The Bran Museum is the holder of some valuable and diverse collections of museum objects, some of them belonging to the treasury of the national cultural patrimony. The collections are structured according to the main fields namely history, art history, ethnography, recognized in the thematic of the three departments of the museum: Castle, Medieval Customs Point and The Village Museum form Bran. Of great value is the collection of white weapons and fire arms, underlining the military purpose fulfilled by the Bran Fortress in the Middle Age. Of great importance are also the collections of decorative art (furniture, ceramics and silvery) and fine art (sculpture and wood paintings), having as source the old royal fund, diverse acquisitions and donations.

I. From the furniture collection:

1. The baldachin bed, manually manufactured at the beginning of the XVIII century from diverse types of wood: lime tree, alder-tree, nut tree, spruce fir and oak tree, having a sculptured decoration specific for the Italian baroque period, was received as a gift by Queen Maria from the actress Marioara Voiculescu. Remarkable are the two panels from the back, a bas-relief sculpture of religious scenes: “The birth of Jesus” and “The pray of the Magus”. The two compositions are flanked by three cable moulded columns with creeping stalks and caps with acanthus leaves.  Two similar columns, of enlarged sizes, also surrounded by creeping stalks support the baldachin made up of decorated caskets with sculptured cherubs. The panel from the frontal side of the bed is decorated with a frize of characters in époque clothing, and the motif used on the gable of the bed, with floral ornaments, having an escutcheon with a horse, a vulture and a lion, is also used on the interior of the door, entering the room with painted beams from the second floor of the castle.

2. The chest, dated 1692, sculptured in sycamore maple wood, ornamented in the style of the German Renaissance, belonged to the royal family, decorating during the inter-war period the “Yellow saloon” of Queen Maria from the 1^st floor of the castle.

3. The small table made of nut tree wood, with two ornaments of forged iron, blending together under the panel, reminds of the Spanish tables and bears on the traverses the cross symbol of Queen Maria.

4. The neorococo glass case, from the late XIX century, belongs to the saloon set punched by August Bembe from Mainz. The elegant and delicate line of the glass case is completed by the gilded finishing, painted with flowers, landscapes and a feminine character in époque clothing framed in tondo.

5. The neorococo desk, from the late XIX century, belongs to the saloon set punched by August Bembe from Mainz. The beauty and elegance of the piece is conferred by the system of excessive curves and counter curves, inspired by the forms of the shells. The gilded piece is painted with flowers, landscapes and two characters wearing époque clothing. Using colors of great preciousness and beauty, the chromatic range perfectly harmonizes with the ensemble.

 

II. From the sculpture collection:

1. Statue “Three generations”, Germany, anonymous, XVI century.

The statuary group, sculptured in wood, represents Saint Anne, Saint Maria and Infant Jesus. In her right hand, Maria holds an open book. Jesus holds a closed book in his left hand. It is probably a symbol for passing knowledge from one generation to the other.

2. Statue “Maria with Jesus”, Germany, anonymous, XVI century.

The wood sculpture was painted and represents Maria holding Infant Jesus in her arms; she has a veil on her head and her face is framed by small curls. Jesus holds a small globe in his right hand.

3. Bas-relief “Saint Lawrence”, Transylvania, anonymous, XVI century.
Saint Lawrence is portrayed upstanding, wearing a long tunic, vertically folded and a long mantle on his shoulders, decorated with spirals, fastened on the chest with an oval buckle. He is wearing a crown on his head. Next to his right foot, there are the distinguishing marks of the smiths: the hammer and the anvil, for this reason being considered the patron of the smiths. The piece is chopped in ground coated painted wood.
 

III. From the icons collection:

1. Maria and Jesus, Rusia, XIX century.
The icon of the Holy Virgin and Infant Jesus is painted on lime tree wood, having a sculptured frame with outlined vegetal motifs. Maria appears with a golden, richly ornamented veil and Jesus is presented in a red cape. At the base of the icon, there is a Russian inscription on a white stripe.
 

2. Triptych, Romania, XIX century.
On the central panel Maria and Infant Jesus are painted. The right door is split in two registers: the upper part is a representation of Saint Evangelist Luca and the downer part represents Saint George killing the dragon. On the left door there are paintings of Saint Paraschiva (up) and Saint Demeter (down).
 

3. Triptych, Greece, XIX century.
The icon portraits Jesus the Emperor and on the side doors there are Saint George and Saint Basil. The triptych closes under a pointed gable; the set is in relief with floral motifs.

