Weiner Mihályné szerk.: Az Iparművészeti Múzeum Évkönyvei 6. (Budapest, 1963)

HOPP FERENC MÚZEUM - MUSÉE FERENC HOPP - Ferenczy, László: Daghestan Bronze Cauldrons

cross-section, which had originally been cast together with the lower half of the body. A thin line on the inside, somewhat above the middle of the cauldron is proof of its having being formed from two halves. The upper part was riveted to the lower one and cast in one piece with the supports. A round, knob-like projection at the bottom marks the pouring gate. A broad, horizontal brim with four protruding parts in cross-shape is attached to the edge of the upper part. There is an ornament of tendrils and flowers on the brim, entirely filling the projecting parts. On the side of the cauldron, about the middle, there are four very roughly worked embossed animal shapes (leopards?), whose bodies form handles. Each of them holds a large, round, lamelliform ring, with a deepened decoration on the outside. The height of the cauldron is 42 cm, the outer diameter of the brim is 46 cm. Its surface is smooth, lacking any ornament. A similar cauldron was published by J. Strzygowski from a private collection in Paris ; the decoration of its brim is a complete analogy to that on the specimen of the Museum of Eastern Asiatic Art.

3 Judged from the published data, such half-closed cauldrons, the manufacture of which had been discontinued earlier, were probably used at festive occasions for common meals. The base of the fourth type of cauldron is a spherical segment, smaller than a hemisphere. This vessel also stands on three low supports; it is linked to the preceding type by the similarly cross-shaped protrusions. In many cases we find a small groove, serving as pouring gate on one of these projections. Elder people recall that such cauldrons were used for the preparation of alcoholic drinks.

4 In the 20th century cauldrons were manufactured without ornaments, with plain sides and brims; in earlier times, however, cast and engraved decorations were in fashion. In the Ethnographical Museum in Budapest there are four Daghestan bronze cauldrons from the 19th century acquired with the collection of Jenő Zichy.

5 Two of them have cast relief decorations. One of these has three radially diverging flower-stalks on the lower part of the cauldron, starting from the end of the supports (Fig. 2). Eight border ornaments protrude from the thin brim ; two of them hold the cast handles with stylized vegetal patterns, the remaining six are decorated with open-worked vegetal motives. On the brim of the other cauldron we see four parts projecting in a cross shape, two of which are ornamented with pierced work, the other two serve as the bases for the handles. The lower part of the cauldron also has a vegetal ornament of embossed lines, its pattern, however, is much simpler than that of the former specimen (Fig. 3).

6 The problems connected with the dating of these cauldrons are not sufficiently cleared yet; the mentioned pieces in the Hungarian museums are of the 19th century, possibly from the second half of the 18th. The open cauldrons were cast in gross ; with the half-closed ones only the lower part was produced in this manner, the upper part was riveted together from several bronze plates. Earlier the junctures used to be covered with embossed strips showing patterns of floral textures. Old-type cauldrons were found in villages far from Kubachi. The distribution of the sites shows that in ancient times these cauldrons were known throughout Southern Daghestan. This area is roughly equal to the country called Albania in the ancient sources, so these cauldrons were called also