#Exhibit of the Month

The 21 beads form part of a bronze hoard found in 2019 within a forested area close to the town of Nisporeni. Alongside the beads, the hoard included numerous bronze ornaments (2 Röschitz-Sanislău-type fibulae, 7 necklaces, 12 rings, 22 tubes, 23 bracelets, and approximately 80 appliqués), one coral bead and a pendant made from a wild animal's tooth. At present, the amber beads are preserved in the collections of the Muzeul Național de Istorie a Moldovei, while the remainder of the hoard is in the possession of a private collector.
The hoard was discovered accidentally in a pit about 50 cm deep. The objects in this hoard are of Western origin, with known parallels in archaeological complexes from Poland, Hungary, Serbia, and Slovakia, and, to a lesser extent, in Romania. The presence of this bronze hoard on the territory of the Republic of Moldova illustrates the cultural dynamics of the region during the Early Iron Age and a fundamental shift in the vector of cultural influences from east to west.

The amber bead strand comprises 16 whole beads and five fragmentary ones. They have an elongated biconical shape and vary in size. The beads are brown-reddish in color; their lengths range from 1.1 to 3.1 cm, widths from 0.6 to 1.4 cm, thicknesses from 0.6 to 1.1 cm, and the perforation diameter ranges between 0.2 and 0.3 cm.
Amber beads appear in several bronze hoards dated to the Late Bronze Age in the eastern half of Slovakia and in Transdanubian Hungary. Parallels are also known from the Cioclovina Cave in Romania. With the onset of the Iron Age, amber items disappear from the Carpathian Basin for approximately 300 years, reappearing alongside the arrival of Scythian elements.
The bronze hoard discovered at Nisporeni is dated to the HaA2-HaB1-2 interval (1050/1000 - 800/750 B.C.).

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Exhibitions

I LOVE SUSHI

Japan Foundation Traveling Exhibition

July 14 – August 15, 2023

Established in 1972, the Japan Foundation creates global opportunities to foster friendship and ties between Japan and the rest of the world through culture, language and dialogue. The foundation runs programs in arts and cultural exchange, Japanese language education abroad, Japanese studies, and intellectual exchange. We are pleased to present the new cultural exchange program and traveling exhibition "I Love Sushi" with the theme of sushi - the emblem of Japanese cuisine in the world.

In 2013, washoku (Japanese cuisine) was inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list, its symbol being sushi. Refined and healthy, pleasing to the eye and taste, sushi is a dish found today on menus all over the world. Originally from Southeast Asia and Southern China, sushi arrived in Japan more than a thousand years ago. From then until today it has gone through radical changes taking advantage of the abundance of natural resources in and around the Japanese islands, the application of new knowledge in the field and the continued desire of the Japanese to prepare tasty food. At the present time, the most famous variety of sushi is undoubtedly nigiri-zushi, which appeared about two hundred years ago in Edo (today's Tokyo).

Sushi is currently a widely spread and appreciated dish outside of Japan. But despite its popularity, there are few who know all its qualities. This exhibition aims to provide an in-depth visual guide to sushi, from its origins and how it arrived in Japan, the changes it underwent over time in the process of adapting to the natural environment, culture and lifestyle of each region in part, to the celebrity it knows today and its great potential as a food of the future seen from the perspective of the food problems facing the contemporary world. The exhibition also includes a simulation of a visit to a specific Japanese restaurant. Those who know a thing or two about sushi will be delighted by the exhibit, and die-hard fans will find it fascinating. At the same time we hope that sushi will become a means of popularizing Japanese history and customs.

Finally, we would like to thank Mr. Hibino Terutoshi, who coordinated the preparations for the exhibition, as well as all the individuals and organizations whose tireless efforts ensured its success.

The "I Love Sushi" exhibition will be open to the general public from July 14 to August 15, 2023, in Hall 1, ground floor, of the National Museum of History of Moldova, str. 31 August 1989, 121A.