#Exhibit of the Month

The exhibit of the month for November is a rare glass goblet from the Sântana de Mureș-Chernyakhov cemetery, discovered in Tigheci. Dated to the second half of the 4th century AD, this remarkable artifact demonstrates the craftsmanship of the time, made from translucent greenish glass with a truncated cone shape and intricate geometric decoration. The goblet features three rows of hexagonal facets, framed by incised lines, and a row of elongated ovals under the rim, characteristics which classify it within Series VII A, according to E. Straume's classification. These ornamental traits hint at artistic influences from various regions and indicate the spread of technologies and ideas within the Sântana de Mureș-Chernyakhov culture.

Archaeological Context of the Discovery

The Sântana de Mureș-Chernyakhov cemetery at Tigheci is located in a historically complex area, positioned on the northwest slope of the Tigheci River, at the "La Lutărie" point. First identified in the 1980s following unauthorized clay extraction, the cemetery has suffered considerable damage, leading to the loss of valuable artifacts and the destruction of graves. Among the objects recovered by Mr. Ion Pușcașu, founder of the Museum of History and Ethnography in Tigheci, are wheel-thrown ceramic items reflecting the traditions and techniques of communities during the Migration Period.

The site was first archaeologically investigated in 1990, when a complete inhumation grave was found, though lacking any inventory. Subsequent surveys in 2013 and 2015 by the National Archaeological Agency revealed ongoing erosion damaging the cemetery, necessitating a rescue excavation in 2017. This campaign documented and investigated five graves from the Sântana de Mureș-Chernyakhov culture, including the skeletal remains of a male individual estimated to have been 40 to 45 years old at the time of death, offering additional insights into the demographic structure of this community.

Cultural Significance and Comparisons

The hexagonally faceted glass goblet is among the most valuable artifacts from the Tigheci cemetery. Similar goblets are characteristic of the Sântana de Mureș-Chernyakhov culture and have been found in notable sites such as Târgșor and Bârlad-Valea Seacă (Romania) and Gavrilovka, Ranjevoe (Ukraine), reflecting the cultural and trade connections of this community with other centers of influence in Late Antiquity. Ancient texts and cultural parallels suggest a complex interaction zone with Hellenistic and Roman influences, reflected in luxury goods production such as this glass goblet.

Virtual Tour

Exhibitions

"Icon of Christ - living expression of the Gospel"

April 25 – August 18, 2024

The exhibition entitled "Icon of Christ - living expression of the Gospel" is dedicated to the collection of icons with a Christological theme from the heritage of the National Museum of History of Moldova. The exhibition aims to familiarize the visiting public with some of the ecclesiastical art objects from the museum's collection, many of these being exhibited for the first time.

As an essential part of life, icons embody the artistic preferences and worldviews of different segments of the population. The icons preserved in the museum collections represent the miniature model of the style and traditions of the local iconographic art. The exhibition includes significant cultural assets for their patrimonial, artistic, spiritual and memorialistic value.

About sixty icons from Bessarabia, Ukraine, Russia, Jerusalem and Greece are presented in the exhibition. The earliest icon dates from 1810, in its field the name of the author, the monk Evtaph, is also found, the latest comes from a monastery workshop in Greece, dating from the second half of the 20th century. Painted on wood and canvas, the icons represent various styles of iconographic art such as those of the Byzantine tradition and of the realist-academic manner, those that combine the baroque element, as well as those of naive expression. The exhibited icons represent the fruit of painters with special training and that of amateur painters, characteristics that evoke the iconographic expressions that shaped the Bessarabian icon in that period.

The distinctive element of the exhibition is the diversity of categories and styles of interpretation, of techniques and materials, of forms of realization - all this giving it authenticity and personality. Given the numerous presence of pieces of the same iconographic category, the criterion for displaying the icons is the typological one. The entire iconographic material has been systematized in five distinct compartments. The first thematic group is made up of the icons that evoke the "Evangelical Face of the Savior", a category that sums up the most iconographic types from the "Birth of the Lord" to the "Entombment". "The Face of Christ in Glory" includes the iconographic subjects - " The Transfiguration", the "Resurrection of the Lord" and the "Ascension of the Lord" - moments when the apostles are initiated into revelatory mysteries not yet known to them. The "unmade face of the Savior" is depicted in the icons "Mahram of King Abgar" and "Mahram of Veronica ", these representing the Achiropites", images on which, according to tradition, the face of the Savior miraculously appears.

The first representation is considered the "Byzantine" or Eastern face of God, printed on the handkerchief sent to King Abgar of Edessa, the second, also called the "Roman" or Western face, it reproduces the suffering face of the Lord on the face of Veronica, the woman who through the touch of the Saviour's garment healed the heavy afflictions. The "Good Shepherd" icons represent the "Symbolic Face of the Saviour", a face inspired by the Gospel, from the words and parables of the Saviour, rendered as deeply as it is sublime and pure in its spirituality. The iconographic types Jesus Christ "Vine", Jesus Christ "Pantocrator", Jesus Christ "Great Emperor" and Jesus Christ "High Priest" embody the "Liturgical Face of the Savior". The most numerous images in this compartment are those in which Jesus Christ is depicted in the posture of Pantocrator.Reproduced in about 40 icons, the most representative ones were selected for their artistic and spiritual messages.

Other liturgical objects from the museum's heritage were used as complementary material - pectoral crosses, candlesticks, chalices, censers, etc. The visiting public will have the opportunity to examine some enlarged details from the composition of the icons on display, placed separately, which may pleasantly surprise them.