Cloisonné Objects as Insignias of a Multi-ethnic Military Class in 5th century Europe
| Authors | |
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| Year of publication | 2014 |
| Type | Article in Proceedings |
| Conference | Objects of memory, memory of objects. The artworks as a vehicle of the past in the Middle Ages |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Art, architecture, cultural heritage |
| Keywords | cloisonné; Tournai; Blučina-Cezavy; Apahida; military alliances |
| Description | Archeological finds from several European graves dated to the 2nd half of the 5th century reveal remarkable unity. This unity is shown by the finding of the same type of luxurious jewellery made in the cloisonné technique. Objects of this kind have been found in the territory of Roman Empire, in Gaul, in the Danubian region as well as in Pannonia. Although there are hundreds of kilometers between these regions, the most sophisticated finds from Apahida (Romania, fig. 1),1 Tournai (Belgium, fig. 2),2 Blučina-Cezavy (Czech Republic, fig. 3)3 and Pouan (France, fig. 4)4 form a unified category of arms and accessories for members of the aristocratic military class. The typological and stylistic parallels of particular finds from these famous graves form the basis for an argument that they were made at the same place and time.5 This paper is intended as an effort to consider the historical circumstances in which the jewellery could have been produced, as well as a consideration of its role in forming military alliances and political structures in the period just before the "decline" of the Western Roman Empire. |
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