COLLECTIONS

Modern collection

The Modern Age Collection of the Archaeological Museum of Istria contains items made of ceramics, glass, metal, bone, and stone, of both secular and sacral character.

Request access to materials Contacts

Information:

dr. sc. Tatjana Bradara

Department:

Department of Archaeology

Annunciation, stone sculptures of the Virgin Mary and Angel Gabriel

Pula, workshop of Pietro Lombardo, around 1490

Bronze bell of the church of St. Thomas

Pula, bell-founder Salvator, 1425

Glass vessels

Pula and Dvigrad, workshops in Venice, Murano, and Ljubljana, 15th-16th century

Bronze medallions depicting the Virgin Mary

Pula, Brkač, and Vodnjan, 17th-18th century

Ceramic bowl

Pula, workshop in Romagna, first half of 16th century

The Modern Age Collection was founded in 2010. The Archaeological Museum of Istria, recognizing the importance of material that completes the picture of a specific historical period and provides valuable testimony to the economic, political, and cultural state of the former population, became the first among archaeological museums in Croatia to include a Modern Age Collection.

This collection contains a variety of items made of ceramics, glass, metal, bone, and stone, of both secular and sacral character, such as tableware and kitchenware, cutlery, stove tiles, items for daily household activities, games, entertainment, and leisure, decorative and utilitarian objects, coats of arms, architectural elements, sculptures and boundary stones, devotional items, bells, and a cannon. Most of the items were found during archaeological research in Istria (Pula, Dvigrad, Vodnjan, Motovun, etc.), while a smaller part of the collection consists of chance finds donated to the museum (Rašpor). The finds are kept and exhibited at the Archaeological Museum of Istria, the Monastery of St. Francis in Pula, or are loaned to other institutions for various exhibitions. These findings represent irrefutable evidence of the continuity of life in Istria and enrich our understanding of past periods.

From the rich holdings of this collection, glazed tableware originating from workshop centers in northern Italy and Spain particularly stands out. Other significant materials include two sculptures from the Annunciation group - the work of Pietro Lombardo's school, a Venetian sculpture of St. John the Baptist, devotional medals from famous European pilgrimage destinations such as Loreto, Padua, Mariazell, Trsat, and Bistrica, and bells by the masters Belo, Vivencije, and Salvator.