The exhibition "The Most Unusual Exhibit" was opened online in the museum of Temirtau city as part of the "Exhibit of the Month" project on July 27, 2022.
More than 20 thousand exhibits are stored in the funds of the Temirtau city’s Museum. Most of them, in one way or another, tell about the history of our city.
A wooden mask, a figurine of a woman, and two ebony busts stand somewhat apart.
The mask is devoted to the African god. The figurine of a woman attracts attention with elongated proportions of the body and a disproportionately large head. Such forms cannot be found among the masters of Kazakhstan, but quite often they are found among African wood carvers. Busts of a man and a woman attract the eye with material. Ebony or black tree is one of the most valuable in the world. And it is extremely rare in our area.
Fomin Valentin Konstantinovich- a resident of Temirtau city, presented the museum with such exotic exhibits. He purchased them from a real Nigerian woodcarver in the 1980s. But how the Soviet metallurgist got to Africa is another story.
In the 70-80s of the twentieth century, the USSR, by virtue of its political views, helped many countries of a socialist orientation: Cuba, Romania, Afghanistan, and a number of African states.
In 1973, Soviet geologists explored iron ore deposits in the vicinity of the Ajaokuta city, Nigeria. After 5 years, the construction of the largest metallurgical factory in South Africa began.
At that time, the workers of the Karaganda Metallurgical Factory were among the most competent metallurgists. They traveled all over the Soviet Union, sharing their experience with young colleagues. The large-scale construction of a metallurgical factory in Nigeria could not take place without them.
Perhaps, at first glance, unusual figurines have little in common with the history of Temirtau. But if you look deeper, explore the way through which these exhibits ended up in the museum's funds, they can tell about the most interesting events of the 20th century, introduce you to the culture of the "cradle of mankind" - hot and original Africa.
The opening of the exposition took place in social networks. The exposition will run for a month.