The Stone in the Age of Man

Exhibition at Filipescu-Cesianu House

The Stone in the Age of Man

 

 

The stone has always accompanied Man. The history of their relationship is lost in the mists of time, and a large part of humanity’s existence is inextricably linked to the technologies used by Man to process the Stone.

The carved ax from the Lower Paleolithic or the paved street from 19th-century Bucharest are landmarks of the level of civilization. Stonehenge or Densuș Church are evocations of faith. On Trajan’s Column or Arch of Triumph we find the celebration of ideals. The memory of those who passed away is stored in the tombstones.

With this exhibition we propose to the public a unique interaction with stone artifacts from the patrimony of the Bucharest Municipality Museum. As one can easily understand from the title, the central element of the exposure is in fact a natural raw material, the stone, characterized by hardness, strength and persistence. Over the millennia, however, man has found solutions to transform it for his own benefit, and the resulting objects, in whole or fragmented, have become artifacts over time. Most of those discovered in the Bucharest area are kept in the Archaeological Collection of MMB. Along with pieces from the “Maria and dr. George Severeanu” antiques collection, the exhibited objects will reveal the relationship of mutual modeling between Man and Stone, from ancient times to the present day: technologies, civilizations, economic relations, ideologies, beliefs, traditions and legacies.

Time frame: May 18, 2021 – October 24, 2022.

Curator: Vasile Opriș, Head of History Department, MMB.