#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.

Virtual Tour

#Exhibit of the Month

December 2022

Postcards dedicated to winter holidays

"Back in the old days, people used to send each other greetings..."

We are on the threshold of the winter holidays, when we are concerned with the small joys and pleasant surprises, we want to give our loved ones, along with the spoken or written greeting. The latter - the handwritten card sent by post - is not so popular today, because modern information transmission technologies have replaced these "small cardboard patches", which exuded not only the vintage fragrance, but also the individuality of the recipient who sent it. Over time, the congratulations had the role of messengers, which often "replaced" the visits intended to "personally" congratulate the close ones, friends, acquaintances, also symbolizing a gesture of esteem and appreciation from the sender to the recipient.

The predecessors of greetings were business cards, which appeared for the first time in the middle of the 18th century in Paris, where, around the holidays, they were sent by couriers or personally handed to relatives, friends, acquaintances. The year 1843 is considered the year of the "birth" of greeting cards with the theme of the winter holidays, the first Christmas card being ordered by Henry Cole and illustrated by John Horsley in London, then multiplied with the help of lithography, which resembled traditional business cards. some works of art, some were with gold or silver borders, even when the phenomenon became an industry, they delighted with magical, warm images, so that the message written to the recipient brought even greater joy. Congratulations differed from other cards postcards not only as an image and message, but also through a series of signs-symbols characteristic of the event, each carrying an individual message. These were illustrations of the traditions and customs that existed in the respective country, remaining constant, regardless of the country, the representation of children and family, the string of images being supplemented with biblical scenes. With the advent of photography, they began to be printed postcards with mounted scenes. No less interesting were the greeting cards with everyday scenes reflecting the theme of Christmas, which had as an image, in addition to the traditional ones, the festive table, children opening the gifts brought by Santa Claus, companies and funny couples, sometimes not very sober, the decorated Christmas tree, etc.

The heritage of the National Museum of History of Moldova has a rich collection of illustrated postcards, which also includes greeting cards for various occasions. Those exhibited during the winter holidays - Christmas and New Year - are only a small part of the collection, they circulated in Bessarabia a century ago, being shipped from the Russian Empire, Romania and other countries. Browsing through vintage postcard albums, we transport ourselves to the magical world of winter holidays with our loved ones, savor the vintage perfume and ask ourselves: when was the last time we sent a handwritten Christmas or New Year's card in the mail?