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The production of art metal in the early medieval Bulgaria became known after the discovery of three metal-plating centers in the vicinity of the capital of the First Bulgarian Kingdom — Preslav, from the beginning and middle of the 10th century. Along with technology and jewelry, the origin of raw materials and the chemical composition of the metal, necessary to fully comprehend the extremely numerous material found so far, there are some issues related to the shape, proportions, elements of the ornament and the method of manufacturing individual decorative details. Combination of all these components leads to one exceptionally rich palette of various belt jewelry, at the same time reflecting the fashion trends of the era, the individual approach of the craftsman and traditions in the art of artistic metal.The original combinations of shapes and ornaments found on the belt adornments of metal-plastic manufacturing centers are nowhere to be found in such a variety during this period, neither in the country nor abroad. In the various settlements and fortresses of medieval Bulgaria in the early period, only a few representatives of certain types are known, and not in such great diversity. A similar picture exists outside the country: numerous finds from various places in Hungary, Serbia, Russia and Southeastern Europe cannot be compare with the richness of shapes and ornaments originating from the one place near Preslav. This is somewhat explainable by the place of production, but it seems to be not the only reason. There are many industries outside the country, which do not show this diversity of products.
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The development of a complex of ornaments for women’s costume in Rus’ in the 11th — 13th centuries was taking place under the significant influence of samples from the Oriental and Byzantine world. Many types of ornaments, the way of wearing them, motifs, as well as the techniques of their manufacturing (cloisonné enamel, filigree, granulation, niello) were borrowed from there. Temple pendants (kolty) with enamel and niello, suspension chains (ryasny), three-bead temple rings, princes’ diadems, neckpieces-humerals, hinged bracelets (consisting of two semicircular sections), twisted and plaited bracelets with terminals decorated with filigree and granulation refer to the remaking of the Byzantine samples in the Old Russian ceremonial attire. Archaeological finds from the excavations of medieval towns оf Belarus related to the Byzantine and Eastern traditions are not as numerous and diverse as finds from the South Rus’, Vladimir-Suzdal and Novgorod lands, but they demonstrate the same process of adaptation and elaboration of the Byzantine and Eastern artistic and cultural traditions. This process can be traced both in the items of ceremonial attire, and in the ordinary ornaments of urban women.
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The article analyzes several pictorial sources — monuments of medieval Serbia fresco painting, allowing to get some idea of the rulers and nobility costume of the 11th—14th centuries. These are mainly reproductions of clerical compositions from the churches and monasteries paintings, identified in historical and art literature, which are analyzed in detail. The author comes to the conclusion that rich costumes and jewelry, changed several times over a certain period, are reliably captured in explicit monuments. Having taken over a century Slavic, Byzantine, Eastern and European influences, the costumes of the Serbian aristocracy were distinguished by originality and deliberate representativeness.
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In Byzantium, brooches lost the meaning of insignia because of other regalia in development and of a rational design of clothing. But in Western Europe, the status role of large fibula remained during the developed Middle Ages. This is evidenced by all kinds of sources: written, graphic, material. Large, expensive, luxuriously ornamented brooches had the value of insignia.In preserving of the role of central brooches as status ones, one can see the striking feature of the ceremonial dress of the rulers and the higher social stratum of Western Europe. But here the brooches shared the fate of this jewelry category: they transit from the function of fastening to the decorative role and transmit their decorative form to large buttons.
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This paper examines five jewelry pieces provided with shafts from the Vlădiceasca hoard, Călăraşi County, Romania. Due to the rarity of iconographical and written sources, as well as the scarcity of this type of jewelry in archeological discoveries, the interpretation of the function of these items is quite difficult to make. In the first part of the article a short description of the hair pins preserved in the Vlădiceasca hoard and the presentation of the most important similar items found in archaeological context in Wallachia and Moldavia are made, in order to gather some function and style characteristics for these pieces. The second part of the paper is dedicated to the catalogue of the five pieces, which are classified according to their stylistic features, while also being compared with similar findings coming especially from the hoards discovered in the Moldavian space. Special attention is paid to the form in which they are published, some of the large pin jewelries being interpreted as brooches or as veil pins.
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The paper identifies four stages of study of the women’s set of adornments and attire items existed in the Middle Dnieper and the Dnieper Left Bank region at the beginning of the Early Middle Ages. This set was reflected in hoards of the so-called antiquities of the Antae. At the first stage (end of the 19th century — 1920s), the accumulation and initial interpretation of the material took place. At the second stage (1930—1950s), “antiquities of the Antae” were considered mainly in the context of global ethnic and cultural and historical reconstructions. At the third stage (1960—1980s), Early Slavic sites were discovered in the Dnieper region. Women’s adornments and costume accessories were attracted to characterize the material culture of the early Slavic population. The modern fourth stage began in 1990s. Its distinctive feature is the formation of the concept on women's attire as an original historical source. Analysis of this source allows us to take a fresh look at some key points in the history of the Dnieper region at the end of the Migration Period.
