#Exhibit of the Month

The bronze hoard was discovered on the territory of Mîndrești village, Telenești district, in 1968. It was identified accidentally by a group of students from the village school, and the materials later came to the attention of specialists at the Institute of History of the Academy of Sciences. According to documentary records, the hoard was composed of ten pieces: four socketed axes (celts), a dagger fragment, a sword fragment, a sickle, a winged axe, an adze-axe, and a chain consisting of four links.
Currently, of the mentioned assemblage, six objects are preserved in the collections of the National Museum of History of Moldova: two socketed axes (celts), the winged axe, the adze-axe, the dagger fragment, and the chain made of four links.- Socketed axe (celt) with one loop. Dimensions: Length - 10.2 cm; Weight - 186 g.
- Socketed axe (celt) with one frontal loop. Dimensions: Length - 8.4 cm; Width: 33-46 mm; Weight - 124 g.
- Winged axe. Dimensions: Length - 14.0 cm; Width - 2.5-3.4 cm; Weight - 285 g.
- Adze-axe. Dimensions: Length - 14.8 cm; Width - 2.3-5.0 cm; Weight - 286 g.
- Dagger fragment. Dimensions: Length - 16.5 cm; Blade length - 9.8 cm; Blade width - 2.8 cm; Weight - 81 g.
- Chain formed of four links. Dimensions: Length - 17.1 cm; Link diameter - 3.8; Weight - 32 g.The bronze hoard of Mîndrești is important due to the association of objects that find analogies in the regional repertoire with pieces that show clear analogies in Central Europe and the Carpathian Basin. The assemblage reflects a zone of contact and interaction where metallic forms of different origins and traditions circulated and were integrated into the repertoire of local communities.
Chronologically, the bronze hoard of Mîndrești is attributed to the Early Hallstatt period - HaA1, being dated to 1200-1100 BC.

Virtual Tour

June 2021

Challenge Sports Cup

This is a challenge cup, which used to be awarded to the winners in sports competitions between the teams-members of the Dynamo Voluntary Sports Society, organized by the City Committee responsible for physical culture and sports in Chișinău.

The voluntary sports organizations (DSO: Dobrovol'noe sportivnoe obshhestvo) were created in the mid-30s of the twentieth century in the Soviet Union and over the years had spread in the socialist states. They brought together groups of amateur athletes from district, regional and republican enterprises and educational institutions based on the territorial principle. They were engaged in the education of the young generation in the field of physical culture, sports and tourism in order to solve the problems of the development of mass physical culture. The winners used to be awarded with diplomas, badges, sports medals of various categories and a multitude of sports cups.

The sports cup presented in this exhibition has the shape of a decorative vase and consists of three parts. The upper part, cylindrical in shape, consists of ten openwork components, the decor of which represents vines with bunches of grapes; it is topped with a hemispherical lid. The upper part is missing an element, usually a sculpture, symbolizing the field of athletics corresponding to the competition. The central part is shaped like a lidded bowl with richly ornamented handles. On its surface the inscription is engraved in Russian: City Committee for Physical Culture and Sports. Challenge prize in athletics among the teams of the Dynamo Voluntary Sports Society, Chișinău. 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951. The third part, which is the foot of the cup, has a band decorated in relief with stylized flowers and fruits with niello.

Accession: MNIM, FB-8736
Metal: silver-plated brass
Dimensions: 300 x 230 x 210 mm.

#Exhibit of the Month

The Bronze Hoard of Mîndrești

June 2021

Challenge Sports Cup

#Exhibit of the Month