#Exhibit of the Month

German porcelain is highly prized among antique collectors for its exceptional material quality, originality, and the meticulous craftsmanship of its decorative design.
The museum's collection preserves five figurines from one of the oldest porcelain manufactories in the Thuringia region of Germany - the statuary group known as *"The Musicians"*, crafted at the Volkstedt manufactory. These pieces entered the museum's holdings in 1991, acquired from a resident of Chișinău. With undeniable historical and artistic value, they bear the distinct imprint of the Rococo style.
The Volkstedt manufactory has a long-standing tradition in producing figurines, including those depicting musicians. In 1760, Georg Heinrich Macheleid - inventor of hard-paste porcelain in Thuringia - founded a production workshop in Zitzendorf, which was relocated to Volkstedt in 1762. Macheleid led the manufactory until 1764. Over time, the factory changed ownership and management multiple times. Under the direction of Christian Nonne, it flourished between 1767 and 1797, a period marked by significant artistic development. Volkstedt began creating figurines that would later gain international recognition.
It was during this flourishing period that the museum's porcelain statuettes, titled *"The Musicians"*, were produced. They depict five “putti”: four playing musical instruments (flute, mandolin, horn, and pipe), while the fifth conducts. Each figurine is entirely handcrafted - from modeling to painting - and delicately adorned with pastel tones and gilded details, capturing the playful movement and refined artistry of each musician. The base is made of mass-colored porcelain in a rare grey-green hue. The contrast between green, white, and gold accents lends the ensemble an unusually delicate appearance. These ornamental features are characteristic of the Rococo style, which emerged in France and is closely associated with the reign of King Louis XV.

The mark applied to the figurines consists of two crossed forks, clearly rendered in underglaze blue, with slightly blurred paint - a detail that helps date their production. Because the crossed forks often resembled the crossed swords of the Meissen trademark, the Volkstedt manufactory was compelled to change its mark starting in 1787. Initially represented by a single fork, the mark briefly returned to two forks before being replaced in 1800 by the graphic symbol "R", referencing the town of Rudolstadt. Therefore, the brief period during which the two-fork mark was reinstated - and during which the museum's figurines were likely produced - is estimated to be between 1787 and 1800.

The statuettes range in height from 10 to 18 cm and are preserved in relatively good condition.

These late 18th-century German porcelain pieces, now on display, are exceptionally rare. They stand as true works of art by German craftsmen and serve as important historical testimonies to the evolution of porcelain manufacturing in Germany.

Virtual Tour

#Exhibit of the Month

May 2022

Pickaxe hammer

Deer antlers, as well as bones, teeth and shells of mollusks, belong to the category of hard materials of animal origin, which for a long time served as raw materials for prehistoric and protohistoric communities to make tools, weapons, containers, handles, as well as objects of prestige (sceptres) or adornments (necklaces, pendants, clothing accessories), certainly bearing a symbolic load.

The National Museum of History of Moldova has a valuable collection of products made of deer antler, the chronological framework of which covers a very wide period of time, from the Paleolithic era to the late Middle Ages. Based on this, and also taking into account the significance of the beginning of May (May 1 – International Labor Day), we present to our visitors a revolutionary type of tool, very useful, which is directly related to the development of agriculture and prehistoric societies. Antler pickaxes are the tools that contributed to what we call the Neolithic revolution, when there was a transition from hunter-gatherer hominids to sedentary people, agriculturists and cattle breeders, depending on the specifics of the region. Cucuteni agricultural human communities have a long tradition of exploiting Cervus elaphus (deer) resources, especially antlers.

The object comes from the Brânzeni III – Țiganca settlement (Edineț district), a site discovered in 1968 by the archaeologist Nicolae Chetraru, attributed to stage CII of the Tripolye culture. An unaffected part of the site was completely explored in 1970-1972 by Vsevolod Markevich; during the research 37 surface dwellings with platforms were found, revealing a new cultural aspect within the Cucuteni culture – Brânzeni, a cultural and chronological phenomenon that marks the beginning of the final stage of the Eneolithic era, the end of the 4^th millennium BC.

The pickaxe hammer, dual-functional product made of the basal part of the main axis of the antler, cleaned and polished, without traces of the basal part, without rosettes and other secondary horn beams. The surface with traces of cuts is polished, in some places with strong luster. The object has a round transverse hole, slightly oblique, with a cylindrical section, located in the middle, and has a pronounced bluntness, chips and a longitudinal crack from antiquity. The active parts – the head and slightly oblique tip, completely kept – are relatively well preserved, with traces of wear and cracks in places due to intensive use.

These traces give us a history of this object, which was originally, most likely, an axe hammer, intended to split, cut, and strike, but with the wear of its blade turned into a pickaxe hammer, used both for percussion activities and for loosening the earth. The object was used as a working tool, but most likely also as a weapon.

Dimensions: L.: 113 mm; W.: 56 mm; thickness: 44 mm: Hole diameter: 20x22 mm.

#Exhibit of the Month

The Statuary Group “The Musicians”

May 2022

Pickaxe hammer

#Exhibit of the Month