At last, Sonja found the car of her size! This vehicle fits her perfectly! Winter sun was going down when she found this tiny vehicle on the wall under a large arch.
Kyiv Carriage
The sponsor of this sculpture is Avis Ukraine and, it's certainly dedicated to the first motorists of Kyiv.
The story has started when in the late 80th of the 19th century, the German engineer Maybach successfully created the first engine that ran on light gas, and later - on liquid fuel. Then, together with the designer Daimler, they developed an internal combustion engine and installed it on a wooden bicycle, which they made a successful trip the same day. And in 1889, at the World's Fair in Paris, the designers presented a self-propelled crew created by Maybach with the first two-cylinder V-engine in history, the power of which exceeded horsepower.
"A great sensation was made in Podol by the appearance of a graceful carriage, briskly rolling through the streets without horses. The crew was powered by a kerosene engine hidden in it."
This text was printed on the 30th of June, 1897 in the local newspaper. The graceful carriage mentioned above looked like this:
It's worth mention that cars appeared in Kyiv 2 years earlier than in Moscow. But the first city in the entire Russian Empire, where the first car appeared, was Odessa.
Very soon other car owners appeared in the city. Later they united and founded a club of motorists. The members of the club were wealthy Kyivans, because only rich businessmen or officials of the highest ranks could afford to own a car. They learned to drive and repair their own cars. The code of ethics of the car owner was also formulated. In particular, it forbade to brag that you have an expensive or the latest model, but only driving skills! What would you say to the idea?
It was the motorists' club together with the City Duma that developed the first rules of conduct on the roads, introduced driving courses, and began to issue the first car licenses.
Sonja has no driving license but why not dream?..
But the sun is going down so let's grab Sonja and move on to the next mini sculpture. Hold on, it's on the opposite wall of the arch!! Wow, this is a Scythian Pectoral!
Scythian Pectoral
From "pectus" - "chest". This is neck jewelry that covered the chest, sometimes the shoulders. It comes from a piece of combat armor that protected the upper chest, shoulders and throat. In common sense - chest decoration.
This mini sculpture is made as close as possible to the original and made with the assistance of a partner - jewelry house OBERIG.
The Golden Pectoral from Tovsta Mohyla
In 1971, archaeologist B.M. Mozolevsky excavated the royal Scythian burials of the Tovsta Mohyla mound in the Dnipropetrovsk region and found a gold pectoral. It was the ornament of the Scythian leader, served as a sign of wealth and nobility.
The jewel is made of 958 gold and weighs 1150 grams.
This pectoral is not an ordinary royal decoration. The composition that adorns it reproduces the existence of nomads and their idea of the structure of the universe. The master, the author of the pectoral, most likely, was not a Scythian, but a Greek master, who had a much more sophisticated technique of working with gold. Scientists roughly date the pectoral to the beginning of the IV century BC. It can be seen in the Museum of Historical Treasures of Ukraine (Kyiv).
If you're interested, you can read more about it here.
But another Pectoral is known as Kyiv Pectoral. It's not golden, but creative. This is a prize in the field of theatrical art. Since 1993, Kyiv Pectoral has traditionally been awarded in several nominations to domestic theater artists for the best works of art. It usually takes place at the end of March, during the celebration of the International Theater Day, in the premises of the Ivan Franko National Drama Theater, which is located near this mini sculpture.
That's all. Thanks a lot for visiting
Stay tuned, and you won't miss the next Sonja's adventures!
Previous mini-symbols of Kyiv and their's stories:
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