Museum In Belgrade Research Articles

Towards an integrative approach to the safeguarding of living heritage: Programmes of the center for the intangible cultural heritage of Serbia and the Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade

Towards an integrative approach to the safeguarding of living heritage: Programmes of the center for the intangible cultural heritage of Serbia and the Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade

Bird bone artifact from the Late Eneolithic/Early Bronze Age site of Zók (Hungary)

AbstractBird bones were rarely used for production of artifacts, due to various reasons—they were much smaller and thinner than bones of mammals usually selected for tool production; they also have specific shapes and fine structure, inadequate for the majority of common artifact types. They were occasionally used for some specific objects, such as flutes, pipes, needle cases, and amulets. When it comes to the Eneolithic and Early Bronze Age periods in south‐eastern Europe, bird bone artifacts are rare; only few have been discovered thus far. In this paper, we will present one additional finding of a bird bone artifact, from the site of Zók–Gradina, situated in present‐day Hungary. Excavations carried out in 1920 by the National Museum in Belgrade revealed a multi‐period site, with major parts of the stratigraphic sequence belonging to the Late Eneolithic/Early Bronze Age Vučedol culture (2900–2500/2400 BC). Vučedol layers yielded relatively large quantities of worked bone, including one artifact produced from a bird bone, that will be presented here. The object in question was produced from the right radius of a Cygnus sp.; it is in the shape of an elongated tube; carefully cut at both ends. The function of this item is uncertain—it may have served as some sound‐producing instrument (flute), or it was some sort of a handle or needle case. It is interesting to note that bird representations, in particular, ornithomorphic vessels, are among the specific traits of the Vučedol culture; therefore, the choice of a bird bone for the production of this artifact may have had a certain symbolic significance as well.

The first employees of the Natural History Museum in Belgrade

The first employees of the Natural History Museum in Belgrade

Rod Stygnocoris Douglas & Scott, 1865 (lygaeidae) u zbirkama Prirodnjačkog muzeja u Beogradu

Collections of Heteroptera at the Natural History Museum in Belgrade include four species of genus Stygnocoris: S. cimbricus, S. fuligineus, S. rusticus and S. sabulosus. S. cimbricus is a new species in Serbian fauna. This paper combines all records of genus Stygnocoris in Serbia and presents data for 46 specimens within 22 recording sets.

Vojna zastava - svedok političkih turbulencija u Srbiji krajem 19. i početkom 20. veka

In the Military Museum in Belgrade there are two prototypes of military flags. Those flags, according to the regulation of 1904, were never appointed to the Serbian Army. Based on the details on one of the flags, it was determined that the canvas belonged to a flag from the earlier regulation, dating from 1884. It is the canvas of the flag of the 7 th Infantry Regiment called "King Alexander I", which was previously considered destroyed in 1903. Bearing in mind that there are no preserved flags from the period of this regulation, it was concluded that the Military Museum safeguards the only testimony of this flag model, remade in 1904. Flags, made according to the regulation of 1884, were appointed to the Army in 1886, on the Obrenović's holiday "Cveti". The names of the Obrenović Dynasty were inscribed on the canvas, and some of the regiments were named after them. Although they did not take part in the war with Bulgaria in 1885, these flags were presented as war flags in artworks. When the Karadjordjević Dynasty came to power, military flags with names of the Obrenović Dynasty were probably withdrawn or remade, and other flags got new ribbons, with the monogram of the new king. Other elements of the flags were not disputable for the Karadjordjević Dynasty. The regulation on flags was adopted in 1904, but the changes were not drastic, thus it happened that for the creation of a flag prototype, the canvas of the flag from earlier regulation was used. Flags were replaced shortly before the Balkan wars, in 1911. Before that, they had been used for almost seven years under the Obrenović Dynasty, plus eight years under the Karadjordjević Dynasty. Firstly, they were celebrated as the symbols of the Serbian Royal Army, and since 1904 they were a temporary solution until the definition of flag symbols that would have wider mobilization potential. Not crowned with war glory and being witnesses of politically unstable period, their lives after 1911 were not considered a significant testimony of the military history

Mogućnosti i značaj virtuelnih poseta muzejima na časovima likovne kulture

Museums, as keepers of tradition and culture, are ideal places for learning and enhancing children’s interest in art. However it is not always easy to take pupils to exhibi- tions, or organise an art class in a museum, which opens the possibility for virtual museum tours. Many renowned museums around the world provide this opportunity. As a result, pupils can see the greatest works of art and have the full museum experience, without having to leave their classrooms. This paper presents an online educational program of the National Museum in Belgrade, titled The National Museum in the Classroom, which comprises two types of activities: Museum in the classroom and Video workshops, thus indicating the significance of creating museum learning programs where students can get familiar with current exhibitions and art collections. The aim of the paper is to emphasize the importance of getting students familiar with museums and exhibitions in Arts Education classes through virtual tours offered by some of the most renowned museums. In order to do so, future teachers of Art Education need a more complex formal education in the field of art.

