EN
The presented article presents the unique find of a plastically decorated bone handle from the high medieval Pustý hrad castle in Zvolen. Its first part was discovered in 1996 during excavations of V. Hanuliak in the interior of the tower in the eastern line of the Upper castle’s fortification. The second, smaller, part was found in excavation season 2019 in the moat of the same tower. The aim is to carry out a complex analysis of the artefact with relief decoration and its setting in a wider chronological context. The relief motif on the handle represents a figure of a knight in a helm kneeling before another standing figure (a lady?) with her arms around him, pressing his head against her chest. We interpret the image as a love scene on the basis of analogies. From the historical point of view, the helm depicted on the knight’s head is important; it can be dated to the beginning of the 14th century. The decorated handle is a luxurious item which is an expression of table manners of the castle nobility.