#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.

Virtual Tour

Exhibitions

“Promoters of National Identity and Values”

August 27 - September 30, 2022

On August 27, 1991, history gave us a chance - the chance to become free. And the Bessarabian Romanians proved by deed that they want to be masters of their own destiny. For them, independence in those days was identified with the exit from the darkness of the Soviet empire and the hope for a prosperous future. The will of hundreds of thousands of people gathered in the Great National Assembly Square in Chisinau won. The Bessarabian Romanians won the great battle for the tricolor, for the state language and the Latin script, they returned to national traditions and values, they regained their right to history. Three decades have passed since then. Three decades of aspirations and accomplishments, of uncertainties and achievements. And even if today we have enough reasons to be sad, if we are not rich and not as free as we would like, we still have enough reasons to be proud of our country and its people, of the progress made on the path of democratization and modernization.

All the best and most noble things that the citizens of the Republic of Moldova have done during the three decades of independence have been done under the mobilizing sign of the tricolor, of values and ideals inherited from their ancestors. Proof of this are more than 70 pieces presented at the exhibition "Promoters of National Identity and Values" organized by the National Museum of History of Moldova in cooperation with the public organization "Șezătoarea Basarabiei" ("Bessarabia Gatherings"). The exhibition brings together a series of photographs and ethnographic objects (traditional shirts, scarves, belts, and so on) from the collections of the National Museum of History of Moldova and photographs of traditional shirts for women, men and children, made by members of the "Șezătoarea Basarabiei" community, which brings together people of different professions - teachers, engineers, accountants, economists, doctors, journalists, artists, researchers - who are in love with the traditional Romanian costume, active promoters of national identity and values.

Folk costume is one of the defining elements of national culture, a landmark and an emblem of national identity. Regardless of whether they are presented in a classical style and preserved or taken up and reinterpreted, the symbols of folk clothes are always current.

The exhibition "Promoters of National Identity and Values" can be visited from 27 August to 30 September, in the upstairs hall of the NMHM (31 August 1989 street, nr. 121 A).

#Exhibit of the Month

Buckles Decorated in the Polychrome Enamel Technique

“Promoters of National Identity and Values”

August 27 - September 30, 2022

#Exhibit of the Month