 

IV. From the silvery collection:

1. Silver votive light, GEORG MAY II, 1697.
The set of the votive light is divided into three registers: the median register is parted into nine floral medallions. The holding is made through three chains and a small cap. According to the inscription, the votive light was made for “gospojda Maria” from the Hurezi monastery.

2. Cult pot, Romania, XVIII century
Silver piece executed in a workshop in Wallachia, with spherical form and overlapped brim. The decoration is split into five medallions with biblical scenes. The ear is made up of the blending of two dragons.

3. Bowl of sweets, Romania, XIX century.
Silver piece, with rectangular basis and walls overlapped to the outside vegetal perforated decorations. Vulture shaped jugs with a scarf in the beak.

4. Perfume recipient, oriental workshop, XX century.
Silver piece, made up of several thinned out spherical elements, richly ornamented with stylized vegetal elements. Thin, extended neck finalized with a bulging head.
 

V. The ceramics collection:

1. Amphora, Urbind faience (Italy), XVIII century.
The pot shaped as an amphora, a potential wine recipient, is decorated with vegetal and zoomorphic motifs. The piece presents two counterpart medallions, one of them with allegorical subject: a cupid on a lion, surrounded by gold apples, finishing in a grotesque mask whose mouth served as leaking orifice for the drink. The other medallion portraits Bacchus holding in one hand a cluster of grapes, and in the other a cup. The chromatic is blue on a white set.
 

2. Statue, Meissen china (Germany), XVIII century.
The piece represents a cock on a sheaf of wheat, prepared to fight. The brilliant and rich feathering is accomplished through sinuous lines. The chromatic range: green, red, brown and yellow.

3. Plate, faience by Talavera, Spain, XIX century.
Plate, faience, manually painted, presents a scene of Don Quixote. The chromatic range: ochre, brown and blue.

4. Tray, China, XVIII century.
The china tray is decorated in the central field with five dragons, flying through the clouds. The chromatic range: blue on a white set.

 

VI. From the weapons and armors collection:

1. Regardless of the era they belong to, the sword (white weapon with a straight two-edged blade) and the saber (with straight or curved one edged blade) are structured based on the same plan.In the XVI century the representative type of white weapon was the cavalry sword. In order to confer equilibrium to the blade, the head of the massive hilt is usually elongated, shaped as a pear or olive and continued at the bottom with a neck relying on both extremities and on one button. The hilt is usually short, channeled or cable moulded. The guard has two arms, with a side ring and a vertical ring, both fixed at the base of the guard. The blade presents a heel between the guard and the edges, a narrow, blunt part, the “ricasso” on which the mark of the workshop is placed. The cavalry swards present a complete or spiral protection for the hand, from the guard to the end of the hilt.

2. The weapon specific for the ottoman armies was the scimitar. It has a curve blade with a sharp tip pointed up. It is decorated on the entire surface by medallions and inscriptions framed by vegetal elements. The hilt is made of ivory mounted on the blade with a geometrically decorated bracelet, with filigree buttons. The scabbard has floral decorations.

3. Penknife – costume piece. It is curved and ends with a human head shaped button. The decoration is vegetal. The blade is wide, with curved tip, toothed in the superior part with vegetal decorations, connecting the blade to a chain equipped with spherical buttons, worked in filigree.

7. The halberd. An infantry weapon made up of: an axe, hook and a massive sharp tip (javelin). Of Swiss origin, the halberd was used on larger scale in Germany even from the XIV century and was introduced in France, for the infantry, in the time of Louis XI.
 

8. The armor – clothing completely made up of assembled metallic plates. They are formed of: Collar (Grumajer), singlet, back, the part protecting the upper legs, a part covering and protecting the shoulders; the armlets, the elbow – a connecting part, a complete glove, the armor for the thighs, the knee caps, the shank armor, with the leggings (for the foreside) and the parts for the posterior side; the Iron shoes were fixed to some other leather shoes, and ended in a tip of different shapes.

11. The rifle. Beginning with the XVI century the rifle appears, a short, light weapon, used by the cavalry troops. The flint rifles lack the pipe shaped as a truncated con, the part near the butt has a hexagonal exterior, with vegetal decorations; the decorated firing mechanism is placed to the right. The butt is flat, with a rich decoration. The trigger’s guard is made of steel.
 

Nicoleta Petcu, Ana Maria Bauman, Daniel Tiberiu Apostol