Folia archeologica 45.
Beszédes József: Dioscuros ábrázolású sarokkő Alsóhetényből
164 MIHÁL.Y NAG Y nia, 3 3 and trying to keep pace with the latest fashion and to fulfil the needs of his buyers, he not only copied still existing iconographie types, but applying elements of them, he created new ones with new mythological contents. We cannot agree with Radnóti, when he ascribes the appearance of pagan, barbarous representations on our caskets, only to the restlessness during the last quarter of the 4th century A.D. There could have been other reasons in Pannónia, like e.g. the sudden ideological change during the reign of emperor Julian, why central workshops could not produce enough prefabricated mounts. Among such circumstances, when central workshops must have been retooled, they were simply unable to supply the market with newly styled products. It is fairly possible, that a local cabinet maker, who could not use the mounts with Christian symbols at his diposal, had his own moulds made. It is evident, that the Lovas casket does not belong to the latest ones in Pannónia, which were manufactured yet as late as the middle of the fifth century A.D. 3 5 We can identify the forerunners of the Lovas casket, while we do not know anything about its possible offsprings; so consequently we have to define it as a représentant of a short-lived collateral line. New observations on the panels Without repeating the detailed description of Dorottya Gáspár, 3 6 I would like to draw the attention to some more details which could have been observed after a thorough cleaning of the panels. It became clear that the long objects hanging down on both sides of the standing figures, parallel to their bodies, consist partly of small 'pearls' (Figs. 4 and 5). 37 Behind the female figure on the left panel of the second stripe, a row of five letterlike characters is visible (Figs. 6 and 10). The female figure stretches her left arm toward Heracles and holds a globular object (most possibly an apple) in it. 3 8 In the lower right corner of this panel a wavy line with a small roundel in the middle is discernible. In the roundel we can see the upper part of the bodies of two human figures, grasping each other's hands. We see similar representations on the so-called ornamental nail-heads of two caskets from Pannónia: on a piece containing biblical scenes from Császár in North-East Pannónia 3 9 and on the casket from Dunapentele mentioned above (Fig. 3). 4 0 Two figures in a roundel appear on other monuments too, 4 1 but all these are different from the figures on the Lovas casket, since on the latter, they hold each others hands, while on the others not. Two naked young man in similar position, one leading the other, holding his hand, appear several times on the lead tablets of the Danubian Cavalry God, distributed mainly in Eastern Pannónia, during the 3rd century A.D. as well. 4 2 On the same panel of the Lovas casket, behind the woman, on the lower end of the reflex bow, a small globular protrusion is discernible. Identical bow is visible on the two sides of an engraved gem, where we clearly see, that their lower "To similar phenomena before 375 A.D. see: Nagy 1994, 294-295; and Nagy 1996. 3 5Radnóti 1957, 295; Gáspár 1986, 74, paragraph 97. 3 6Gáspár 1971, 14-15; 31-32; 33 and 34. 3 7 See note 28 above. 5 8 Römer 1876, 178; and Kuzsinszky 1920, 179 identified the person as Nike with a wreath. According to Supka 1914, 13 she is Nike with an armilla. 3 9Gáspár 1986, 145-146, cat. no. 349, Pl. XLIX: Császár, grave no. 1. 41 1 On the upper horizontal stripe, beneath the roundels with the head of Medusa. See note I 1 above. 4 1 Harden et al., 1987, 278: Adam and Eve. 4 2Tudor 1969, cat. nos. 123 Dunapentele; 124 Magvaregres; 127 and 128 Sirmium; 129 and 130 Dunaszekcső; 131 Batina; 132 Teutoburgium; 133 Bassiana; 164 Siscia; 165 Dörögdpuszta; 166 Tác; 186 (Hungary?); for the dating see: Tudor 1976, 97 (Class Bd).