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In the funds of the Samara Museum for History and Regional Studies named after P. V. Alabin there is a small collection of jewelry made of precious metals by the Volga Bulgarians of the 12th — early 13th century. The article describes items from this collection that originate from the sites of Volga Bulgaria in the Samara region. The range of jewelry products in Volga Bulgaria includes a variety of personal jewelry. A special place is occupied by items from the Zhiguli hoard, discovered on the Samara Luka and representing an outstanding example of Bulgarian jewelry art of the pre-Mongol period. These artifacts are evidence not only of the high level of development of the Volga Bulgarians’ metalworking craft, but also indicators of the level of artistic representations of society as a whole within the cultural traditions of the Muslim East.
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One of the most precious Byzantine objects in the collection of the Princes Czartoryski Museum in Krakow is the double-sided pendant in the form of a carved wooden medallion (9.8 × 7.2 × 1.5 cm) with a refined openwork filigree silver-gilt mount studded with pearls and garnets (inv. no. MNK XIII-475). There is a depiction of the Virgin and Child on the front and of three saints with a temple model on the back. Its features suggest that it was made in the second half of the 18th century, probably in one of the monastic centers on Mount Athos, perhaps at Simonopetra or — even more plausibly — at Hilandar; and all the more so if the figures depicted in the medallion actually are St. Sava, the first Serbian Archbishop, and St. Simeon, his father and the first Serbian king.
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Fragments of plates of silver frames of liturgical objects with minted floral ornaments were found in the collection of archaeological materials stored in the State Hermitage Museum and among those originating from the excavations of the Large fortified settlement near Shepetоvka (second half of the 12th — first half of the 13th centuries). They differed stylistically and used to decorate once different objects. It was possible to reconstruct a large procession cross with a lush floral ornament and distinguish two crowns from the decoration of an icon, executed less luxuriantly, possibly by another master. The design and stylistic features of the cross find parallels among the Byzantine procession crosses of the 11th—12th centuries, covered with silver frames. At the same time, the reconstructed cross has significant differences, which allows it to be attributed to the first similar works of the ancient Russian masters of the 12th century (?) who followed Byzantine tradition.
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The iconography of a number of small Old Russian icons from the first third of the thirteenth century, made of stone, clay or copper alloy, confirms the tradition, known from written sources, of votive ornaments in the form of gold and silver collars, both wound and sickle-shaped, on particularly venerated icons. The paper examines the sources of this tradition and the influence upon it of international contacts: similar ornaments on sacred images may be traced in Western Europe and among the Cumans. The miniature icons that have been discovered, which reproduce the form of the most venerated icons, supplement our idea of the religious art of Old Rus’, the canon of which was received from Byzantium, but was realised in an original manner, reflecting local realities and artistic tastes.
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Jewelry bearing images of saints, publicized in academic circles but without any greater study, are presented here in detail for the first time. Additional information has been introduced where such detail has been lacking on those found in foreign collections. The images, their forms and design compositions, characterizing the work of the Kiev’s princely workshops of the 11th—12th centuries, are analyzed. Attention is focused on separate stylistic features of manufacturing, previously unresearched.The study allowed us to conclude: that there were cases of stencils being re-used; that manufacturing to order of a pair of kolty by two masters took place — the main specialist, who was highly proficient in his drawing and cloisonné technique and his assistant, who was still gaining skills in producing such jewelry. This would explain the reason for stylistic differences in the details of face designs, garment decor and enamel tones.A new interpretation of Vladimir’s kolts of the 12th century is proposed, revising the prevailing school of thought in literature about their provincialism and imperfection.
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The rescue archaeological excavations, held on the territory of the former thermal electric power plant in Pskov prior to its renovation, revealed a medieval “metallurgy quarters” which existed on this territory in the 13th—16th centuries beyond the fortification walls. The manufacturing center occurred on the site of the burial grounds of the 10th — first half of the 11th cc. thus having destroyed many burial mounds. It is indicative that the raw materials used by the local metallurgists contained a significant amount of fragmented and deformed jewelry, some of which may have highly likely come from the destroyed burials. To date, no clusters of industrial complexes that occupied such an area in the absence of residential development have been found on the territory of Medieval Pskov. The discovery of such a production quarter in Pskov allows us to revise both the history of urban development and the organization of production processes in one of the largest urban centers of North-Western Russia.
