Mărţişorul – vestitorul primăverii
The “Martisor” - the herald of Spring
On the first day of March the men offer the women a
martisor, a small traditional gift in the form of a
pendant or broche. The tradition is connected to
ancient fertility rituals.
Initially, the martisor was made only of the small
string that combined the red and the white threads,
again ritual colours.
The laicization of this tradition is so strong that
the martisoare have become trade objects. Ionescu’s
photography catches the inside of a store that
doesn’t seem to be specialized in selling these
objects (since there was a poster advertising their
presence), most likely a watchmaker’s (indicated by
the objects in the background). The poster also
includes elements for advertising the product:
“first quality” and its justification: “Gold, silver
and finest copies.” Therefore, precious metal and
copies, but in their case the epithet restores
quality: “finest”. Everything is at superlative:
“Cheaper than anywhere”.
