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).
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. V [XX], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Materials under discussion are in the main documentary evidences concerned the history of a private library of the first half of the 19th century belonged to Dimitrie Gobdela (1780-1831), a lecturer at the Academia Domnească from Iași. The book collection of the Dimitrie Gobdela’s famous library that numbered 2733 volumes in different languages: Greek, German, French, Latin etc. was brought to Bessarabia and given in pawn by its owner (April 1, 1825) to a boyar Dimitrie Carastati in exchange for 335 Dutch gold coins. Official correspondence from the Chișinau National Archives (the Fund of the Bessarabian Marshal of the Nobility and the Fund of the Office of the Civil Governor of Bessarabia) fills in some unknown or little-known pages of the destiny of the Dimitrie Gobdela’s library. Our task is to clarify and to highlight the historical and cultural value of that imposing collection of books, that later was found in the library of the Chișinău Regional Gymnasia. There are several reasons for attaining these objects: • Insufficient historical data on the collection of books from the libraries of Bessarabia of the 19th century. • Lack of scientific information on the catalogue of the Dimitrie Govdela’s Library. • Specificity of the restrictive system of the tsarist censorship concerned foreign books brought to Bessarabia.
List of illustrations: Fig. 1. Catalogue of books in French from the library of Dimitrie Govdelas (ANRM, F. 88, inv. 1, d. 719, f. 25). Fig. 2. Catalogue of books in Latin from the library of Dimitrie Govdelas (ANRM, F. 88, inv. 1, d. 719, f. 16 001).
Maria Danilov
The library of Costache Tufescu: Reconstructions (1st half of 19th century)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VI [XXI], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Maria Danilov
Reference points in the historiography of the Noul Neamț Monastery. Issues and interpretations
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VIII [XXIII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Maria Danilov
Press and Censorship in Bessarabia at the beginning of XXth century
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. III [XVIII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Maria Danilov
Diffusion of imperial press in Bessarabia and censorship institutions
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. IV [XIX], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Maria Danilov
Kаталог архивного фонда Русского Свято-Пантелеимонова монастыря на Афоне», том седьмой, часть 4. Составитель Ермолай (Чежия), Святая Гора Афон/ Издаельство «Голос Пресс», Москва, 2015 г. 445 стр. ISBN 978-5-7117-0734-9
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. IX [XXIV], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
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.