#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 cherubic figures: 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.

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Journal „Tyragetia"

ISSN 1857-0240 E-ISSN 2537-6330

Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XVIII [XXXIII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie

Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XVIII [XXXIII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică

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Archive

Journal “Tyragetia”, published by the National Museum of History of Moldova, is accredited (category B) and listed in the National Register of scientific journals.

The journal was founded in 1991, the first issue saw the light in 1992. 15 issues have been published by 2006 with a frequency of one volume per year.

The new series of the journal is being published starting with 2007 in two issues annually: Vol. 1. Archaeology. Ancient History and Vol. 2. History. Museology.

In the new series of the journal “Tyragetia” are published studies of archaeology, history, museology, results of archaeological-historical interdisciplinary research, studies on heritage protection etc. The published materials cover the geographic area of the Balkan-Carpathian-Pontic space and the entire Eurasian continent.

The journal aims at promoting results of scientific investigations conducted by collaborators of the National Museum of History of Moldova and researchers from institutions in Moldova and from abroad.

28 issues of the journal were published in the period 2007-2020, with 860 scientific articles signed by authors from Moldova, Romania, Ukraine, Germany, USA, Poland, Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, etc.

The journal is included in the following databases:

Guidelines for authors

Ethical principles

The journal "Tyragetia" is guided in its activity by ethical principles set out in COPE Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors

The journal asks authors to pay attention to the following aspects:

- temporarily does not publish materials of researchers from the Russian Federation (according to the decision of the Scientific Council of NMHM of 19.12.2022);

- the journal does not publish materials that may be considered plagiarized;

- for publication are only accepted novel, previously unpublished materials. The author is obliged to inform the editorial board if submitted article was submitted for publication in other journals or if there is an already published modified version of the same article;

- the editorial board is taking consideration of the fact that submitted for peer review and publication materials are confidential. Unpublished material will not be used under any circumstances by the editor, reviewers or publishers for personal purposes or any other purpose;

- we encourage all authors to be respectful and to be guided by academic fairness in articles containing criticism of colleagues. Otherwise, the editor reserves the right to reject or edit the material to meet these requirements;

- analysis and review of materials by the editorial board of the journal focuses exclusively on scholarly value, clarity of presentation and scholarly ethics requirements. The process of accepting articles for publication excludes all discrimination based on sex, age, race, religion, nationality or any other discriminatory criterion.

Structure of the journal

The journal has the following sections:

I. Studies

II. Materials and research

III. Reviews and book presentations

Upon need, two other compartments are added: Tribute and In memoriam

Instructions for authors

Contributions should be submitted in Romanian, Russian, English, German, French.

The volume of the manuscripts shouldn’t exceed 100,000 signs, (approximately 2,5 ens), including bibliography, summaries and illustrations.

The texts of the contributions should be submitted as digital copies: Microsoft Word; Times New Roman (with diacritics specific to the text language); Font size 12; Spaсe 1,5.

Articles should have keywords (5-7 words) and summaries (max. 1500 signs) in three languages: Romanian, Russian, English (German or French).

Plates (illustrations) should be provided in clear graphic (GRAYSCALE, format TIF, JPG – minimum 300 dpi and higher) and should respect the maximum size of page mirror (16×23,5 cm or 7,5×23,5, including the legend). Each object on the plate will be numbered using numbers (if necessary letters), using font Georgia, font size 10. Illustrative material must also be accompanied by a list of illustrations (Microsoft Word, Times New Roman, font size 10) with a comprehensive legend in Romanian, Russian, English (German or French).

Bibliographic notes should be presented in original, inside the manuscript text: (Teodor 2005, 172, fig. 7/4-6; Müller 1953, 123, Abb. 15/4-6; Петров 1999, 15, рис. 3/4-6).

Explanations, comments and references to archive and museum funds will be made at the footer (continuous numbering).

References to illustrations (figures) from text should be done in parenthesis, in short, according the following example (fig. 2/7; Abb. 2/7; рис. 2/7).

Bibliography should be presented in alphabetical order at the end of the text.

Citation of monographs:

Boardman 1988: J. Boardman, Grecii de peste mări. Colonizarea greacă și comerțul timpuriu (București 1988).

Козуб 1974: Ю.I. Козуб, Некрополь Ольвiï V-IV ст. до н.e. (Киïв 1974).

Citation of articles published in collections of scholarly articles:

Behren 2005: Claudia von Behren, Sklaven und Freigelassene auf bosporanischen Grabreliefs. In: (Ed. V. Cojocaru) Ethnic Contacts and Cultural Exchanges North and West of the Black Sea from the Greek Colonization to the Ottoman Conquest (Iași 2005), 167-194.

Ванчугов 1981: В.П. Ванчугов, Поселение позднего бронзового века Ялпуг-IV в Нижнем Подунавье. В сб.: (Отв. ред. П.О. Карышковский) Памятники древних культур Северо-Западного Причерноморья (Киев 1981), 91-102.

Citation of works published in periodical editions (journals, yearbooks etc.):

Postică 2005: Gh. Postică, Complexul monumental din piatră din secolul XV descoperit în citadela Orheiului Vechi. Revista Arheologică S.N. I/2, 2005, 371-387.

Рехо 1973: М. Рехо, Атическа рисувана керамика в тракийския погребален контекст. Наблюдения върху съдовете, открити в България. Aрхеология 31/2, 1973, 11-19.

Citation of materials published in volumes of symposiums and scholarly conferences:

Trohani 2004: G. Trohani, Aspects concernant des rituels de fondation chez les geto-daces. Tracians and circumpontics world. Proceedings of the Ninth International Congress of Thracology, Chișinău-Vadul lui Vodă, 6-11 september 2004, II (Chișinău 2004), 332-337.

Бибикова 1972: В.И. Бибикова, О доместикации лошади на Юго-Востоке Европы. Матерiали XIII конференцiï Iнституту археологiï АН УРСС, Киïв, 1968 (Киïв 1972), 106-110.

If abbreviations are used in text and bibliography, a list of abbreviations should be attached in the end.

Data about the author is attached at the end of the text: name, surname; academic degree; position; institution; address; telephone, fax, e-mail.

Deadlines

To facilitate the timely issue of the journal please respect the deadline for paper submission – March 1 of each year.

Taxes

The journal does not charge for processing and editing articles. Authors receive a copy of the journal in which the article was published without any charge.

Copyright

The journal allows authors to hold and keep copyrights on articles without restrictions.