Second life of things
On July 1st Russia celebrates Conservaror’s Day. This is a professional holiday for our colleagues and allies, many of whom have been working with us for several years. During all that time we've been entrusting our most intricate and fragile exhibits into their capable hands. Often museum objects arrive in such a lamentable state that they require an almost surgical level of intervention.
One of our recent acquisitions is the bronze figurine “Newspaper Seller” (“Newspaper man), made by the Jewish sculptor Solomon Strazh back in 1916. The miniature came into being with the perfect timing: throughout Russia, and Moscow in particular, the political life was in full swing. Many different parties fought for influence in society, the press of various leanings transmitted wide-ranging points of view, and the war posed the most pressing questions to the whole population. Jews, being citizens of the Russian Empire, were fully involved in this political and social reality.
The figurine arrived to the Museum almost a year ago, lacking one hand. However this season, thanks to the delicate restoration work, it has already been displayed to our visitors in its original form: a figure of an old newspaper hawker leaning on a stick, pulled forward by his load towards the upcoming storms...
