultural Fund (Romania)**

Main partners:

National Library of the Republic of Moldova

National Agency of Archives of the Republic of Moldova

"George Enescu" National University of Arts from Iasi

Academy of Music, Theater and Fine Arts from the Republic

Moldavia

TIMPUL culture magazine (Romania)

SANTAVINERE Foundation

Partners:

Embassy of the Republic of Moldova in Romania

The National Art Museum of Moldova

National Museum of Romanian Literature, Chisinau

The National Museum of History of Moldova

Union of Visual Artists from the Republic of Moldova

Media partners:

Time magazine

TVR Cultural

TVR Iasi

TVR Moldova

* ** The project does not necessarily represent the position of the Administration of the National Cultural Fund. AFCN is not responsible for the content of the project or how the results of the project may be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the beneficiary of the funding. The project was carried out with the support of the Swiss Government. The content of this project does not necessarily reflect the view of the donor.

Contact person: Victoria Nagy Vajda, phone: 0040752076623, e-mail:

contact@arborinstitute.eu

About the Arbor Association

The Arbor Culture and Arts Association, established in 2017, is well known to the public for its constant effort in promoting dialogue between the Romanian public and Bessarabian artists, with the aim of developing cultural mobility between the two countries on the banks of the Prut. Arbor's activity covers several artistic fields. Thus, Arbor has organized over 30 art exhibitions, both in the space it owns, Arbor.art.room, and in private galleries, cultural centers, libraries or museums in the Republic of Moldova and Romania. The association also initiated educational projects, promoting written culture and performing arts, such as "Bus Culture", "Arbor Master Class", "Romanian novel from the left of the Prut", "Abandoned stories", "Glass menagerie". Arbor projects are carried out in partnership with public and private institutions, such as the Bucharest City Museum, the National Museum of Romanian Literature in Chisinau and Iași, ARCUB, the National Library of the Republic of Moldova, the Alexei Mateevici Theatre, unteatru and others. During the pandemic, Arbor launched the first virtual reality (VR) art platform in Romania and the Republic of Moldova: www.theopen-art.com, where you can access the works of Romanian and Moldovan artists, as well as museum exhibitions in Chisinau. Arbor edited "The Book of Abandoned Stories" (2022) and five art albums - "Ghenadie Popescu", "Mark Verlan" (2019), "Valentina Rusu Ciobanu. 100 years since birth" (2020), "Remembering childhood, testimonies of Bessarabian deportees" (2022), "Valentina Rusu Ciobanu. Catalog raisonné" (2023). Last but not least, the association makes donations and sponsorships to educational and cultural institutions, NGOs, theaters and artists.