Porcelain is a material that has sparked great interest throughout history, and its production has been a true challenge. Also known as "white gold," porcelain is a white, translucent ceramic material obtained by firing a paste of kaolin, quartz, and feldspar, along with other additives, at high temperatures. It was first discovered and used in China. The first Chinese porcelain objects arrived in Europe in the 13th century, but a broader spread of Chinese porcelain on the European continent is recorded in the 17th century. The technology for producing porcelain was kept a secret by the Chinese for a very long time.
The first hard-paste porcelain manufactory in Europe, located in the city of Meissen, was established in 1710 due to discoveries in porcelain production made by Saxon mathematician and physicist Ehrenfried Walter von Tschirnhaus (1661-1708), which were put into practice by the royal court alchemist Johann Friedrich Böttger (1682-1718). He invented the glaze and achieved the complete fusion of the shard and the glaze. The Meissen factory, still operational today, has created and continues to create a vast range of porcelain products. Crafted by the finest artists, sculptors, and engravers, who use unique hand-painted colors and exclusive designs, Meissen products are of exceptional quality and elegance, enjoying worldwide fame.
The tea set, partially consisting of seven pieces (teapot, milk jug, sugar bowl, and two cups with saucers), displayed in this showcase, is a product of the famous Meissen factory in the Kingdom of Saxony, Germany. It was crafted in the first half of the 19th century from high-quality porcelain. The exhibit became part of the collection of the National Museum of History of Moldova through a transfer from the "G. Cotovschi" Memorial House in Hâncești, which was closed in 1989-1990.
The decoration of these pieces is remarkable, featuring hand-painted "German flowers," one of the well-known styles of floral and plant decoration practiced by Meissen craftsmen since the 18th century. They were influenced by Chinese porcelain, which was often adorned with images of flowers and fruits. A distinctive feature of this decorative style was the "scattered flowers" arrangement, where floral elements were placed as individual blossoms or bouquets across the surface of porcelain objects.
The marking on the underside of the pieces consists of two crossed swords, elements borrowed from the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Saxony, applied by hand with cobalt paint under the glaze. With slight variations in the representation of the swords, this mark has been used since 1722 and continues to the present day. The mark on this tea set is characterized by prominent dots on the crossed swords, a feature used at the Meissen factory between 1815 and 1860.
The polychrome floral painting, gilding, and the application of a rosebud on the lids of the teapot and sugar bowl lend a sublime delicacy to these pieces, making them rare and exquisite.
Old Russian art on the shores of Seine. Some notes on the "Holy Russia: Russian Art from the beginning to the times of Peter the Great" exhibition in the Louvre in 2010
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VI [XXI], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
In the spring of 2010, the Louvre, the largest museum of France, held an exhibition of Russian art that became the most prominent event of the Year of Russia in France. The exhibition was put on a list of official matters and the presidents of both countries opened it in a formal ceremony. The visitors could see in the Louvre’s halls a refined selection of objects of the highest artistic level, an elaborate conception of the exposition’s plan, an excellent design, and a great respect for Russian culture. It took several years for Dr Jannic Durand, a specialist in Byzantine art and Louvre’s curator, and Director Henri Leyrotte to prepare the exhibition. 300 objects from 37 museums and libraries from all around the world, including 26 depositories from Russia, were put on display. It should be emphasized that the main part of the exhibition included the articles of the high artistic level, often the masterpieces. The extensive exhibition catalogue contained numerous essays on the history and art of Old Russia in different chronological periods, written by the Russian and French art historians. The catalogue entries describing the objects were done mainly by the specialists from the museums and libraries where the objects are kept. It gave an opportunity to the general public and those foreign professionals who do not know Russian to familiarize themselves with opinions of Russian specialists on some specific issues of Old Russian art. Translations into French were done skillfully and with respect to the original authors’ texts, though some truncations and stylistic editing were unavoidable, taking into account the difference in traditions of French and Russian academic schools and distinctions in mentality of French public.