Učenje da se vidi glasinački ćilibar

The paper addresses previous research into the amber finds from Glasinac, reaching back to the end of the 19th century, as well as some of the author’s own extensive study of this material conducted in 1980s. The method of auto-reflexivity as an epistemological tool is applied, enabling the monitoring of the process of acquisition and validity of archaeological knowledge. At the same time, the author applies re-evaluation of old evidence, whose many layers may also contribute to the new insights into the archaeological practice and data. Starting from the old evidence on amber in the Landesmuseum in Sarajevo, over the statistical survey of the complete set of amber retrieved from Glasinac, and the work on the amber finds in the National Museum in Belgrade, the author suggests – as a methodological example – the re-evaluation of some amber beads from the mounds at Osovo and Sjeversko.

Rod Euphorbia L. (Euphorbiaceae juss.) u Srbiji - herbarijumski podaci u zbirkama BEO i BEOU

This paper contains information on specimens of the genus Euphorbia L. collected in Serbia and deposited in the Herbarium of the Natural History Museum in Belgrade (BEO) and in the Herbarium of the University of Belgrade (BEOU). A total of 2199 herbarium sheets were examined, of which 915 are deposited in BEO and 1284 in BEOU. The catalogue with herbarium data on 37 taxa of the genus Euphorbia distributed in Serbia is presented as well as distribution maps for all recorded taxa.

The Survivor's Suite: The Life of the International Festival of Ethnological Film in Belgrade through Interesting Times

This paper is an attempt, based on many years of following the International Festival of Ethnological Film, organized by the Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade, to provide insight into the way in which it has so far fulfilled its purpose, while at the same time experiencing tumultuous, occasionally even tragic events and processes. The main question concerns the way in which “interesting times” have left their mark on and shaped the world of human experience of people who have lived through them, thus also film production and festival practice. The phrase “interesting times” is used in the sense in which it was used by the historian Eric Hobsbawm, who used it as a label for “the most extraordinary and terrible century in human history”.
 Two elements are of prime importance in the paper – the assumption that “interesting times” can exist simultaneously with, and can cause or heighten emotional and creative tension, and also the fact that the limited possibilities that the resulting states of mind and initiatives can be fulfilled through the usual channels, such as political ones, can lead to attempts to satisfy them through art or cultural forms. Film production and festival activities can, under certain circumstances, offer alternative channels for expressing moods and content that arise or are enhanced during “interesting times”.
 On the one hand, the framework for analysis will provide reflections on the nature and the possible social roles of film festivals, including festivals of documentary and ethnographic films. Essentially, it will be necessary to consider the questions of the types of experiences provided by the Festival to its participants and attendees, the cinematic experiences it offers, and the specific aims and ideologies advocated as part of it. On the other hand, relying on valuable testimony in the form of the Festival Catalogue, words and images which testify to the achievements of the Festival will be identified.
 At the very beginning, in the turbulent times when political orders were overthrown, along with legal and ethical frameworks, it seemed that the Festival had managed to be conceptually ahead of its time. It was a dream come true and a model for many, a place where “miracles” happened. After a number of years, its long history temporarily weakened the Festival's creative potential. The times became somewhat less interesting, slightly dull even, and the Festival followed suit. And yet through all the changes, the Festival has not ceased to be a place where people meet and learn; a place where images inspire thoughts, and thoughts seek visual means of expression; a place where, by meeting Others, we learn something about ourselves as well, but also a place where by seeking to find a way to represent ourselves, we enrich Others.

Petar S. Pavlović (1864-1938) - osnivač Muzeja srpske zemlje

To mark the great jubilee of the Natural History Museum in Belgrade - 125 years since its founding - members of the Editorial Board has decided to publish, in the upcoming editions of the Bulletin, biographies of those who contributed the most to the establishment of the Museum and its initial collections. In this way, we would like to thank our predecessors for their immense work and great driving energy, not just in laying the foundations but also in ensuring the continuity of the work of the Museum. At the same time, we also want to acquaint the wider scientific and professional public, as well as younger generations of naturalists, with the important persons from the Museum's rich historiography.

