#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. 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

Annual Scientific Session of the Museum

As part of the institutional project „Scientific valorification and promotion of various categories of museum heritage"(2013-2014) was organized the 23rd edition of the yearly session of scientific communications on October 3rd and 4th, 2013. This year the session was opened by welcome words from dr.hab. Eugen Sava, general director of the museum, Victor Ghilaș, scientific secretary of Humanistic Sciences Section of ASM, univ. prof. Ion Eremia, State University of Moldova, Sergiu Musteață, dean of History and Ethno-pedagogy Department of State Pedagogical University „I.Creangă". Their speeches are messages of appreciation of museum collaborators efforts towards scientific research and public valorization of museum heritage.

The participants at the opening session assisted also at the presentation of two numbers of the museum journal Tyragetia. Dr. Aurel Zanoci and dr.hab. Elena Ploșnița expressed their gratitude to authors which contributed to the publication of a new issue of this prestigious scientific journal.

The program of the session included 60 presentations divided in three sections. Three papers were presented at the plenary session by dr. L. Zabolotnaia (Institute of History of ASM), dr. hab. E. Sava and dr. A. Boldureanu (National Museum of History of Moldova).

This year the session was attended by researchers and museographers from universities, academic and museum institutions from the republic and from abroad: Romania, Ukraine and Russia.

At the section Archaeology, Ancient and Medieval History were presented 22 papers, most of them focusing on the results of the latest archaeological investigations. With a novelty spirit are the papers „Preliminary considerations regarding archaeological research at Soroca Fortress in 2012-2013"(S. Mustață, I. Tentiuc, I. Ursu), „Preliminary archaeological investigations at Manuc-Bey Complex" (O. Levițki, I. Ciobanu, L. Ciobanu), „Archaeological research at Saharna Mică open settlement from 2013"(I. Niculiță, A. Nicic, A. Corobcean) etc.

Those 24 papers presented in the section Modern and contemporary history revealed an array of topics regarding economy, culture, religion, personalities from national history and culture. Two papers - „Advertising for slaves trade in Romanian Principalities" (dr. Marian Petcu, Bucharest) and „Gipsies/Roma - the seventh national minority in Big Romania (1918-1940)" ( Ion Duminică, Chișinău, based on archival documents and multidisciplinary historiographic resources, highlighted some problems of the historic and social evolution of Roma in different historical periods. Interesting and novelty subjects were reflected in the presentations of dr. Dinu Poștarencu, dr. Igor Cereteu, dr. Liliana Condraticova, dr. prof. Valentin Tomuleț etc.

The presentations form the section Museology and valorization of museum heritage were rich in thematic and approached various problems from national museology and spoke about the need to permanently valorize museum cultural assets. Are worth of mentioning the papers „West-European dictionaries and encyclopedias from the collections of the National History Museum of Moldova" by dr. Andrei Emilciuc, „KEV Journal - an environment for advertising (19th - beginning of 20th cc.) by V. Serjant, „Book editors from Bessarabia (end of 19th - beginning of 20th cc.) by A. Grițco. Tina Fedoseeva from Ukraine, presented „Principles of organizing temporary exhibitions on the place of archaeological and architectural monuments" which raised many questions and provoked and serious debate.
Already a tradition of national museology, this year's edition of the session was part of events organized on the occasion of the 30th anniversary from the foundation of the National History Museum of Moldova.

#Exhibit of the Month

MEISSEN Tea Set

Annual Scientific Session of the Museum

#Exhibit of the Month