The music is recorded on a cylinder with pins. The interior is divided into three compartments: the first contains the crank and the mechanism that operates the cylinder with pins, the second - the cylinder with pins and vibrating lamellae, and the third - two levers for starting and stopping the melody. The cylinder holds seven melodies by W.A. Mozart, which are played through the vibration of steel teeth arranged in a comb, whose tips are adjacent to the cylinder. The lid of the box features floral marquetry on its outer surface. This cultural asset is classified under the "Tezaur" category.
The Story of Musical Boxes
Musical boxes originated in Switzerland at the end of the 18th century. In 1796, watchmaker Antoine Favre-Salomon invented a pocket watch with an incorporated musical mechanism, using the principle of tuned metal lamellae. The invention quickly spread, soon leading to the creation of musical boxes independent of watches.
Initially invented and built for the salon entertainment of the aristocracy, musical boxes quickly evolved, capturing the market and public interest with these entertainment machines. The musical box industry was predominantly centered in Switzerland. Geneva remains the cradle of the musical box, even though the art of crafting these musical wonders spread to other regions of Switzerland - such as Jura, Auberson, and Sainte Croix - and later to other countries, including France, Germany, and Czechoslovakia. Some of the most notable manufacturers of musical boxes include: Mermod Frères, Paillard, Reuge, Thorens, Cuendet, Junod, Nicole Frères, Ducommun-Girod, Brémond, and L'Epee.
The musical box operated on a relatively simple principle: a cylinder with pins (cylindrical pins) would, through rotation, actuate a metal "comb" tuned to specific musical notes, both being concealed from view in one of the box's compartments. By turning the cylinder - with the help of a spring mechanism (similar to that of watches) - the pins would strike the steel "teeth" of the comb, causing them to vibrate and produce different musical notes. A musical box could have a limited number of melodies "programmed" onto the cylinder - from 4 to 12.
Over time, the cylinders were replaced with interchangeable metal discs. Based on this operating principle, large musical boxes emerged in cafés and taverns, which could be activated by inserting a coin, allowing users to select their preferred disc.
Besides the ingenious mechanism, musical boxes also stood out for the artistry of their exterior decorations, featuring materials such as precious woods, mother-of-pearl, ivory, and metal.
The decline of musical boxes began with the invention of the phonograph (1877) and the gramophone (1887). Production continued for a while, but by the early 20th century, most renowned companies had abandoned the business and started manufacturing other mechanical musical instruments.
The early medieval spirituality in the Prut-Nistru space
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. II [XVII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
In the early medieval period in the Prut- Nistru space existed a multicolored spirituality based on Christian and Pagan values. These phenomena are attested in this region at all the development stages of the early medieval period, beginning with the 5th-7th centuries until the 12th-13th centuries.
The Christian values were characteristic first of all to the sedentary people of Romanic origin which practiced this cult starting from the late antiquity. At certain stages of the early medieval period, especially after the years 865 and 988 when the Christian religion become official in the Slavic world, these Christian values were embraced by Slavs groups established in this space as well. Therefore after the 10th century the sedentary people from the Prut-Nistru region can be characterized as exclusively Christian. The Christian religion in the 10th-13th centuries was practiced probably by a part of the nomads turned sedentary in the autochthons settlements.
From canonical standpoint, the Christians from the Prut-Nistru space in the early medieval period were subordinated to the Constantinople Patriarchy. Still the Christianity from this region and other North-Pontic regions is remarked as a popular one, situation caused by the by the isolation of this territory from the Byzantine world and its inclusion within a political space dominated by different pagan migratory peoples. A living expression of the popular Christianity from this space for the period of the 5th-9th centuries can be considered the funerary rite of the sedentary people who during a relatively long period preserved along the practice of inhumation the cult of incineration of the dead. In the 10th-11th centuries the Christian cult in the Prut-Nistru space crystallizes in forms close to the contemporary one.
The pagan values as religious systems in the early medieval period were characteristic for the migratory peoples. The bearers of pagan beliefs in the Prut-Nistru were the old Slavs, the Alans, the Bulgarians, the Hungarians, the Pechinegs, the Oguzs, the Cumans and the Mongols. Some pagan rituals were practiced as remains within the Christian religious system by the sedentary people.
Regarded from the standpoint of the spirituality the early medieval civilization of the Prut-Nistru space was made of two distinct worlds: Christian – represented by the sedentary local people and the pagan – represented by the migratory tribes of the steppe nomads, while at certain stages by groups of sedentary.
Gheorghe Postică
Orhei fortress in the strategy of Ştefan cel Mare
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. I [XVI], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie Chișinău, 2007
The music is recorded on a cylinder with pins. The interior is divided into three compartments: the first contains the crank and the mechanism that operates the cylinder with pins, the second - the cylinder with pins and vibrating lamellae, and the third - two levers for starting and stopping the melody...
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.
31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
