Szabó Miklós, Petres F. Éva: Decorated weapons on the La Tene Iron Age in the Carpathian Basin. (Inventaria Praehistorica Hungariae 5; Budapest, 1992)

IV. THE PLASTIC STYLE IN WEAPON DECORATION

IV. THE PLASTIC STYLE IN WEAPON DECORATION According to P. Jacobsthal a new ornamental concept, the Plastic Style characterised by "a very original calculated plasticity" emerged simultaneously with the "arabesques" of the Hungarian Sword Style.

393 Tracing the history of this style is encumbered by the diversity of its sources, one being series produced items reflecting the "démocratisation" of jewellery,

394 the other — a considerably smaller group — being composed of unique or rare objects reflecting the taste and luxury standards of a well-circumscribed group, the élite leading the invasions. These individual masterpieces tend to elude scholarly categorisation exactly because of their atypical nature which causes difficulties in locating the workshops in which they were manufactured. Fig. SS Apahida (Romania)

, fragment of an iron helmet (after Rusu [1969] fig. 10.S and Zirra [1976] fig. 11.1) We shall not survey systematically all of the weapons belonging to this category and shall merely refer to such oft-discussed items as the fragmentary helmet from Apahida (Fig. 33),

395 the helmet and the iron chain-mail shirt with bronze rosettes from Ciume§ti/Csomaköz (Fig. 34)

396 and the bronze boar which perhaps topped a helmet or military standard from Báta.

397 The spirit of the Plastic Style was most suited to one particular category of decorated weapons, the small group of anthropoid and pseudo-anthropoid daggers and swords.

398 The peculiar form of the hilt practically called an anthropomorphic solution as shown by the Dinnyés specimen (Cat.no. 10; PI. 12). A postWaldalgesheim design adorns some of the pseudo-anthropomorpoid swords (Szendrő, Cat.no. 59; PL 60), and patterns comparable to the first phase of the Bohemian Plastic Style are also known: the S-spiral on the central boss of the Győrszemere sword-hilt (Cat.no. 14; PL 15).

399 It must also be borne in mind that together with the short sword from KölesdLencsepuszta (Cat.no. 38; PL 42), the decorated element, the hilt of the swords listed in the above were of bronze, and the single anthropoid weapon made entirely from iron comes from Andráshida (Cat.no. 73; PL 76) whose gold inlaid blade is a curious feature.

400 In other words, this group betrays influences from both the Plastic and Sword Style. At the same time, the influence of the Plastic Style can be demonstrated on finds that have been discussed in relation to the Hungarian Sword Style. One example is a scabbard from Kosd (Cat.no. 37; PL 40) 401 and another revealing document comes from Szob (Cat.no.