Several museums from Romania, coordinated by the National Museum of Romanian History (MNIR), participate with cultural items in the First Kings of Europe international exhibition taking place at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, the US. 

The special exhibition opened on March 31, 2023, and runs through January 28, 2024. It brings together more than 700 exquisite prehistoric archaeological artefacts from the collections of museums in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Hungary.

For Romania, the coordinator of the exhibition project is the National Museum of Romanian History, which collaborates with five other institutions, namely the National Museum of Transylvanian History (Cluj), the National Museum Complex (Piatra Neamt), the Gumelnita Civilization Museum (Oltenita), the Oltenia Museum (Craiova), and the Buzau County Museum.

According to MNIR, more than 90 pre- and protohistoric artefacts - dating from the Neolithic period, the Bronze Age and up to the second Iron Age - from the collections of the Romanian museums mentioned above are presented as part of the First Kings of Europe exhibition. 

The exhibition highlights from Romania include major archaeological discoveries such as the treasury from Moigrad (selective), the treasury from Brad, the deposit of bronze objects from Apa, the treasury from Sarasau, the treasury from Persinari (selective), the treasury from Hinova (selective), the deposit of bronze and iron objects from Tartaria (selective), and the inventories of Getic princely tombs from Agighiol and Peretu (selective).

First Kings of Europe is the result of an unprecedented cultural project initiated six years ago under the coordination of the Field Museum and is presented in three destinations – the USA (New York, Chicago) and Canada (Gatineau), the National Museum of Romanian History said in the press release. It is a special project initiated by the Field Museum in collaboration with more than 25 other museums in Southeastern and Central Europe.

“Many of the cultural items have never been on display outside of the countries of their origin, and some have never been on display ever! First Kings of Europe is a unique opportunity to see these cultural items side by side,” said William Parkinson, curator at the Field Museum and of First Kings of Europe.

The over 700 cultural items in the exhibition date back to the Neolithic, Copper, Bronze, and Iron ages. Highlights include some of the earliest gold funerary inventories, sets of gold ornaments from votive deposits, a silver-gilt Getic helmet and the gold crown of a Thracian prince, masterpieces of swordmaking and armor, ornaments and tools, but also ceramic and stone objects.

Further details are available here.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Facebook/Muzeul National de Istorie a Romaniei)