The National Museum of the Czech Republic and the National Museum of History of Azerbaijan are opening a new exhibition titledCzech Garnet. Rare precious objects will be displayed at the National Museum of History of Azerbaijan in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 2 June to 25 September 2013.

The exhibition has been organised with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan, and the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Prague. This unique exhibition will present Czech garnet as a mineralogical symbol of the Czech lands, one which has played an important role in items of history and as a craft. The National Museum has been collecting these artefacts since its inception in 1818 and now owns the largest collection of Czech garnets in the world. In particular, visitors will learn more about jewellery, tableware, haberdashery, and other artistic, historic, and ethnographic items. The exhibition will present a selection of about 160 exhibits – major works of Czech goldsmiths and jewellers from the Gothic period to the present. The oldest exhibit is a jasper board from the Prague Cathedral from the mid-fourteenth century; the most recent is a necklace with a pomegranate from a contemporary Czech jeweller. The most important are precious religious artefacts such as Baroque monstrances and goblets; a statue and a picture of the Madonna decorated with Czech garnets; crosses, rosaries, a large collection of women’s jewellery including combs and tiaras; but also sports awards, medals, stationery and smoker’s kits. The largest collection of jewellery in the exhibition comes from the nineteenth century. At that time Czech garnet in gold, silver, or in combination with glass, pearls, or mother of pearl, gained worldwide renown, and its Czech producers achieved a monopoly on the market. Numerous illustrations will present significant historic figures, cities, and places connected with Czech garnet, as well as contemporary portraits and clothing. The exhibition will also feature rock samples with raw Czech garnet, amethyst, jasper, and silver ore from the mineralogical collection of the National Museum, historical guidelines, and tools for their processing. The exhibition will open on 1 June 2013 with the participation of Alena Hanáková, Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic, and Abulfaz Garayev, Minister of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan. The exhibition is an outcome of international cooperation. The exhibition has been organised in mutual cooperation of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan, which was established last year on the occasion of an official visit of Azerbaijanian President, Ilham Aliyev, in the Czech Republic. On this occasion a Memorandum of Understanding between the National Museum of the Czech Republic and the National Museum of Azerbaijanian History was signed as well.  The National Museum administers a collection with more than 20 million items. The National Museum is the largest museum in the Czech Republic, and this year it celebrated the 195th anniversary of its founding. This important institution consists of five specialised institutes: the Museum of Nature and Science, the Museum of History, the Library of the National Museum, the Náprstek Museum of Asiatic, African, and American Cultures, and the Czech Museum of Music. The National Museum administers an extensive collection of material documents for history and for the development of nature, particularly in the fields of mineralogy, geology, palaeontology, zoology, botany, anthropology, social sciences, arts, and history of the country. The National Museum manages 15 buildings in Prague and elsewhere. Apart from permanent exhibitions it also presents large-scale thematic exhibitions and a number of cultural and educational supplementary events for the general public.