The museum is located in an old fisherman’s house in 1993, and it welcomes visitors with wooden amulets from Juodkrantė’s Treasure. They are like museum guards. Visitors are acquainted with Juodkrantė’s Treasure and meaning of amulets in the museum, where they can see all the 434 original-sized amulets.
Here is presented the history of the Baltic amber: formation, morphology, colours, and inclusions. Amber of different sizes and shapes astonishes tourists. The biggest amber piece weighs 3,820 kilograms. Visitors may touch it and be filled with 50 million years amber energy and feel its warmth. There is also one amber nugget with a particularly strong energy. It is of an ox heart shape and diffuses exclusively intense energy from the sharp edge. The nugget was even used to heal the gallery owner. The museum shows an impressive collection of inclusions. Here you can find various insects and plants in amber. We also have an amber piece with a bird feather and a spider “Sosybius Mizgirisi”. The latter piece of amber received this name when the researcher J. Wunderlich, who works at the Hamburg University of Geology-Paleontology Museum, found in the gallery collection an undiscovered Baltic amber spider species, of male sex. Thus he called the spider in the name of the owner, so making him “immortal”. Juodkrantė’s Treasure is exhibited in the center of the museum. Here is also exhibited a collection of amber, fossil resin and copal from the worldwide locations. You can also see the unique phenomenon – how works the machine producing amber energy. “Please stand arm in arm – you can immediately feel the energy of amber” – this phrase is often heard in the museum. Everybody startles. It seems incredible, but everybody feels the power of amber. Visitors can taste a special drink – “Amber drink” and learn how to make the drink at home themselves.
In addition to the antique amber – the most prominent-Lithuanian artists exposition is displayed. You can buy jewelry and art works of amber. All items have certificates, guaranteeing that the product is made of natural Baltic amber.
Museum visitors can also visit exposition in the garden and walk through the Amber Road. The Amber Road starts from the Baltic Sea and extends over the whole Europe to the Etruscan lands in Italy. Here you can find an old workshop and learn to work with amber (who wants can try to become an amber “master” and make themselves a fortune amulet). Visitors can see a collection of inclusions, amulets from Juodkrantė Treasure, and then open a “50 million year-old pine bole” to understand how amber was formed inside. They can see how resin was piling up in the tree; dripping from damaged spots or dribbling down the tree bark. A boat previously used to fish amber and some ancient tools are part of the exhibition. The beginning of the Amber Road is marked with an obelisk placed in Curonian Lagoon.
In summer time artists come to the Artists‘ House, which is near the Amber Gallery-Museum. These are the moments to observe creative processes and visit the exhibitions.
EDUCATIVE WORK
In the Royal workshop near the Amber Gallery-Museum amber processing is organized. Any groups and individual people can participate in the lessons. They can be in Lithuanian, English, German and Russian languages. During the lessons ancient and modern amber processing tools are introduced, secrets of amber fishing are revealed, a brief history of Baltic amber is presented as well. During the lessons visitors learn how to process amber and get to know more about ancient amber processing tools: a flint drill and a wooden machine. It is demonstrated how these tools were used by our ancestors. Visitors can also see modern amber processing tools: grinding and polishing machines. They can try to process amber themselves: choose a piece of raw amber and make it into an amulet that will protect from bad luck, or into a beautiful talisman, which carried in the pocket gives strength.
For further information about time and duration of the lessons and a number of participants please call +37061004280 or email info@ambergallery.lt