MEDIEVAL AND PREMODERN LAPIDARY
The medieval and pre-modern lapidary is the largest collection of its kind in the country, composed of funerary, architectural and sculptural monuments from the 13th-19th centuries, originating from acquisitions, donations, demolitions and from systematic or rescue archaeological excavations.
The formation of the lapidary is closely related to the activity of the Ardelean Museum Society, the forerunner of the current museum, which, starting from the second half of the 19th century, initiated the systematic collection of architectural elements from the demolition of Transylvanian monuments, predominantly from the historic center of Cluj.
The medieval and pre-modern lapidary collection is composed of Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance architectural monuments, Baroque sculptural monuments, a vast collection of Renaissance funerary monuments and a collection of plaster copies of various types of medieval funerary and sculptural monuments from Transylvania.
The most significant part of the collection is made up of the architectural monuments from the houses of the Cluj Renaissance, among which we find portal and window frames, fireplaces, a series of consoles, balusters and archways, some marked with coats of arms or monograms their owners.
- Published in COLLECTIONS
THE MEDIEVAL AND PREMODERN COLLECTION
The medieval and pre-modern collection reflects the history of Transylvania in the 30.000th-XNUMXth centuries, comprising a number of almost XNUMX pieces with extremely heterogeneous origins and functionality. There are many products of material culture that come from the research carried out under the auspices of the Cluj museum at archaeological sites such as the fortresses of Dăbâca or Moldoveneşti, the monastery and the castle of Vințu de Jos, in numerous parish churches in the region or in points of interest for the history of the city of Cluj -Napoca.
The pre-modern collection preserves artifacts related to the life and activity of the princes of Transylvania and the most important aristocratic families in the region. Weaponry pieces include a variety of melee weapons, firearms, armor and other pieces from the military arsenal of centuries past. Artifacts related to the evolution and activity of craft guilds and associations are preserved in significant numbers and are representative of a large part of present-day Transylvania. Fine and decorative art (graphics, painting, sculpture, jewelry, porcelain, etc.) and ecclesiastical (pieces of furniture, church painting, icons and other cult objects) are also well represented.
The sub-collection of archaeological textiles, most of them unearthed from noble crypts in Cluj-Napoca (the reformed church on M. Kogălniceanu street), Luna de Jos (Cluj county), Cetatea de Baltă (Alba county), Tirimia (county Mureș) and Huedin (Cluj county), is one of the most valuable in this part of Europe. The oldest pieces of furniture date from the 15th-16th centuries and are made in the Renaissance style, many of which also retain the coats of arms of the previous noble owners.
- Published in COLLECTIONS
