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Wczesnośredniowieczna biżuteria zachodniosłowiańska

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Kóćka-Krenz H.

Studia Lednickie

2014

vol. 13

27-38

Ornaments worn in the Middle Ages by inhabitants of the West Slavonic territory were basically not utilitarian in their nature. They Brst of all served to satisfy aesthetic needs. Usually, they were made from non-ferrous metals, mostly from silver, but also from bronze, bronze plated with silver, or even from tin and lead. Sporadically, such ornaments were made from gold, sometimes with additions of decorative stones or organic raw materials. Finds from Ostrów Tumski and Ostrów Lednicki point out that within the main strongholds there were workshops manufacturing artefacts of artistic craftsmanship upon the order of the rulers. Ornaments which survived in archaeological materials allow for saying that their manufacturers made use of various methods, from very simple ones, consisting in cutting shapes from metal sheets, to those requiring special skills, such as Bligree and granulation techniques. Manufacturers developed some of these techniques on the basis of their own manufacturing traditions, while others were developed as a result of the adaptation of the skills of West European craftsmen in the 10GH and 11GH c. This was expressed in a wide use of high quality ornamental techniques, which were perhaps learned from the centers of European artistic craftsmanship of those days. The forms of ornaments and the way of their deposition in burials, demonstrate that particular stress was put on the decoration of the women’s heads and necks, with less attention to the hands. On the other hand, men only sporadically wore rings and necklaces or chains, which underlined their social status. A particular variety of forms can be seen in the ornaments of women’s temples. Such ornaments were attached to headgear—maidens’ headbands or veils in the case of married women. Some ornaments are typical for the entire West Slavonic territory and they are remarkable for their long time of use, with special reference to temple rings. Others were manufactured for a relatively short period of time and their use was limited to certain areas. Jewellery worn in the territory of Central-Eastern Europe fulfilled numerous aesthetic, social and symbolic functions. It completed the dress of that time; it not only decorated clothing but also requested its local nature. Furthermore, it underlined the pertinence to a given social group and one’s position in it. It also demonstrated one’s age and personal attitudes concerning the sphere of beliefs. As to its artistic level, this jewellery was only slightly inferior to the ornaments manufactured in the main cultural centres of Early Medieval Europe. This especially concerns jewellery made and worn in the 10GH and 11GH c.

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1 Studia Lednickie

1 Kóćka-Krenz H.

1 2014

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Wczesnośredniowieczna biżuteria zachodniosłowiańska