Small and beautiful treasures from the collections of the LNMA go on show at the Palanga Amber Museum
Exhibition opening on Tuesday, 12 May at 4 pm, 2026
Tuesday, 12 May at 4 pm the Palanga Amber Museum opens the exhibition Small and Beautiful. The Tiniest Work from the Collections of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art. Featured by the exhibition, small scale exhibits present their amazingly storied past, unexpected origination and relevance – past and present – condensed into a couple of inches.
“Visitors often pass by the smallest items at exhibitions, without even properly noticing them. This exhibition aims to inspire the appreciation of the value which slow exploration can bring to museum exhibitions, and to some incredibly rich, simply breathtaking stories which may linger in a walnut-size piece of art,” Dr Arūnas Gelūnas, director general of the LNMA and the curator of this exhibition, urges to discover the stories of the smallest items of the collection.
Small, yet amazing in their finesse and storied past
The smallest items from the collections of the LNMA are installed in seven smart display cabinets which draw you closer to study even the tiniest of detail. There you can discover the origination of these works and historical context in which they emerged, the significance they were attached to when created, and their present resonance.
The display spans a jaw-dropping period – from the Stone-Age amber pieces crafted in amber, tens of millions of years old, to contemporary jewellery pieces of exquisite finesse. Visitors will be able to scrutinize coins from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the gorgeous amber artifacts, specimen of 15th-century jewellery and medals from the Renaissance period, the early European porcelain vases, stamps, which played an important part in Lithuanian history, – and many other miniature treasures from the collections of the LNMA.
These small-scale artifacts reflect the virtuosity of skill perfected throughout centuries and trace historical trade routes, the political trajectory of the state, and the changing cultural trends. Personal stories of those who created these works also come to life, inviting us to follow in the footprints of many – masters, their clients and owners of their work, of collectors and museum keepers – who brought these artefacts into the present day.
Interactive technology to facilitate a deeper familiarity with the artifacts
In order to preclude the smallness of the exhibits from becoming an obstacle to see more, the exhibition relies on contemporary technology to make visible even those aspects that would escape the human eye. 3-D scanned images facilitate a close exploration of the form and texture of the objects on display. Here, visitors can get to art on display as close as normally, in a museum setting, would not be possible.
The curators of the LNMA collections, Sigita Bagužaitė-Talačkienė, Gražina Gurnevičiūtė and Dainius Labeckis present their selected exhibits in short video narratives. They unpack the value and the context of the specific artworks, they found personally drawn to as moving and relevant.
The exhibition Small and Beautiful invites to adjust your pace to the reflection mode and to consider how attentively we tend to view the exhibits on the museum walls. This time, visitors are invited to linger, instead of rushing past, for the details and the stories, which will reward them with beautiful worlds hidden in the smallest pieces of the LNMA’s collections.
The experience of the exhibition will be expanded by themes tours and education events. The exhibition at the Palanga Amber Museum is on until 13 September.
Curator Dr Arūnas Gelūnas
Architects: Mindaugas Reklaitis, Ričardas Bertašius
Coordinators: Sigita Bagužaitė-Talačkienė, Regina Makauskienė
Graphic designer Vasarė Krugždaitė (BMK)
Media partners: LRT, JCDecaux
- Purchase an e-ticket for this exhibition
- Book a guided tour of this exhibition by phone +370 460 51 319, email gintaro.muziejus@lndm.lt
- Plan your visit to the Palanga Amber Museum
17 Vytauto st, LT-00101, Palanga, Lithuania
(+370 460) 30314
gintaro.muziejus@lndm.lt
