#Exhibit of the Month

Buckles (paftale) are an almost indispensable element of traditional women's dress in the Southeastern European area, particularly in the Balkans, and have been in use over a long period, from the 14th to the 20th century.
The word pafta is of Turkic origin-possibly entering the language via Iranian influence-derived from the Persian word bafta, meaning "woven," which evolved in Turkish to signify "plate." Today, the term is used in nearly identical forms in Romanian (pafta), Bulgarian (пафта), Serbian (пафте), and some Aromanian dialects (pafta), designating functional and ornamental clothing accessories used to fasten belts, girdles, or sashes, crafted from various materials and decorated using different techniques.
The three buckles decorated in the polychrome enamel technique, preserved in the collection of the National Museum of History of Moldova, belong to the South-Danubian tradition and are dated to the late 19th - early 20th century.

Each buckle consists of two identical trapezoidal parts, their surfaces divided into three roughly equal registers, adorned with stylized vegetal motifs forming a metal lattice into which enamel is poured. The two parts extend into sharp angles at the ends, forming a triangle with the edge of the last decorative register, similarly ornamented. The enamel used to fill the floral motifs is black, turquoise, white, orange, green, yellow, and burgundy. The entire decorative field is framed by a beaded border.

On the reverse, both components retain a copper band riveted along the edge, used to fasten the ends of the belt. The fastening system, made by interlocking the hinges of the two parts and secured with a movable pin attached by a chain to a clasp fixed on one of the buckle pieces, is concealed by a rectangular plate (riveted with three pins to the body of the piece), with narrow edges ending in sharp angles, decorated in the same style and technique. Additionally, it features three circular settings with notched edges bent inward to hold centrally placed red and green glass paste. These settings are framed by a radiant, notched band.

The symbolism of the color palette encodes meanings and symbols, chosen for their believed magical powers. Red has always represented love, affection, and protection against curses and the evil eye; white symbolizes purity and spiritual and physical cleanliness; blue is symbolically associated with infinity, morning, new beginnings, and transformation; green represents destiny, hope, prosperity, balance, and rebirth, being linked to nature's revival each spring and to life itself.

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Exhibitions

“History of Military Headgear”

(May 18, 2010 – December 31, 2011)

The exhibition aims to familiarize the public with some valuable items from the collections of the National Museum of Archaeology and History of Moldova.

To give a general view of all the museum collections of military exhibits, the most spectacular ones, the exhibition brings to the public attention the obligatory accessories of military clothing – headdresses.

This type of military artefacts is exhibited separately for the first time.

The exhibition includes a selection of about 100 the most representative museum items of the kind. The presentation is made in evolutional order, from the 4th century B.C. to the present, in terms of the type of headgear.

The museum collection of headgear was constituted in the second half of the 20th century through donations and fortuitous discoveries. It includes more than 300 items from the oldest times to the present illustrating the evolution of this element of military costume in Europe. Some of the headdresses from the collection belonged to the military persons of figure.

The exhibition of headgear lets us to retrace the main changes in uniforms occurred as a result of the development and improvement of the military institution.

The exhibited items originate from the Russian Empire, Prussia, Austria-Hungary, France, Italy, Romania, the Ottoman Empire, Germany, USSR, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, the Republic of Moldova.

These military artefacts are of various types - helmets, shakoes, garrison caps, fezes, hats, berets, kepis, caps, of daily, field or ceremonial wearing.

The oldest and most valuable items shown in the exhibition are two helmets, one of them of the Phrygian type, dated from the second half of the 4th century B.C. and found in 1958 in a hoard from Olanesti (the Stefan Voda District), and the other one of the 14th century, found at the Orheiul Vechi.

The latest headgear belongs to the National Army of the Republic of Moldova: hat, kepi, and cap of the 1992 model.

The exhibition is complemented with headgear accessories: plume, pompon, egret, cockades, and other items: epaulettes, belts, pouch, map case, whip, shabrack, protective mask and glasses, holster, weapons, etc. On mannequins there are presented several types of uniforms: of an uhlans’ trumpet-player (1855), of a hussar (1855), of the “Rosiori” lieutenant-colonel (1934), and of a soldier of the National Army Honour Guard (1992). On the walls there are photographs presenting images of the military from different countries of Europe in their uniforms. All these contribute to the reconstruction of the European military history.

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#Exhibit of the Month

Buckles Decorated in the Polychrome Enamel Technique

“History of Military Headgear”

(May 18, 2010 – December 31, 2011)

#Exhibit of the Month