#Exhibit of the Month

In the dazzling world of precious stones and noble metals, certain jewelers stand out, mastering the art of harmonizing understated elegance with absolute refinement, genius with design, and sophistication with eternal, unforgettable splendor.
The name Fabergé, emblematic of originality and synonymous with the creations of a legendary house, has left an indelible mark on the history of jewelry and decorative arts. Renowned for uniting jewelry, artistic design, and utility into objets de luxe and objets de fantaisie, Fabergé's creations have always captivated with their exquisite craftsmanship. Fashioned from gold, silver, enamel, and precious stones, the pieces produced in Fabergé's workshops testify to exceptional virtuosity, marked by meticulous attention to detail and perfect material harmony. Even works inspired by earlier stylistic vocabularies bear the unmistakable mark of originality.

The National Museum of History of Moldova treasures a spectacular ladle, crafted in Fabergé's workshops in the late 19th century.
The Fabergé ladle is a curious blend of the "Russian style" and the "modern style." Made of solid silver, it features a circular, gold-plated bowl. Its raised, stylized handle (hook-shaped) is adorned with vegetal motifs, triple rings, and silver pearls. The rim is embellished with a wide band composed of rectangular medallions, decorated with spiral loops and stylized scales arranged alternately. The bowl is supported by four hemispherical feet. At the center, engraved inscriptions read: Eugenie von Platonow/St. Petersburg and ТОРГОВЫЙ ДОМЪ „АЛЕКСАНДРЪ"/1863/15/10/1913.
Research suggests that this ladle was commissioned by Alexander Trauberg, a first-guild merchant and owner of the "АЛЕКСАНДРЪ" Trading House located at Nevsky Boulevard 11, St. Petersburg. It was likely created to mark the 50th anniversary of his business in 1913.
The hallmark stamped on the base-Fabergé's K. ФАБЕРЖЕ logo surmounted by the Russian Empire's coat of arms, alongside the female profile in a kokoshnik within an oval frame, accompanied by the Greek letter Δ (delta) and the silver purity standard "88"-confirms that the piece was produced by Fabergé's Moscow branch.
The hypnotic charm of Fabergé's creations defined the aesthetic ideals of an era, embodying exuberance and refinement, crafted by a jeweler to kings and a king among jewelers.

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Publications

Albums

Ana Niculiţă

Ancient Jewelry from the Collections of the National Museum of History of Moldova (Catalog)

Series “Albums” III, Chişinău, 2018. 296 p. ISBN 978-9975-87-442-7.

This work presents to the reader the valuable historical adornments, familiarizes him with the artistic taste and the high level of craftsmanship of their creators, giving him the opportunity to take a journey in the depths of the ages to make an imagination of both the material world and the spiritual life of people of bygone eras.

The work Ancient Jewelry from the Collections of the National Museum of History of Moldova (Catalog) comprises a collection of over 2 thousand ornaments and objects of toreutics made of gold and silver, mostly discovered during the archaeological investigations in different types of sites dating from the Eneolithic to the late Middle Ages located on the present territory of the Republic of Moldova. Much of the items come from randomly discovered hoards of jewelry or hoards consisting of artifacts and coins.

The work includes three main parts.

The first chapter describes the objects of jewelry and toreutics discovered at archaeological sites of different historical periods.

The next chapter presents the hoards of ornaments or of artifacts and coins.

The objects are presented according to the following categories: adornments (earrings, temporal rings, rings, torcs, necklaces), clothing accessories (sewn-on plaques for headwear and clothing, buttons, fibulae), objects of toreutics (parts of horse harness, phalerae, scepter clips). A general characterization of the relevant historical period is also provided, complemented by information on the technique of manufacturing items. Each archaeological site is marked on a map corresponding to the historical period to which the artifacts are attributed.

The third part, the most significant, is the Catalog. Each object, or group of objects, is illustrated in color, for some items, details of the ornament, manufacturing techniques and other data are presented. For each artifact (or artifacts in the same category), there are given the name, type, place of discovery and type of archaeological site, the finder and the year of finding, the brief description: the metal of which the object is made (gold, silver), the metal purity, weight, dimensions, chronological framework, place of storage and inventory number, and selective bibliography.