The great ruler Stephen the Great, outstanding army commander and diplomat, was also concerned during his life with the economic prosperity of the country, supporting the development of crafts, trade and fairs. During his reign, groși and half groși minted in the dinar system were issued, a monetary system introduced in Moldova during the last reign of Petru Aron (1455-1457).
The coins were minted from silver of superior title, those that reflect stability in the economic life of the country at that time. Their masterful execution at the Suceava mint is among the beautiful artistic achievements during the reign of Stephen the Great.
During his reign, two types of issues were minted, for the two denominations: groși and half groși.
Type I issues have a split shield on the obverse; in the first quarter appears a rose surmounted by a cross and three fascias, in the second quarter. For the epigraph issues (groși), the image is accompanied by the circular legend with the name of the issuer: + STEFANVS VOIEVODA. On the other side appears the bour's head with a star between the horns accompanied by the heraldic furniture - the rose and the contoured crescent, placed to the right and left of the bour's head; circular legend: MOLDAVIE COIN.
On type II coins in the shield on the obverse appears a patriarchal cross (double) and the legend STEFANVSVOIEVOD or abbreviated STEFANVSVOIE. On the reverse, as in type I, the bour's head with heraldic attributes is preserved: rose right/crescent left and crescent right/rose left. A star or rose appears between the ox's horns. The legend accompanying the face with the bour head is MONETAMOLDAVI or abbreviated MONETAMOLDA.
The dating of Stephen the Great's coins is still under discussion. According to one opinion, type I issues were minted between 1457-1476, and type II between 1480/1481-1505 (Octavian Iliescu), and another 1465/1467-1475/1476 for type I and 1476/1479-1497 for type II (Ernest Oberländer-Târnoveanu).
The coins in this showcase were discovered during the archaeological excavations at Orheiul Vechi (Trebujeni, Orhei district) in the 6th and 7th decades of the 20th century:
1. Type I money issues, groși, silver 2. Type II money issues, groși, silver 3. Type II coin issue, half groși, silver
The registers of prophets and apostles from the spire tholobate of the St. George Church of Suceava. Liturgical and historical implications
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. IX [XXIV], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie Chișinău, 2015
Abstract
The frescoes of the St. George Metropolitan Church of Suceava, painted inside and outside in 1534, until now have been studied only partly. In the hereby study we aim an iconographic consideration of the paintings within the vaulting system of the nave. Special attention is paid to the registers of prophets and apostles inside the tholobate, which display several important peculiarities. In the superior register are represented 12 Minor Prophets and 3 Major Prophets, to which prophets Elijah and David are added. Surprisingly, the fourth Major Prophet, Jeremiah, is missing, instead of him, even more surprisingly, being represented Naboth the Israelite - the single image of this character within the register of prophets during the Byzantine and Post-Byzantine epoch. In the case of this unexpected insertion, we have attempted to draw several interpretation tracks, connected with the historical re-alities of the epoch. The inferior register also contains an uncommon mixture, including eight figures of apostles and prophets each, as well as a little habitual practice of endowing the apostles with texts written on rotuli. The study draws a repertory of the inscriptions from the rotuli of prophets and apostles, which are analyzed from the perspective of the practices in this field from the Byzantine and Post-Byzantine art, as well as in the context of their liturgical implications. At the same time, the author presented the inscriptions on the rotuli of prophets from the Dodecaorton (The Great Feasts) from the soffit of the oblique arches, trying also to establish a relationship between the prophetical registers of the St. George Church of Suceava and the evolutions of these registers in the Moldavian art from the 15th -16th centuries.
List of illustrations: Fig. 1. The St. George Church of Suceava, the paintings of the nave spire. Fig. 2. The St. George Church of Suceava, Christ Pantocrator on the dome of the nave. Fig. 3. The St. George Church of Suceava, the tholobate of the nave spire, the angelic registers. Fig. 4. The St. George Church of Suceava, the tholobate of the nave spire, the registers of the prophets and apostles and of the Heavenly Liturgy. Fig. 5. The St. George Church of Suceava, the tholobate of the nave spire, the prophets' register: David, Micah, Isaiah, Habakkuk. Fig. 6. The St. George Church of Suceava, the tholobate of the nave spire, the prophets' register: Habakkuk, Nahum, Zephaniah (?), Amos. Fig. 7. The St. George Church of Suceava, the tholobate of the nave spire, the prophets' register: Elijah, Haggai, Abdias. Fig. 8. The St. George Church of Suceava, the tholobate of the nave spire, the prophets' register: Abdias, Jonah, Ezekiel, Joel. Fig. 9. The St. George Church of Suceava, the tholobate of the nave spire, the prophets' register: Ezekiel, Joel, Malachi. Fig. 10. The St. George Church of Suceava, the tholobate of the nave spire, the prophets' register: Zechariah, Na- both, Daniel, Hosea. Fig. 11. The St. George Church of Suceava, the tholobate of the nave spire, registers of the prophets and apostles: Sts. Peter, John the Baptist and Paul. Fig. 12. The St. George Church of Suceava, the tholobate of the nave spire, registers of the prophets and apostles: Sts. Philip, Bartholomew and Andrew. Fig. 13. The St. George Church of Suceava, the tholobate of the nave spire, registers of the prophets and apostles: Sts. Paul, Simon, James and Thomas. Fig. 14. The St. George Church of Suceava, the tholobate of the nave spire, registers of the prophets and apostles: Samuel, Elisha, Moses, Salomon. Fig. 15. The St. George Church of Suceava, the tholobate of the nave spire, registers of the prophets and apostles: Aaron, unidentified prophet, Gideon. Fig. 16. The St. George Church of Suceava, the tympanum and the intrados of the northeast arch: The Annunciation and the prophets David and Salomon. Fig. 17. The St. George Church of Suceava, the tympanum and the intrados of the southeast arch: The Nativity of Jesus and the prophets Isaiah and Micah. Fig. 18. The St. George Church of Suceava, the tympanum and the intrados of the southwest arch: The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple and the prophets Moses and Isaiah. Fig. 19. The St. George Church of Suceava, the tympanum and the intrados of the northwest arch: The Baptism of Jesus and the prophets St. John the Baptist and Nahum. Fig. 20. The St. Nicholas Church of Popăuti-Botoșani, the prophets' registers on the arch of the central apse. Fig. 21. The St. George Church of Voronet the prophets' registers on the arch of the central apse. Fig. 22. The St. Nicholas Church of Bălinești, the prophets' register in the central apse.
The great ruler Stephen the Great, outstanding army commander and diplomat, was also concerned during his life with the economic prosperity of the country, supporting the development of crafts, trade and fairs. During his reign, groși and half groși minted in the dinar system were issued, a monetary system introduced in Moldova during the last reign of Petru Aron (1455-1457)...
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