Prepiska Nikole Tesle i Orvila Rajta sačuvana u naučnikovoj zaostavštini u muzeju Nikole Tesle - povodom 165 godina od rođenja Nikole Tesle

Nikola Tesla and the Wright brothers, Wilbur and Orville, have worked and created in the United States of America in the period comprising the last two decades of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century. All three of them were visionaries and creators of the modern technical age. In the Tesla's legacy, apart from his personal and technical items, press clippings, monographic and serial publications, there are also about 156,000 sheets of archival material which cover his entire life and work, both chronologically and thematically. Among these testimonies there are four original documents (a concept of a condolence letter, a copy of the sent condolence letter, a brief gratitude note and a formal invitation) that were exchanged between Nikola Tesla and probably Orville Wright, between 1912 and 1920. The oldest preserved document of their correspondence is the concept of Tesla's condolence letter to Orville Wright on the occasion of the death of his older brother. Two approved patents for the Wright brothers' aircraft model have been preserved as well, which testifies of the scientist's interest in their work and aviation research in general. Researching the correspondence between Nikola Tesla and Orville Wright, as well as the other documents from the scientist's legacy preserved in the Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade, we have tried to highlight the details of his acquaintance with the Wright brothers, that is, a small fragment of his life and work which has remained almost unknown until today. Results of the research, presented in the form of a scientific research paper, contribute to a better understanding of the aviation history and reveal new details from the life stories of our renowned scientist and the two famous aviation pioneers. The publication of exclusive documents from Tesla's legacy is a contribution to the wider scientific community and a new reference point for all the researchers who are to cover similar topics in the future.

VESELINKA NINKOVIĆ, Roman Epigraphic and Anepigraphic Monuments from the Lapidarium in the National Museum in Belgrade (Antiquity X), Belgrade: National Museum, 2019, 262 p. XLVIII pl. illustrations, map p. 27, parallel text in Serbian and English

VESELINKA NINKOVIĆ, Roman Epigraphic and Anepigraphic Monuments from the Lapidarium in the National Museum in Belgrade (Antiquity X), Belgrade: National Museum, 2019, 262 p. XLVIII pl. illustrations, map p. 27, parallel text in Serbian and English

TWO COLLECTIONS AND TWO GREEK OBSESSIONS

It has become a truism that museum exhibitions and interpretations are influenced by wider theoretical concepts and the author’s personal ideas. Winckelmann’s legacy is present in most of the European museums. Sometimes the concepts emphasizing Greece are perpetuated over decades, in spite of the fact that new archaeological interpretations contradict this neo-Classicist reading. Two examples will be offered to illustrate this situation. The first is the case of the Neolithic site of Vinča near Belgrade, excavated during several campaigns from 1908 to 1934 by Miloje Vasić. At the time he started researching the site, Vasić was the director of the National Museum in Belgrade and a professor of archaeology at the university. He argued that Vinča was a settlement of the Aegean colonists and an emanation of the Minoan and Mycenaean Bronze Age spirit. From 1934 on, he even identified Vinča as an Ionian colony from the sixth century B.C.E. After the First World War, Vasić ceased being the director of the museum and focused on the work at the university. At the same time, his Vinča interpretation was met with sharp criticism both in the Serbian and international archaeological communities and the site was firmly dated as Neolithic. Faced with criticism, even from the National Museum Belgrade, in 1929 Vasić established the University Archaeological Collection, where he placed material from the post-war excavations at Vinča and continued exhibiting his philhellenic interpretation. The second case to be presented is what is referred to as the princely grave from Novi Pazar, one of the most Iron Age important finds in the Central Balkans. From the middle of the twentieth century almost to the present day, a thesis concerning the Greek-Illyrian treasures has been perpetuated, although the new interpretations have clearly shown that both parts of this title are problematic.

Migration spawning migration - on continuity in Jewish emigration from Yugoslavia to Palestine/Israel

The Yugoslav participation in the Jewish emigration to Mandatory Palestine and, after 1948, to Israel, can be defined as a process consisting of six stages. When the migration is observed on the level of socio-political circumstances, the discontinuity between these stages is apparent. However, the same discontinuity is not to be found when the process is deconstructed down to and examined on the level of families and individuals involved in it. The aspiration of individuals to join members of their families already in Palestine, especially after the tragic losses suffered in the Holocaust, has persevered as one of the key motives driving emigration from Yugoslavia. This paper examines the way in which family ties continuously drove emigration to Mandatory Palestine/Israel and pulled its individual stages into an integral whole. It is primarily based on documents kept at the Archives of the Jewish Historical Museum in Belgrade.

Prirodnjački muzej - putovanje kroz vreme i prostor

The occasion of a great jubilee - 125 years since the founding of the Natural History Museum in Belgrade - merits highlighting certain historical circumstances, important events and personalities, as well as significant research and activities from the first 80 years of its existence. The fact that this paper will not be covering the modern period of the Museum is a consequence of the author's desire to have that time period reviewed and interpreted by other researchers - those who are still active witnesses. Extensive archive materials and the photo library of the Museum were used in the process of preparation, together with the reports on the work of the Museum, documents from the personal legacy of the first director Petar Pavlovic, and memoirs of antecedent museologists Petar Stevanovic and Sergei Matveyev.