In this article, the author tried to give a virtual tour around the exhibition’s halls in the Louvre, drawing the readers’ attention to the special ways in the displaying the objects, the reasons behind the objects’ selection, and their effect in the exposition space. Special attention is paid to the result (quite often, an unexpected one even for the organizers of the exhibition themselves) reached by the arrangement of the objects in the halls and showcases, their comparison, lighting, and successful design. In some cases, the article explains the motivations behind the selection of the art works that are connected to the ways Old Russian art is perceived by the European public and their interpretation of Russian history. The author is trying to explain not only the ideas that the French organizers of the exhibition wished to reveal in the exhibition halls but also the result of it, and why this result had, in fact, the enormous success among the different categories of visitors.
A very important effect of the Louvre exhibition was the breaking out of a number of stereotypes held toward Old Russian art, its relationships with Byzantine art, for example; the existence of a large number of regional painting schools with specific, apprehensible features; the high level of Russian art not only during the “time of Andrei Rublev” but also in the previous and following it centuries. The difficult work done by the Louvre during the preparation of this exhibition gave a grand result and, undoubtedly, opened a new era in the study of Old Russian art in the West.
The Louvre exhibition made such a great impression on the President of Russia and his envoy that it was decided to show it to the Russian public. Indeed, when the show in Paris ended and the objects returned back home, the exhibition was organized in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. However, it was not the same exhibition as the one in Paris. The Russian “specialists” and museum functionaries made their own, “true”, conception in exposing the Old Russian materials. Unfortunately, in both scholarly and exposition ways it happened to be very unprofessional, and possessed that which is commonly defined as “bad taste”. Even more unfortunate was the situation with the exhibition catalogue. On the account of its scholarly content, the catalogue was turned into an abridged edition and was designed in the pompous style of coffee table books. Although a significant amount of money was spent on all these efforts, and the bureaucrats from culture were satisfied, it should be admitted that the result was rather sad for the Russian public and for Russian art history as a scholarly discipline.
List of illustrations. Fig. 1. Presidents of Russia and France at “Holy Russia” during the tour led by Jannic Durand, the curator of the exhibition. Fig. 2. The banner of the “Holy Russia” exhibition on the building of the Louvre Fig. 3. Model of Smolny Convent of the Resurrection in St Petersburg by F-B Rastrelli that “greeted” the visitors of the “Holy Russia” exhibition in the Louvre. Fig. 4. “St Boris and Gleb”, the Novgorod icon of the 14th century chosen as the emblem of the Louvre exhibition. Fig. 5. The Polovets “baba” of the 12th century and showcases with archaeological artifacts of pre-Christian Russia. Fig. 6. “Deisis” from the city of Vladimir, end of the 12th century Fig. 7. The Old Russian icons, end of the 12th-13th centuries. Fig. 8. The Novgorod section of the “Holy Russia” exhibition. Fig. 9. The Novgorod icons at the “Holy Russia” exhibition. Fig. 10. Icon “John the Forerunner” from the Vasil’ev Deisus attributed to Andrei Rublev. Fig. 11. The “Icon Hall” with icons from the iconostases of the St. Cyril-Belozersk Monastery. Fig. 12. The showcase with provincial “northern” monuments of Old Russia. Fig. 13. “The King and the Patriarch” – the portrait apposition of two rules of Russia of the 17th century. Fig. 14. The hall of the 17th century with decorative tiles. Fig. 15. “Christ Pantocrator Enthroned”, 1703 – the final accord of the “Holy Russia” exhibition at the Louvre.
Всеволод Образцов, Юрий А. Пятницкий
Holy images on blades: unique swords from the State Hermitage Museum (preliminary publication)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VII [XXII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Юрий А. Пятницкий
Cloisonné enamels from the former collection Alexander Zwenigorodsky and a new book by Ljudmila Pekarska, Jewellery of Princely Kiev. The Kiev Hoards in the British Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Related Material
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. IX [XXIV], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie Chișinău, 2015
Андрей Крупенко, Юрий А. Пятницкий
Restoration and attribution of The Virgin of Tenderness (a new acquisition of the Byzantine collection of the Hermitage Museum)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. X [XXV], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Юрий А. Пятницкий
Coptic textile from Count Alexey Bobrinsky's collection in the State Hermitage: the history of one mistake
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. X [XXV], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Porcelain is a material that has sparked great interest throughout history, and its production has been a true challenge. Also known as "white gold," porcelain is a white, translucent ceramic material obtained by firing a paste of kaolin, quartz, and feldspar, along with other additives, at high temperatures...
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.