#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.

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Exhibitions

“Goddesses and Warriors: 100 Years to Marija Gimbutas”

Lietuvos nacionalinis muziejus

23.09.2021–13.03.2022

The exhibition Goddesses and Warriors opened in the House of Histories presents Marija Gimbutas (1921-1994), the most famous Lithuanian archaeologist in the world, as well as her scientific insights.

Exhibition visitors learn about the two fundamental scholar's hypotheses on the development and identity of European culture, which earned her global recognition and gave rise to new academic as well as social movements.
8,000 years ago, the first farmers started spreading in the south-eastern part of Europe having brought their knowledge, customs, co-existence principles, and domestic animals from the Middle East. After they had got adapted to natural conditions, established relations with communities of hunters-fishers, a unique culture - referred to as Old Europe by Marija Gimbutas - started developing in the area ranging from Greece to the Carpathian region. Even though a great diversity of arts and technologies flourished there, certain common features were also evident: large settlements that existed for centuries; specialization in ceramics, metallurgy and various other crafts; trade and even rudiments of writing. Nevertheless, the most important point was that the life of this society was based on the cult of goddesses, the religion of the Goddess was dominant.

This civilisation ended when people of Kurgan culture started coming from the steppes 6,000 years ago. Those were pastoral nomads armed with daggers, axes and bows, identifiable from their specific burial customs, i.e. burying their relatives in barrows - kurgans. The Indo-European language, patriarchal traditions and tripartite perception of the world that they spread now form an integral part of the foundation of modern European culture.

In the exhibition, Marija Gimbutas's hypotheses defining European cultural transformation are illustrated with those archaeological finds that the scholar relied on by placing the greatest emphasis on them. Those unique exhibits arrived in Lithuania - to the House of Histories - from eighteen different European museums and institutions, including 56 pieces from the archaeological heritage of the National Museum of History of Moldova.

The third part of the exhibition is equally important. It focuses on Marija Gimbutas's personality and her life; on the woman who retreated from Lithuania to escape the Soviet occupation, who endured the hardships of migration yet never neglected her dreams and became a world-famous scholar. Her life constitutes an absolutely extraordinary story.

In the picture: Anthropomorphic figurine, Hamangia culture, 5000-4600 BC, Baia, Tulcea County, collection of the National History Museum of Romania, inv. no. 11662, © MNIR 2021, photo: Marius Amarie

Source: https://lnm.lt/en/events/international-exhibition-goddesses-and-warriors-100-years-to-marija-gimbutas/