#Exhibit of the Month

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.

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International Scientific Conference “Polish-Moldovan relations to the centenary of the regaining of independence by Poland”

22 October 2018

The National Museum of History of Moldova hosted on Monday, October 22, 2018, starting at 10:00, the international scientific conference „Polish-Moldovan relations to the centenary of the regaining of independence by Poland".

The conference was organised at the initiative of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Moldova, in collaboration with the National Museum of History of Moldova, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research of the Republic of Moldova.

The purpose of the conference was to analyze the content of Polish-Moldovan relations in their multilateral dimension. The reason for reflection is the 100th anniversary of the regaining of independence by Poland. The celebrated anniversary allows us to reflect on the influence exerted and to be exercised by the existence of the independent and modern Polish statehood on the Polish-Moldovan relations, on their ampitude, sphere and dynamics. It is also worth noting the role played by Poland and Poles in the political, social, cultural and economic transformations that take place in the lands of the former Principality of Moldova. The presence of Polish culture and language as well as the Polish-Moldovan collaboration in regional or continental aspect (Eastern Partnership, European integration, creation of international security structures) are also of great importance.

More than 50 scholars and researchers from different scientific institutions from Moldova, Poland, Romania, Ukraine and Israel participated in the scientific event (National Museum of History of Moldova, State University of Moldova, State Pedagogical University of Moldova, Institute of Cultural Heritage, Institute of History, University of Warsaw, „Adam Mickiewicz" University of Poznań, Jagiellon University, University of Silesia, University of Bucharest, Catholic University of Lublin, Polish Institute of International Affairs, National Institute of Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad, "Maria Curie-Skłodowskia" University and representatives of the Polish community in Moldova (Polish organizations: Liga Polskich Kobiet, Polska Wiosna w Moldawii, Krakowianka etc.), journalists, politologists, writers, students, and so on.

The event was moderated by Dr. Hab. Prof. Eugen Sava, Director of the National Museum of History of Moldova. Wlcoming messages are expected from E.S. Bartłomiej Zdaniuk, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Poland to the Republic of Moldova; Monica Babuc, Minister of Education, Culture and Research of the Republic of Moldova; Acad. Gheorghe Duca, President of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova; Anton Coşa, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Chişinău.

In the plenary session were presented 4 reports: Lilia Zabolotnaia (National Museum of History of Moldova, Chişinău, Republic of Moldova) - The Poles in Moldova; Svetlana Cebotari, Violeta Cotilevici (State University of Moldova, Department of International Relations, Political and Administrative Sciences, Chair of International Relations) - The Moldovan-Polish Relations in the Context of the New Geopolitical Metamorphoses; Kamil Całus (Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich im. Marka Karpia w Warszawie) - Republika Mołdawii w polityce zagranicznej Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej / Bilateral relations between the Republic of Moldova and the Republic Poland: political and economic dimensions; Igor Caşu (State University of Moldova) - Poles as victims of the Communist Terror in MASSR and MSSR, 1924-40, 1940-41.

The conference continued in four sections: Section 1 - Archeology. Middle Age and Modern History; Section 2 - Art. Culture. Church. Personalities; Section 3 - Modern History; Section 4 - Contemporary History. Political Section.

The reports included studies on the history of the Poles in Moldova and the Moldovan-Polish secular relations (political, economic, cultural, military, dynastic), important personalities of Polish origin, activity of the Polish public organizations in Moldova, spiritual life, etc. The issue of contemporary Moldovan-Polish relations was addressed in particular in a geopolitical and international context.

As part of the conference there was opened the exhibition „Polish-Moldovan relations to the centenary of the regaining of independence by Poland". The opening took place in the hall of the National Library between 11.00 and 12.00.