German porcelain is highly prized among antique collectors for its exceptional material quality, originality, and the meticulous craftsmanship of its decorative design. The museum's collection preserves five figurines from one of the oldest porcelain manufactories in the Thuringia region of Germany - the statuary group known as *"The Musicians"*, crafted at the Volkstedt manufactory. These pieces entered the museum's holdings in 1991, acquired from a resident of Chișinău. With undeniable historical and artistic value, they bear the distinct imprint of the Rococo style. The Volkstedt manufactory has a long-standing tradition in producing figurines, including those depicting musicians. In 1760, Georg Heinrich Macheleid - inventor of hard-paste porcelain in Thuringia - founded a production workshop in Zitzendorf, which was relocated to Volkstedt in 1762. Macheleid led the manufactory until 1764. Over time, the factory changed ownership and management multiple times. Under the direction of Christian Nonne, it flourished between 1767 and 1797, a period marked by significant artistic development. Volkstedt began creating figurines that would later gain international recognition. It was during this flourishing period that the museum's porcelain statuettes, titled *"The Musicians"*, were produced. They depict five “putti”: four playing musical instruments (flute, mandolin, horn, and pipe), while the fifth conducts. Each figurine is entirely handcrafted - from modeling to painting - and delicately adorned with pastel tones and gilded details, capturing the playful movement and refined artistry of each musician. The base is made of mass-colored porcelain in a rare grey-green hue. The contrast between green, white, and gold accents lends the ensemble an unusually delicate appearance. These ornamental features are characteristic of the Rococo style, which emerged in France and is closely associated with the reign of King Louis XV. The mark applied to the figurines consists of two crossed forks, clearly rendered in underglaze blue, with slightly blurred paint - a detail that helps date their production. Because the crossed forks often resembled the crossed swords of the Meissen trademark, the Volkstedt manufactory was compelled to change its mark starting in 1787. Initially represented by a single fork, the mark briefly returned to two forks before being replaced in 1800 by the graphic symbol "R", referencing the town of Rudolstadt. Therefore, the brief period during which the two-fork mark was reinstated - and during which the museum's figurines were likely produced - is estimated to be between 1787 and 1800.
The statuettes range in height from 10 to 18 cm and are preserved in relatively good condition.
These late 18th-century German porcelain pieces, now on display, are exceptionally rare. They stand as true works of art by German craftsmen and serve as important historical testimonies to the evolution of porcelain manufacturing in Germany.
To the Question about the Loss of the Hill-fort Ekimauci
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. V [XX], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
This hill-fort is one of the most researched among the medieval monuments of the country between the Prut and Dniester. Contradictions in identification of the date of it destruction (second half of the 10th or the first half of the 11th century) make us to examine chronologic indicators of the monument.
The numismatic collection represented by 17 Arabic silver dirhams gives the most exact information. It allows us to attribute the capture and destruction of the monument to the second half of the 10th century, and most likely to the third quarter of this century.
Earrings with pendant in the form of bunch of grapes can be used as one more category of objects which indicate the time of destruction of the monument. They were found out in closed complexes of the hill-fort together with later samples of dirhams.
Cartography of the finds of Echimauti type testifies about their particular concentration in the basin of the river of Tisza. In contrast to samples which were found outside the Carpathian basin, famous as a rule by materials of hoards, practically all earrings of Echimauti type inside the Carpathian arc are connected with nomadic burials. Pieces of weapon similar to those from the nomadic necropolises were found in Echimauti. Together with other evidences in the field of material culture, it allows us to suppose that nomads took part in destruction of the hill-fort while moving from the Northern Black Sea region into the Carpathian lowlands.
Historic situation and the exact chronology of the Pechenegs’ movement from the Black sea to the Upper Tisza region, during which the hill-fort of Echimauti was ruined, together with chronologic indicators of the monument, allows us to date its destruction not later than the third quarter of the 10th century.
List of illustrations: Fig. 1. The map of location of earrings of the Echimauti type in Europe: 1 - Alcedar; 2 - Besob; 3 - Blandiana; 4 - Borschevka; 5 - Brănești; 6 - Vác-Hétkápolna; 7 - Gîmbaș; 8 - Gnezdovo; 9 - Denis; 10 - Döge; 11 - Echimauti; 12 - Zavada Lanskoronska; 13 - Ibrány; 14 - Kyiv; 15 - Kirovograd; 16 - Kistokaj; 17 - Cluj; 18 - Kopeevka; 19 - Cracovia; 20 - Lisovek; 21 - Nyíregyháza; 22 - Nagykövesd; 23 - Olesnica; 24 - Osnica; 25 – Peremyshl’; 26 - Peresopnica; 27 - Prsha; 28 - Redukeny; 29 - Szabolcs-Vontatópart; 30 - Szentes-Szentlászló; 31 - Szob; 32 - Törökkanizsa; 33 - Tiszabercel; 34 - Tshinica; 35 - Uzhgorod (?); 36 - Csoma; 37 - Csongrád; 38 - Jurkovci. Fig. 2. Earrings of the Echimauti type from the burials of nomads in the basin of Tisza: 1-8 - Csoma; 9 - Döge; 10 - Tiszabercel; 1-12 - Ibrány. 9-12 (after E. Istvanovits). Fig. 3. The map of location of the arabic dirhams in Europe (after Cs. Balint) with indication of the points associated with the movement of Pechenegs from the Northern Black Sea region to the Carpathian basin in the second half of the 10th century: 1 - Beregovo (Búcsu); 2 - Vécs; 3 - Glogovec; 4 - Dobra; 5 - Ibrány; 6 - Karos; 7 - Kenézlő; 8 - Kecskemét; 9 - Kistokaj; 10 - Pap; 11 - Prsha; 12 - Szeged 13 - Szilas; 14 - Szolnok; 15 - Szomod; 16 - Tata; 17 - Tverdoshovce; 18 - Tiszasüly; 19 - Hajdúdorog; 20 - Hust; 21 - Csoma; 22 - Sárospatak; 23 - Eger; 24 - Alcedar; 25 - Echimauti; 26 - Galich; 27 – Peremyshl’.
Игорь Прохненко
Hillforts of the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age in the Transcarpathian Region of Ukraine
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XI [XXVI], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Игорь Прохненко, Мария Жиленко
Knight’s tombstone from Korolevo castle of Nyaláb
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XII [XXVII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Игорь Прохненко, Мария Жиленко, Виталий Калиниченко
The castles of Transcarpathia of the second half of 13th - first half of 14th centuries
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XV [XXX], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Игорь Прохненко, Мария Жиленко
Korolevo Castle of Nyalab in possession of descendants of Moldavian Voivode Szasz
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. X [XXV], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
German porcelain is highly prized among antique collectors for its exceptional material quality, originality, and the meticulous craftsmanship of its decorative design...
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
