#Exhibit of the Month

German porcelain is highly prized among antique collectors for its exceptional material quality, originality, and the meticulous craftsmanship of its decorative design.
The museum's collection preserves five figurines from one of the oldest porcelain manufactories in the Thuringia region of Germany - the statuary group known as *"The Musicians"*, crafted at the Volkstedt manufactory. These pieces entered the museum's holdings in 1991, acquired from a resident of Chișinău. With undeniable historical and artistic value, they bear the distinct imprint of the Rococo style.
The Volkstedt manufactory has a long-standing tradition in producing figurines, including those depicting musicians. In 1760, Georg Heinrich Macheleid - inventor of hard-paste porcelain in Thuringia - founded a production workshop in Zitzendorf, which was relocated to Volkstedt in 1762. Macheleid led the manufactory until 1764. Over time, the factory changed ownership and management multiple times. Under the direction of Christian Nonne, it flourished between 1767 and 1797, a period marked by significant artistic development. Volkstedt began creating figurines that would later gain international recognition.
It was during this flourishing period that the museum's porcelain statuettes, titled *"The Musicians"*, were produced. They depict five “putti”: four playing musical instruments (flute, mandolin, horn, and pipe), while the fifth conducts. Each figurine is entirely handcrafted - from modeling to painting - and delicately adorned with pastel tones and gilded details, capturing the playful movement and refined artistry of each musician. The base is made of mass-colored porcelain in a rare grey-green hue. The contrast between green, white, and gold accents lends the ensemble an unusually delicate appearance. These ornamental features are characteristic of the Rococo style, which emerged in France and is closely associated with the reign of King Louis XV.

The mark applied to the figurines consists of two crossed forks, clearly rendered in underglaze blue, with slightly blurred paint - a detail that helps date their production. Because the crossed forks often resembled the crossed swords of the Meissen trademark, the Volkstedt manufactory was compelled to change its mark starting in 1787. Initially represented by a single fork, the mark briefly returned to two forks before being replaced in 1800 by the graphic symbol "R", referencing the town of Rudolstadt. Therefore, the brief period during which the two-fork mark was reinstated - and during which the museum's figurines were likely produced - is estimated to be between 1787 and 1800.

The statuettes range in height from 10 to 18 cm and are preserved in relatively good condition.

These late 18th-century German porcelain pieces, now on display, are exceptionally rare. They stand as true works of art by German craftsmen and serve as important historical testimonies to the evolution of porcelain manufacturing in Germany.

Virtual Tour

#Exhibit of the Month

September 2023

The cannon from Grinăuți-Moldova

Fire artillery in Romanian space is attested from the first half of the 15th century. The oldest pieces of artillery are the bronze and iron bombards discovered in the fortresses of Giurgiu, Severin, Bârlad and Orheiul Vechi.

The exposed cannon was discovered in the village of Grinăuți-Moldova, Ocnița district, it dates from the second half of the 15th century. From a typological point of view, in the central-eastern European space, the cannon from Grinăuți-Moldova is a unique piece.

It is a short-barreled mortar-type artillery piece that fits perfectly into the line of bombards in Europe used in the second half of the 15th century - the beginning of the 16th century.

The cannon was used to launch projectiles (bullets) at the enemy behind fortifications or natural obstacles. The projectiles were loaded through the mouth of the barrel. The firing angle was over 45 degrees, and the trajectory of the projectile was curved with a range of up to 300-400 m. In Europe, these cannons were called mortars, and in Romanian space they were designated by the word piua, thanks to the shape of this object.

The cannon from Grinăuți-Moldova was discovered by chance in the "Red Bank" location, located 15 km southwest of the Lipnicu plain where Lord Stefan the Great defeated the Tatars in 1470. According to a legend from the village of Grinăuți-Moldova, in the "Red Bank" location, a military confrontation between Moldovans and Tatars would have taken place prior to the battle of Lipnic.

The cannon from Grinăuți-Moldova is made of cast iron by the casting method. The barrel is provided with a single hole in the front, the opposite side being blocked by the flat bottom with flared edge. The inside of the pipe is a relatively wide channel that narrows slightly towards the bottom. Loading with powder and cannonballs was done through the mouth of the cannon. A hole is provided near the base for the wick to ignite and detonate the dust inside the cannon. The surface of the cannon is embossed. The edge of the mouth is thickened, slightly curved. Two cylindrical supports with a diameter of 3.5 cm are provided in the central part of the body of the cannon in the axis, which served as handles for the installation and handling of the cannon on a wooden frame.

The length of the cannon is 30.0 cm, the maximum diameter of the body - 17.8 cm, the outside diameter of the mouth - 19.4 cm, the diameter of the body in the middle - 13.5 cm, the outside diameter of the base - 17.0 cm, the caliber of the cannon (mouth diameter) is 12.8 cm, the length of the inner chamber of the cannon - 27.4 cm, the weight of the cannon - 18,730 kg.

The cannon from Grinăuți-Moldova entered the custody of the National Museum of History of Moldova through the care of local history teacher Vlad Lvovsky.

The conservation of the piece of cultural heritage was carried out by Valeriu Bubulici, and the reconstruction of the atmosphere by the restorer Mihail Culașco.

#Exhibit of the Month

The Statuary Group “The Musicians”

September 2023

The cannon from Grinăuți-Moldova

#Exhibit of the Month