The exposed object, an "askos" type ceramic vessel, comes from the tumulus necropolis near the village of Ciumai, Taraclia district. The vessel was discovered in 2015 in a cenotaph tomb attributed to the Jamnaja culture, dated to the early Bronze Age (ca. 3300-2600 BC).
The vessel, with an obviously asymmetrical configuration, is hand-moulded from quality clay paste, having a smooth brown surface with gray spots. The body of the vessel is provided with a pronounced protrusion and a truncated neck with a wider opening towards the mouth. The vessel has a stem and is ornamented with three pairs of symmetrically placed relief appliqués. The height of the bowl is 15.5 cm, the diameter of the mouth is 11.4 cm, the diameter of the body is 15 cm and the diameter of the base is 7.5 cm. Such vessels in the archaeological literature are known as "askos" vessels, the respective term being of ancient Greek origin, denoting one of the primitive containers of the period - the bellows made of animal skin.
In prehistoric times, among some peoples, the bellows was transposed into ceramics, in these cases the basic features of the archaic leather vessel were preserved, acquiring a prominent convex shape with a stem and a flat bottom. From the original appearance of the bellows, the asymmetric mouth corresponding to the animal's neck has been preserved, and sometimes three or four legs, corresponding to the appendages of the flayed skin from the animal's legs. These vessels have lost their original zoomorphic character, entering as a new form in the inventory of Neo-Eneolithic ceramics. The first vessels of this type are attested in Greece, in the early Neolithic (ca. 5000-4500 BC) having the shape of cups or cups. In the Neo-Eneolithic Carpatho-Balkan cultures, the type of Aegean askos of short or tall form, with or without legs and with a handle, is found. Less often, they are provided with two mouths (one for filling and one for emptying) or they are off-center and provided with strangely shaped mouths. In the space between the Carpathians and the Dnieper, only tall forms of simple askos, without zoomorphic elements, are known. Askos-type vessels are present in various prehistoric cultures, especially in Southeast Europe and Anatolia.
Being often discovered in association with cult inventory, askos vessels could be an important indicator of use in religious ritual practices. Along with the zoomorphic, anthropomorphic and rhyton-type vessels (roughly conical container from which, in some ceremonies, liquids were drunk or poured), the askos were included in the category of vessels intended for worship, being related to libations (ritual act that consisted of tasting and then pouring a cup of wine, milk, etc. as homage to the deity).
Aspects of the Moldavian Soviet writers' activity in 1942-1944
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VIII [XXIII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
After June 22, 1941 the Soviet Writers’ Union of Moldavia was inactive for almost a year. In June 1942 the Group of Moldavian Writers under the rule of I. Ciobanu consisted of I. Canna, V. Galiț, L. Deleanu, V. Polyakov (composer), M. Kakhana, and L. Barsky. After the conference of Moldavian writers held in Moscow in September 1942 there were written many letters to the CC of the C(b)P of Moldavia and to the leadership of the Moldavian Writers’ Union. Kakhana wrote about the lack of organization, Canna – about mistakes made by the Writers’ Union in 1940-1941, when such writers as N. Costenco, M. Curicheru, Barcari, and Țurcan were ignored. In January 1944 Bucov criticized Canna and Istru for “Moldovenism”. In his report of March 3, 1944 Canna summarized the work done by 11 members and five young writers of the Union during the war. He also mentioned the necessity of a literary journal and the need to write theater plays about the “historical people’s heroes” – the hospodars Stephen the Great, Vasile Lupu, Alexander the Good, Dimitrie Cantemir and the Bolsheviks Grigory Kotovsky, Sergey Lazo, and others. The first meeting of the writers after their return (with the Red Army) took place on May 26, 1944 at Soroca. The main discussed issues were the work on the hymn of the Moldavian SSR, preparing for the celebrations on June 28, publication of brochures with literary works of members of the Union, etc. This study is based on the documents from the Archives of the Socio-Political Organizations of the Republic of Moldavia (Fund 51, Inventory 1, Folder 107), which contains documents on the activities of the Soviet Writers’ Union of Moldavia from 1942 to August 1944.
List of attachments:
Attachment 1. Meetings held at the Soviet Writers’ Union of Moldavia (January-May 1941) – the date, the author discussed, the referent and participants.
Attachment 2. Timesheet of writers’ presence at the discussions in February-May 1941.
Attachment 3. Work plan of the Group of Moldavian Writers attached to the CC of the C(b)P of Moldavia for the period of from June 1 to October !, 1942.
Attachment 4. Part of the letter of Moses Kakhana-Ardeleanu to the Secretary of the CC of the C(b)P of Moldavia N. Salogor and the Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars M. Konstantinov (15 January 1943).
Attachment 5. The letter of I. Canna to the Secretary of the CC of the C(b)P of Moldavia Zelenchuk concerning the works sent to the State Publishing House of Moldavia (16 September 1943).
Attachment 6. Fragment of Emilian Bukov’s letter in which he criticizes Bogdan Istru and Ion Canna for “Moldovenism” (10 January 1944).
Attachment 7. Report of the Moldavian writer’s organization sent to CC of the C(b)P of Moldavia by I. Canna (3 March 1944).
Marius Tărîță
The Khrushchev Thaw in the literature: the Republican Conference of Young Writers (Chisinau, November 22-24, 1957)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. IX [XXIV], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie Chișinău, 2015
The exposed object, an "askos" type ceramic vessel, comes from the tumulus necropolis near the village of Ciumai, Taraclia district. The vessel was discovered in 2015 in a cenotaph tomb attributed to the Jamnaja culture, dated to the early Bronze Age (ca. 3300-2600 BC)...
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.