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#Exhibit of the Month

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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.


Virtual Tour




The population of Central Moldova in the 10th-13th centuries

The population of Central Moldova in the 10th-13th centuries

Biblioteca „Tyragetia” XXVIII, Chişinău, 2017, 323 p. ISBN 978-9975-80-903-0; 978-9975-87-323-9.

The monograph represents an important synthesis of the historical, social-economic, political, demographic and cultural processes from the development of the first regional and state-level formations of the Romanian population in the Carpathian-Nistrian area in the 10th-13th centuries. The book is based on a thorough research of archaeological and written documentary sources (Byzantine, Scandinavian, Arabic and Old Russian), of the critical approach of historical-archaeological concepts regarding the population that lived in the forest steppe East-Carpathian area. Besides the topo-planigraphic research of settlements, fortified structures and of housing and burial complexes, the book approaches systematically and integratively the basic occupations - agriculture, animal husbandry and crafts, of which, by magnitude, dynamism and economic importance, iron metallurgy is distinguished. The phenomena related to the development of transit trade and monetary circulation are analyzed in full. The presence of tool and weapon deposits, silverware hoardings with Islamic and Byzantine coins and ornaments, the increase in the number and diversity of types of iron weapons, are related to the penetration and stationing in the region of Scandinavians, as well as craftsmen, soldiers and merchants, which transit the space from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea on old river trade routes, attracted by the fast and wealth of the great economic, political and cultural centers of the time - Byzantine Constantinople and Baghdad of the Muslim caliphate.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Chapter I. HISTORIOGRAPHY

1.1. Soviet historiography

1.2. Romanian historiography

Chapter II. SETTLEMENTS, DWELLINGS AND HOUSEHOLD ANNEXES

2.1. Topography, planography and stratigraphy of settlements

2.2. Characteristics of dwellings

2.3. Household annexes (hearths, ovens, auxiliary pits)

Chapter III. MAIN OCCUPATIONS

3.1. Agriculture and animal husbandry

3.1.1. Agriculture

3.1.2. Animal husbandry

3.2. Crafts and auxiliary occupations

3.2.1. Metallurgy

3.2.1.1. Acquiring iron ore

3.2.1.2. Installations and remnants of metallurgical activity

3.2.2. Ironwork

3.2.2.1. Ironwork tools

3.2.2.2. Iron products

3.2.3. Processing of copper and bronze

3.2.3.1. Molds and metal casting vessels

3.2.3.2. Pieces of colored metal

3.2.4. Pottery

3.2.4.1. Ceramic manufacturing technology

3.2.4.2. Ceramic burning installations

3.2.4.3. Ceramic forms

3.2.5. Other crafts (working wood, stone, leather, bone, fibers)

3.2.6. Auxiliary activities (hunting, fishing, harvesting)

3.3. Trade and coin circulation

3.3.1. Imported ceramics

3.3.2. Glass and glass paste articles

3.3.3. Coins and coin circulation

3.3.3.1. Islamic coin

3.3.3.2. Byzantine coin

3.3.3.3. European coin

IV. SPIRITUAL LIFE, FUNERAL PRACTICES

4.1. Spiritual life

4.1.1. Alphabetiform signs

4.1.2. Testimonies of Christian spirituality

4.1.3. Christian churches

4.2. Funeral practices

4.2.1. Funerary rite

4.2.2. Funeral ritual

4.2.3. Destroyed tombs. Pagan practices

4.2.4. Findings from the funeral complexes

V. FORMS OF SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS AND RELATIONS OF THE AUTOCHTHONES WITH THE BYZANTINE, SLAVIC AND TURANIC WORLD

5.1. Forms of social and political organization

5.2. East-Carpathian Romanity and the Byzantium

5.3. Romanians from the East of the Carpathians and their contacts with the late Slavs

5.4. Relations between the autochthones and the Turanics

CONCLUSIONS

Bibliography

Abstract

List of illustrations

Appendix (Tables, Diagrams, Maps)




 

 

Independent Moldova
Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic
Bessarabia and MASSR between the Two World Wars
Bessarabia and Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in the Period between the Two World Wars
Revival of National Movement
Time of Reforms and their Consequences
Abolition of Autonomy. Bessarabia – a New Tsarist Colony
Period of Relative Autonomy of Bessarabia within the Russian Empire
Phanariot Regime
Golden Age of the Romanian Culture
Struggle for Maintaining of Independence of Moldova
Formation of Independent Medieval State of Moldova
Era of the
Great Nomad Migrations
Early Middle Ages
Iron Age and Antiquity
Bronze Age
Aeneolithic Age
Neolithic Age
Palaeolithic Age
  
  

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#Exhibit of the Month

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...

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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.
©2006-2025 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC

 



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.
©2006-2025 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC

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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.
©2006-2025 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC