Regions of Russia: Museums and libraries in Rostov region welcome back unique rarities

The museums and libraries in Rostov region have recently received valuable rarities. Some of them were returned by the collectors themselves, but the greater part of the collection was confiscated. Many exhibits were returned by the Federal Service for monitoring compliance with cultural heritage protection law Rosohrankultura.

Among the returned rarities – the 17–18 cc. correspondence of the prominent statesmen, icons, rare coins and books. The unique exhibition displaying returned treasures was opened by the Head of the Federal Service for monitoring compliance with cultural heritage protection law Tatiana Niikolaevna Seledtsova. She stressed great contribution of the museums’ and libraries’ staff, which helped to identify the exhibits’ value.

Lyudmila Demidenko, Chief expert in archaeology and numismatics, emphasized that all the rarities had been created in the North-Caucasian region in the V c. B.C.  Among the exhibition’s displays were old parts of horse harnesses: front straps, nameplates, decorated with animals images, and two bells of another period — 8 — 4 cc. B.C. Not only the copper rarities have been perfectly preserved.

Nadezhda Aistova, rare books expert in the Don Public Library, focused the conference participants’ attention on the Explanatory Dictionary by Vladimir Dal of 50’s, and besides the complete collection of N. V. Gogol’s works — a unique illustrated edition with a preface by Ovsyaniko-Kulikovsky, a famous literary critic. The book rarities department welcomed an old 6-volume edition by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin with notes of famous experts on Pushkin studies.

At last Tatiana Abramova, general expert working with different exhibits addressed the participants of the conference. She represented memorial service (panikhida) cross — an example of the Old Believers’ copper casting. Even the blue enamel has remained on it. Among other exhibits is a silver glass holder, dated between 1908 and 1917 but preserved in a perfect condition. A five-kopeck coin of the Catherine epoch was produced in 1767, when the Dmitry Rostovsky fortresses celebrated its 5^th anniversary.