#Exhibit of the Month

The exhibited necklace of beads originates from Funerary Complex No. 6 of Kurgan No. 4, excavated in 1982 by Dr. Habil. Eugen SAVA near the town of Taraclia. The beads were found in the chest area of the deceased, indicating that they had been worn as a necklace and had remained in their original position within the funerary assemblage.
The necklace consists of 11 elements made entirely of Egyptian faience. Eight of the beads are spherical and decorated with vertical incisions forming between 14 and 21 raised ribs. Their diameters range from 13 to 20 mm. Two additional elements are scarab representations measuring 23.5 × 19.5 mm, while the final component is a flattened cylindrical pendant bead featuring a central vertical groove and measuring 22 × 9 mm. The objects range in color from light blue to dark blue and violet hues, reflecting the natural deterioration and glaze variations characteristic of Egyptian faience.
Egyptian faience is an artificial quartz-based material coated with an alkaline glaze, typically blue or blue-green in color. It was widely used in Ancient Egypt and later spread throughout the Mediterranean and Pontic regions through trade networks. During the first centuries AD, such objects served as important indicators of cultural and economic contacts between the Mediterranean world and the communities of the North Pontic region.
Owing to its typological, technological, and symbolic characteristics, the Taraclia necklace is an exceptionally valuable artifact for the study of intercultural relations, the circulation of prestige goods, and the funerary practices of the Sarmatian communities during the first centuries AD (1st-2nd centuries AD).

Virtual Tour

February 2021

Bronze kyathos

Kyathos (Ancient Greek: κύαθος - ladle, cup) is an ancient Greek vessel (ladle), used to pour wine from various larger vessels (kraters, hydriai, pelicai, and so on) into drinking cups. During the existence of these vessels, they were made of different materials: from silver and bronze to burnt clay, the latter ones being often painted with red and black figures, and sometimes covered only with black slip.

In the myths about Hercules, a young cupbearer named Kyathos is mentioned, who during a feast, scooping up wine from a vessel with a ceramic ladle to pour it into Hercules' bowl, accidentally broke the high handle of the vessel (which often happens) and spilled wine on the legendary hero. Hercules, not calculating his strength, gave the inattentive young man a flick on the forehead. Although it was a simple flick, it was fatal to the young cupbearer. In memory of this sad event in the homeland of Kyathos, in Aetolia, a grove was planted, called the Grove of the Cupbearer, where a sculpture was placed depicting Kyathos serving the cup to Hercules. Also, in memory of the cupbearer, the ladle vessels were named after him.

Kyathoi made of silver or bronze, most often with a very small bowl diameter (4 to 6 cm), were used to extract wine from amphorae (their necks ranged from 8 to 10-12 cm in diameter). The metal ladles were usually equipped with a long thin looping handles ending in a stylized swan's head.

These vessels were common in various cultures of the Greek period of the 6th-4th centuries BC.

The bronze Kyathos kept at the National Museum of History of Moldova, like most metal objects of this type, has a loop-shaped handle ending in a swan's head and the following characteristics: weight - 116.40 g; maximum length - 31.5 cm; handle width 0.9 -2 cm; diameter of the bowl at the opening - 4.4x5 cm; bowl bottom diameter - 4 cm; bowl height - 2.7 cm.

#Exhibit of the Month

Necklace of Egyptian faience beads discovered at Taraclia

February 2021

Bronze kyathos

#Exhibit of the Month