The History of Romania in One Object / The Crown

THE HISTORY OF ROMANIA IN ONE OBJECT is our newest online series, developed in partnership with the The National History Museum of Romania, that evokes decisive epochs in Romanian past starting from an artifact or vestige with powerful symbolic, representative value. In the following weeks the history of Romania will be revealed object by object, from prehistoric figurines and ancient jewelry to Medieval battle flags, modern symbols of power and makeshift machines for printing anti-communist manifestos.

We begin our saga through the Romanian history with the deliberately austere Steel Crown of the Romanian kings, which is a token of unprecedented political, economic, social, and cultural development that transformed a small Danubian principality into the powerhouse of South-East Europe. Video introduction by historian Cornel Ilie.

Watch the video on our FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE and BLOG from Monday, May 4, 2 p.m. EST (or anytime later).

Historian CORNEL ILIE is currently Deputy Director of The National History Museum of Romania in Bucharest. Dr. Ilie published several books among which Între Bellu și Montparnasse. Români celebri în fața morții / Between Bellu and Montparnasse. Famous Romanians in Face of Death; Cealaltă față a comuniștilor / The Other Face of the Communists; Regimul comunist și muzeele de istorie din România / The Communist Regime and the History Museums in Romania. Throughout his career he curated many successful exhibitions such as The Romanians and the Great War, 1989. Thirty Years After… and Imagining the Balkans. Dr. Ilie coordinated the publication of over 30 exhibition catalogues.