#Exhibit of the Month

The Chișinău Diocesan Girls' School opened its doors on May 3, 1864, addressing a pressing need: in Bessarabia there were no institutions dedicated to the education of clergy's daughters. According to the 1864 circular, teaching was conducted in the Romanian language, a provision applied throughout the diocese. The school's first headmistress was Anastasia Rizo, of noble origin, invited by Archbishop Antonie.

The curriculum, approved by the Ministry of Public Education and the Chișinău Diocese, combined theoretical subjects with practical training. Students studied religion, reading and writing in Romanian, Slavonic, and Russian, arithmetic and exercises in calculation, world history and geography. The program was complemented by church singing and practical skills such as sewing, embroidery, knitting, as well as household management - baking bread and prosphora, preparing meals and preserves, caring for livestock, and cultivating gardens.

The composite, taken in 1911 at the studio of Z. N. Sumovski in Chișinău, depicts 29 graduates and 13 teachers. At the center are portraits of Bishop Serafim (Ciciagov), headmistress N. R. Mihelson, teacher V. E. Bejerian, and priests F. Ghiliarov and P. Jurikas. Among the teaching staff was Paraskovia Vasilievna Cuciurenko, a calligraphy teacher for 37 years, who in 1911 became senior educator and assistant headmistress. For her dedication, she was awarded the gold medal "For Long Service."

On the reverse of the vignette is a label from the store and workshop of frames, paintings, mirrors, and window glass owned by A. D. Kon'gova, Chișinău, Gogol Street no. 37, near the State Bank.

This graduation composite was donated at the end of 2025 to the National Museum of History of Moldova by the Dadiștian family from Drochia.

Virtual Tour

Exhibitions

“Among posters and musical instruments”

June 27, 2019 - November 23, 2020

The exhibition Among posters and musical instruments is the result of the research and valorization of the collection of posters (about a thousand pieces) and musical instruments from the collections of the National Museum of History of Moldova. Through its approximately 80 posters and 50 musical instruments, selected according to a chronological, typological and diversity criteria, the museum institution fulfills its obvious function to preserve in time and valorize the cultural heritage which includes posters and musical instruments. Established over several decades during the 20th century from donations and acquisitions, the poster collection is a short chronicle of Moldovan musical events from the East of Prut between 1900-2010. It is a pioneering exhibition, the collection of musical posters being displayed for the first time, and aims to familiarize the public with the evolution of the musical poster as advertising support of documentary and artistic value, but also as a work of art. The diversity of the collection of musical instruments, some with particular memorial value, allows us to follow and fill in the creative biography of artists, but also the existence of a musical piece in time.

The evolution of the musical poster both chronologically and as composition, form and content was structured into four categories: the musical poster from the Tsarist period (1812-1918), the interwar period (1918-1944), the Soviet period (1944-1991) and the musical poster from the period of independence of the Republic of Moldova. The oldest music program poster in the collections of the museum dates back to the 19th century and it is an announcement of the concert of the baritone V. Anenkov at the Nobility Club in Chişinău on February 6, 1900. The musical poster of the interwar period, modest as number, is valuable through generous information, where we can identify musical events, valuable interpreters, and places where musical performances were given. The Soviet-era musical poster was different from the previous ones in color, but also in text, as they also had an ideological role. In the early 90ies of the 20th century, the poster is varied in shape, chromatics, rich in images (with pictures of performing artists), but modest as informative text.

The most valuable category of musical posters is those of classical music (symphonic, choral, instrumental, vocal) represented by the most famous orchestras of the time: Symphonic Orchestra of the State Philharmonic, National Symphonic Orchestra of „Teleradio Moldova" Company, National Chamber Orchestra, Academic Chapel „Doina", etc. A special message is offered by the posters of the popular folk music orchestras, which contributed to preserving and promoting the folk music: „Mugurel", „Fluieraş", „Folclor", „Lăutarii", the ethnofolkloric group „Tălăncuţa" etc. The collection includes posters of music groups and interpreters of popular music „Noroc", „Orizont", „Plai", „Legenda", „Colinda" etc., as well as posters of various festivals, contests and tours. In the musical atmosphere of the exhibition there is a beautiful collection of musical instruments, some of them of memorial value: the violin of the famous Bessarabian Gheorghe Heraru (1853-1920) and the violin of the master Sergei Lunchevici (1934-1995). The elegance of the music is also transmitted by the pieces of clothing that belonged to some personalities who left an important page in the history of the musical culture of the Republic of Moldova.