Throughout its evolution, mankind has not once demonstrated that, besides the effort for vital survival it was always attracted to spiritual issues, which were often rendered by anthropo- and zoomorphic images, reflecting various beliefs, traditions and aspirations, but also superstitions.
The archaeological heritage of the NMHM holds a rich and extensive collection of artifacts from various materials: chalk, stone, bone, burned clay, bronze, copper, which represent multiple and varied anthropomorphic and zoomorphic images. The objects impress by the uniqueness of the shapes, decor, dimensions and the role they played in people's lives.
119 heritage pieces from this collection are displayed in the temporary exhibition "Artistic representations on archaeological artifacts". The oldest pieces, which show the predilection of the prehistoric man to art, are human and bison figurines discovered in the grotto of Cosăuți, Soroca district, which are made of chalk and are over 20 thousand years old. The most "recent" exhibited pieces are three stools of stove, ornamented with the image of the bicephal eagle and a rampant lion, dated to the 15th-17th centuries and which were discovered in Chişinău and Râşcani.
Depicted in realistic or highly schematic style, the representations of humans and animals found on archeological artifacts are artworks of long-lived communities, carrying information as well as "secrets". Interpreted in a cultic, magical-religious or purely aesthetic key, the pieces in the exhibition are clear testimonies of the manifestation of the ability, intelligence, imagination and openness to beauty of the people from ancient times to the present.
Through this exhibition we wish to familiarize the public with the cultural-artistic representations made by man throughout history on various objects that have been discovered in the archaeological research process, especially in the space between the Prut and Nistru Rivers. The evolution and decline of civilizations can also be traced and studied through these artifacts.
Authentic, unique, important and very beautiful, the exhibited pieces make an arc over time, giving visitors a journey through millennial art and culture, witnesses and messengers of whom they are.
31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
