SEALS FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE HISTORICAL MUSEUM OF SERBIA

Residence of Prince Miloš

Аuthor: Vladimir Merenik. Designer of he exhibition and catalogue: Izabela Martinov Tomović

On Friday, 10 March 2017, the ‘Seals from the collection of the Historical Museum of Serbia’ Exhibition was opened at the Residence of Prince Miloš. After introductory words by Dr. Dušica Bojić, Director of the Historical Museum of Serbia, and Vladimir Merenik, museum advisor, and its author, the exhibition was opened by Prof. Dr. Nenad Makuljević, Head of the Art History Department at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade.

The exhibition was supported by the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia.

The ‘Seals from the collection of the Historical Museum of Serbia’ Exhibition is the result of the years-long research of the author, and is intended to present to the scientific, professional and cultural public the most valuable part of the Collection, significant for the study of different segments of the history of the Serbs and other peoples who lived and still live in the Balkans and throughout South Eastern Europe. The seal matrices and seal impressions are documents of the times and societies in which they were made, and form part of the political and cultural history of the nation.
In previous decades, the seals from the Collection have been exhibited only in the context of complex historical or permanent exhibitions of the Historical Museum of Serbia. For the first time now, they are the subject of a small objects exhibition, testifying not only to historical processes, but to the organization of and development of state administration, the judiciary and other institutions in the region.

The visitors are given the opportunity to enjoy numerous originals and replicas, among them the golden seal (tipar) of Prince Strojimir from the second half of the 9th century, the official seal of Vožd Karadjordje as the Commander of Serbia, the seal of Luka Lazarević with his coat-of-arms, the seal which belonged to Patriarch Joseph Rajačić, the seal of the Radosavljević family, as well as the amethyst seal of King Milan Obrenović, all of which stand out for both their historical significance and aesthetic appearance.

In addition, the exhibition includes personal seals which have not been exhibited so far; as well as the seals of many institutions established in different periods, such as the seal of the Serbian National Assembly from the second half of the 19th century, and that of the Lyceum, founded in Kragujevac in 1838, and of the Ministry of Education of the Principality of Serbia and many others.

The exhibition is accompanied by the catalogue, intended to present the most valuable part of the Collection to the scientific, professional and cultural public for further research.

Both the exhibition and catalogue were designed by Izabela Martinov Tomović.

The exhibition is open until May 2017.