Folia archeologica 54.

Kocsis László - Mráv Zsolt: Egy késő római sisak arcvédő lemezének töredéke Dunafalváról (Bács-Kiskun megye)

TARSOLYL EMEZ PERM KÖRNYÉKÉRŐL 253 is not indicated, it seems likely that the figure is a man (judging from the robust and rigid contours). The left arm is bent at the elbow, with the left hand extending to the deer's mouth, while the right hand grasping a semicircular artefact is held high. The plates adorned with depictions of falconers suggest that he is holding a horn in his right. The bird of prey perched 011 the deer's back is generally interpreted as the mythical bird (Kars) of Ugric legends.3 Hovering behind the man is another figure with hands raised in the benediction gesture, perhaps the representation of a female deity. A running pine marten with a dog on its back can be seen by the right edge of the plate; there is an enigmatic depiction behind them. The plate is edged with a band filled with a zig-zag pattern. The background is lavishly gilt, highlighting the white silvery hue of the design and the border. We shall not be concerned here with the possible interpretation of the scene. It seems likely that it depicts a mythological narrative and that the main figure portrays Mir Susne Xum, the World Surveyor Man of Ugric mythology. More important is the fact that the Perm pouch plate was crafted by a local goldsmith as shown by the animal figures, some of which roamed the taiga region, and by the technical execution of the figures which differs markedly from the decorative technique of the Hungarian pieces. Natalia V. Fedorova has called attention to the fact that the silverwork from the Urals and western Siberia was decorated with engraving (using knives and chisels). Comparable engraved designs occur as secondary depictions on metal vessels, as well as 011 bronze and silver plates and mirrors. Engraving is often encountered on the large "falconer" bowls and plates portraying mounted falconers, with the falcon perching 011 the rider's arm, the Sun and M0011 above them and a medley of the most diverse animals below. Fedorova distinguished an early Volga Bulgarian and a Hungarian-Uralic class of metalwork among the metal vessels from the western Urals and western Siberia, which were definitely related in terms of vessel forms and technical execution.

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4 The joint occurrence of engraved and punched designs as seen on the Perm pouch plate is a typical trait of the vessels assigned to the early Bulgarian group. The link with engraved patterns and western Siberian metalwork in the broader sense is provided by relics such as the vessels portraying two riders found by the River Synya.

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3 Arkady V. Baulo, who published the finds, noted that the design had been created in two successive steps: the main outlines were engraved first using a sharp tool, while the finer details were subsequently added with a chisel.

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1' The design of the Perm pouch plate was created using a similar procedure as shown by the two techniques used in creating the lines of the depictions. One shared trait of this metalwork is the lavish gilding of the background, which can be observed on the pieces found by the River Synya. Another similarity between the Perm pouch plate and the metal finds from the River Synya is the clumsy rendering of the human figures, recalling the secondarily engraved figures on eastern silver vessels and the falconer figures drawn by the less skilled craftsmen of the Kama region, who tried to copy the elegant designs of the Volga Bulgarian goldsmiths. In our view, however, this clumsiness should not 2:

1 KRILOSZOVA 2006, 64-73. 2

J FJODOROVA 2003, 142-143. 2

:' FIODOROVA 2003, 146-147. 2

6 BAULO 2001, 123.