Figural representations in the Early Eneolithic: an unpublished figurine from Bubanj (Eastern Serbia)

Figural representations from the Eneolithic period in the south-east Europe are not very common, especially in comparison with the Neolithic period, and they are also seldom discussed in the archaeological literature. In the Early Eneolithic Bubanj-Hum I culture, part of the Bubanj-Sălcuţa-Krivodol cultural complex, anthropomorphic figurines were produced from clay and bone ; however, particularly in the central Balkan area they are rarely found. In this paper, we will present a fragmented figurine so far unpublished from the eponymous site of Bubanj. The figurine was discovered in 1956 and is currently stored at the National Museum in Belgrade. We will present its typological and technological traits and we will also discuss the place of this figurine within the wider context of the Early Eneolithic communities in the central Balkan area.

Prilog poznavanju roda Psallus (Heteroptera: miridae) u Srbiji

Identification and revision of specimens from genus Psallus in the Study Collection of Heteroptera at the Natural History Museum in Belgrade revealed presence of 14 species, including five new species for Serbia: Ps. henschi, Ps. anaemicus, Ps. lentigo, Ps. lucanicus and Ps. pardalis.

Konkurs za podizanje Spomenika jevrejskim borcima i žrtvama fašizma na Sefardskom groblju u Beogradu, 1951-1952. godine

In their wish to preserve the memory to the compatriots who lost their lives in the Holocaust, the Jewish community in Yugoslavia started erecting monuments to Jewish civil victims and fallen soldiers as early as the first few post-WWII years. The Monument to the Fallen Jewish Soldiers and Victims of Fascism put up in the Sephardi cemetery in Belgrade in 1952, potent with artistic and political significance, stood out from the rest of the monuments of the period. It was dedicated to all the Jews from the Socialist Republic of Serbia who lost their lives in the World War II. The purpose of this article is to analyse the competition for the design of the monument by examining the documents from the Archives of the Jewish Historical Museum in Belgrade, thus making a contribution to the research of the culture of Holocaust remembrance in the Yugoslav Socialism, but also to show artistic, social and ideological aspirations of the time when, after the Cominform schism, Yugoslavia was at political crossroads. By exploring the symbolism and aesthetic values of this work, the research presented in this paper attempts to enhance the understanding of architect Bogdan Bogdanović's early creative efforts.

A message from beyond the grave: Hercules rescuing Hesione on a Stojnik funerary monument

The research of this study is dedicated to a unique iconographical scene in the territory of the Central Balkan Roman provinces, of Hercules rescuing Hesione from a sea-monster (ketos), depicted on a funerary monument found in 1931 at the site of Stojnik, in the vicinity of Belgrade, antique Singidunum, and now displayed in the lapidarium of the National Museum in Belgrade. The funerary monument was erected for the deceased, a veteran of cohors II Aurelia nova, Publius Aelius Victorinus, by his wife Aurelia Rufina and their son Publius Aelius Acutianus. The rich iconography of the monument makes it a very important example of funerary art in the period from the end of the 2nd and the beginning of the 3rd century - the eschatological symbolism of the presented scenes and motifs is more than clear and underlines not only the hope of the deceased?s family for his eternal and blessed life after death, but also the deceased?s victory over death and presents him as a symbol of courage and virtue. The architectural scheme of the monument, along with its iconography, suggests strong artistic influences from Noricum and both the Pannonian provinces, while the the mythical tale of Hercules and Hesione was chosen, it is argued, not only because Hercules was one of the most favoured gods in the Roman army, but also because he was a protector of miners and mines.

The Mummy Trappings in the National Museum in Belgrade: A Reconstruction and Typological Assessment

In July 2009 the National Museum in Belgrade received – as a donation – two elements of a funerary assemblage: a fragmented mask and a conjoined collar-breast covering. Although heavily damaged, those ancient Egyptian mummy trappings furnish modern analysts with valuable information about their fabrication and ritual employment. The mask is of helmet-type, made of gessoed linen which had been decorated with paint and gilded upon the face. The front of the mask is in relatively fair condition, but the top and rear have suffered considerably, being reduced to small fragments whose original position is difficult to determine. The mask is heavily affected by staining caused by deliberately over-poured resin, i.e. the traces of a ritual unguent pouring. The collar-breast covering is a conjoined type forming a single rectangular or rather slightly trapezoidal plaque. The collar design consists of a system of schematized floral decoration arranged in seven semicircular bands around a single semi-lunate zone. A decorative grid containing funerary motifs extends below the collar field. It consists of four horizontal registers separated by polychrome bands of colored rectangles. The whole forms a complex tapestry of protective imagery: deities, amuletic symbols and magical vignettes. The mask and the breast cover are datable to the late Ptolemaic Period (ca. 100 – 50 B.C.). The most likely place of origin is site of Hawara at the entrance to the Fayum region.