#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

Chronological Axis

Bronze Age

(early 3rd millennium B.C. – late 2nd millennium B.C.)

The Bronze Age is a cultural and historical period characterized by the appearance and spreading of items made of bronze – the first metal created artificially. In the Carpathian-Dniester area the first bronze objects appear in the early 3^rd millennium B.C., becoming the most widespread to the end of the Age. Along with bronze items, the material culture is also represented by ceramic vessels of different shapes, decorated and plain, and implements made of stone, bone, and horn. Characteristic of this period is the presence of burial mound complexes.

The Bronze Age consists of three stages, each one having the peculiarities of archaeological cultures, which form it.

The Early Bronze Age (middle of 3^rd millennium – early 2^nd millennium B.C.) is represented by the Ochre Graves culture (Yamna culture), the representatives of which are identified with the ancient Indo-Europeans [7]. In this period there are also included the Catacomb Graves culture [1] and the Edinet culture [5, 6]. The material culture of the population is notable for the presence of battle axes with irreproachably processed surfaces [1].

The Middle Bronze Age (early 2^nd millennium – middle of 2^nd millennium B.C.) is represented by the culture of pottery ornamented with many bolsters, of the Eurasian origin, and the Komarov culture [8], the last being a peripheral expression of the Bronze Age cultures from Poland and Western Ukraine.

The Late Bronze Age (middle of 2^nd millennium – late 2^nd millennium B.C.) is characterized by the emergence of the Noua-Sabatinovka-Coslogeni cultural complex, which combined elements of the Eurasian and Carpathian-Balkan origin, including vessels with handles [9]. The representatives of this cultural complex inhabited a vast territory from the North Pontic steppes to the Transylvanian Plateau. These communities were mainly engaged in cattle-breeding. The peculiarity of the Late Bronze Age is the presence of hoards with bronze items. In the Museum collection there are many such unique objects: axes, daggers, sickles, needles, vessels, adornments, and votive items [2, 3, 4].

1.Battle axe-hummer, the Catacomb culture