#Exhibit of the Month

The artifact is a battle axe made from magmatic rock (diabase) of gray-brown color. It was accidentally discovered in 1966 within the territory of Aluniș village, Rîșcani district. Based on its morphological characteristics, the artifact can be attributed to the Catacomb culture (29th-22nd centuries BCE).

The axe features a massive, elongated naviform body with slightly pronounced shoulders, a short and narrow edge that is flat and circular in cross-section. The blade is slightly curved. The hole was drilled in the maximum width of the object. It is circular in shape with a diameter of 2.2 cm. The surface of the artifact is meticulously polished, worked with great care, and shows no signs of damage or chipping.

Dimensions: Length: 20.0 cm; Maximum width: 8.4 cm; Edge diameter: 5.0 cm; Blade width: 7.0 cm; Weight: 2.3 kg.

Stone battle axes are characteristic of the Catacomb culture communities and are most often found as grave goods, deposited in tombs. Their presence in funerary complexes suggests a multifaceted functionality: weapons, social symbols, and ritual objects. Initially used as weapons, the axes became social symbols for their owners, later acquiring votive significance when deposited in tombs to serve the deceased in the afterlife.

The social symbolic function of stone battle axes is indicated by the high-quality rocks used for their manufacture and the exceptionally meticulous craftsmanship. The large dimensions of the axe from Aluniș support this hypothesis and distinguish it from other examples.

The discovery of stone battle axes outside a funerary complex may indicate their votive deposition. It is difficult to imagine that these exceptionally well-crafted pieces, made from high-quality rocks transported over great distances, could have been abandoned or lost accidentally. It is far more likely that they were deposited for magical-religious purposes, a possibility that may also apply to the stone axe discovered at Aluniș.

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Exhibitions

"Metamorphoses of energy"

Painting exhibition by Mari Iurskaya

March 7-19, 2023

On March 7, 2023, at 15:00, in the ground floor hall of the National Museum of History of Moldova, will take place the opening of the painting exhibition "Energy Metamorphoses" by Mari Iurskaya.

According to the author, the exhibition "Metamorphoses of energy" is a research into the inner world of man, his emotional states and their influence on the outside world.

"We all know that a person's inner self-perception and outer manifestation can be different, which often leads to dissonance, but what happens when this state becomes constant? When do we forget who we really are and our perception of ourselves and the world around us is distorted? What influences these processes? How can one person, having a harmonious energy, change the state of everyone around him?"

The exhibition "Metamorphoses of energy" contains 20 paintings that try to explore these questions through the lens of subjective perception of ourselves and the people around us, what we see and what we feel, what harmony exists between our inner world and the outer world, how it affects our state colors and shapes. Through this exhibition, Mari Iurskaya creates the idea that if we act on the basis of inner feeling and not prejudices, we can discover new sides of ourselves and the world, we can discover new perspectives on life. The paintings in this exhibition represent a metamorphosis of energies, a transition from one state to another, from one form to another, and reflect a personal journey in search of harmony and self-understanding.

The painting exhibition "Metamorphoses of energy" by Mari Iurskaya can be visited between March 7-19, 2023, in the ground floor hall of the National Museum of History of Moldova, 31 August 1989 str., 121A.