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The study explores the evolution of jewellery consumption in Wallachia and Moldova, during the 17th—18th centuries, from the perspective of the luxury consumption at the level of the elite. The documents that were analysed highlight a transition from oriental luxury, introduced through Phanariot rulers to Western luxury, directly inspired by contact with travellers or foreign officers and ambassadors passing through the Principalities, but also indirectly through fashion magazines. On the other hand, we can see that jewellery is closely related to fashion and follows the trends and consumer options in connection to it. They mark the social or political position, but also the cultural values adopted by the elite, which are expressed through in fashion choices. There are jewels that are neutral in terms of western or oriental influence, just as belt clasp (paftale) are directly related to the oriental costume. After the middle of the eighteenth century, we notice a mutation in the dowry sheets regarding the relationship between jewellery and clothing, in favour of the latter; the typology of jewellery is limited, but we find valuable jewellery, adorned with diamonds or diamonds and, also, the number of some of the pieces increases (rings, for example).
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This research examines one unusual perspective towards the preservation of the cultural heritage through the Bulgarian educational system. It traces the possible mechanisms for inheritance and identification, that relate to the opportunity given to the children to get to know their roots (through fieldwork expeditions), to preserve the knowledge of their own ethnic community (and to become its heralds) and to pass it on to their coevals. The article examines the fact whether it is possible to give an opportunity to familiarise the children with their ethnicity, to preserve their knowledge of it and become heralds of the folklore knowledge, through projects in the realm of education. This research presents one practical attempt in the village of Asparuhovo, to find the answer of the above question. It reviews how the folklore is present in the "Asparuhovo - Future of the Folklore World" school project, what environment it creates, what it means for the participants and how important is it in the educational process. It defends the proposition, that after taking part in it the students change their understanding of the ethnic knowledge and have a basis for a different type of identification.
More...A Comparison with the Middle Byzantine Period
Data of late Byzantine hagiographical texts on equids are analyzed and compared with those of the middle period, revealing a complexity of relationships. For example, in hagiographies of both periods, saints often refuse to ride on horseback. Information about horses as a means of transport is rarer in the late hagiographies, but there are more testimonies of horses being used during wars. References to hippodromes or to people descending from horses to pray are rarer in the late period as well. In both periods, the horse appears as a punisher or as an instrument of divine punishment. Descriptions of persecution (and martyrdom) refer to equids, for example when saints were tortured by being drawn by equids. Τhe references to equids used for water transport are of particular interest. Finally, there is resemblance in the use of similes, metaphors, and proverbs involving horses in both periods. In conclusion, the importance of equids remains as great in the late hagiographies as in those composed in the middle period.
More...A Premodern Arabic Pedigree for the Horse?
This chapter explores the content of the premodern Arabic document Kitāb al-Khayl and the modes of transmission which resulted in it being frequently referenced in popular narratives of the history of the Arab horse. Contextualising the work shows that it is part of early Islamic reimagining of the past in order to create a history for emerging Arab identity during the early Islamic period. Contrary to the modern idea that this work represents the first Arab horse stud-book, the “Book of Horses” by Hisham ibn al-Kalbi (d.ca. 819 CE) cannot be viewed as evi-dence of an ancient breeding tradition among the Arabs.
More...Some Differences and Similarities between the Germanic and Nomadic Rituals
In Lombard cemeteries there are numerous burial pits containing horses, confirming that this animal was the sacrificial victim par excellence among Germanic and Nomadic cultures in the Early Middle Ages. The majority of horse burials found in Italy shows similar deposition methods to some discovered in the cemeteries of Central and Eastern Europe, which belong to both Lombards and other Germanic peoples. This permits tracing of the main characteristics of the Germanic funerary custom, and its differentiation from another ritual recognised in the Italian cemetery of Campochiaro (Southern Italy, Molise), where horses were buried in a manner similar to that observed among the Avars, a nomadic population who settled in the Carpathian Basin in the last decades of the 6th century AD. This paper describes the main archaeological discoveries in Italy, with the aim of clarifying the distinctions between the two cultural heritages identified there, and providing some explanations thereof.
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Recent studies have demonstrated that from Late Antiquity up through the early modern era, some artists portrayed Jesus’s mother Mary as a priest, including depicting her with insignia such as the Eucharistic handkerchief and the episcopal pallium. In fact, surviving art indicates that Mary was portrayed with liturgical insignia as early, or earlier, than any male leader. Contextualizing why artists portrayed Mary in this fashion, even earlier some gospel writers had paralleled Mary and Abraham as the cultic founders of their religion, and other authors represented Mary as the high priest or bishop of bishops. Censorship, both ancient and modern, appears to explain why Mary is rarely remembered this way today.
More...Authoritative Traditions, Ritual Practices, and Material Objects
This chapter examines the manifold ways late antique Christian practitioners (ca. third-seventh centuries) negotiated the boundaries between Christian prayers and traditional amuletic practices. I supplement recent research, which has usefully demonstrated the overlapping characteristics of prayers and incantations, by focusing on the semantic range and principal traits of the term euchê (and its cognates) when it is present on Greek and Coptic amulets and ritual handbooks. The analysis is further augmented by a discussion of how some practitioners diminished or highlighted the material properties of prayers in their apotropaic and curative rituals.
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