Istvánovits Eszter (szerk.): A nyíregyházi Jósa András Múzeum Évkönyve 55. (Nyíregyháza, 2013)
Régészet - Bollók Ádám: A tiszabezdédi tarsolylemez ikonográfiájáról
Bollók Ádám „...salva me ex ore leonis et a cornibus unicornium humilitatem meam... ” (Psalm 21.22) On the iconography of the Tiszabezdéd purse mount The present study analyses the iconography of a purse mount recovered from Grave 8 of the famous Tiszabezdéd-Harangláb dűlő (HU) cemetery. Although the Tiszabezdéd plate is one of the most often-quoted and well-known products of Ancient Hungarian metalwork, no in-depth analysis investigating its iconographical peculiarities has been conducted up to now. The Tiszabezdéd purse mount is an entirely unique artefact among Ancient Hungarian goldsmiths’ products: the use of almost unalloyed copper as raw material, the mercury gilding of the whole surface (instead of the ornaments’ background) as well as the complex iconography appearing on it are all completely unparalleled phenomena among 1 Oth-century purse mounts. Nor other classes of lO^-century metalwork show considerable affinities with our plate; and especially its iconography seems to be completely original. The present article, therefore, besides reviewing and studying these unique traits, concentrates on the detailed examination of the plate’s iconography and iconology. Since no exact parallel of the entire composition is currently known, the author examines individually the single elements of the composition, i.e., the cross placed in the middle field of the plate and intertwined with palmette ornaments, as well as the winged unicorn appearing on the right and the so-called sénmurv figure (characterised by a canine protome, a peacock tail and a pair of wings) emerging on the left side of the cross. After a thorough analysis of the currently known unicorn and sénmurv depictions occurring on Iranian, Byzantine, early Islamic and Western European artworks, the author suggests a new identification for the plate’s iconography. According to this new interpretation the Tiszabezdéd plate bears a special Crucifixion imagery, which, although it harks back to Late Antique prototypes, became especially widespread in the Carolingian realm. It visualises Jesus Christ’s Crucifixion with the traditional image of the Cross, however, complemented with the figures of a unicorn and a lion. This peculiar imagery associates the Cross with Psalm 21,22, i.e., a Biblical passage that was interrelated with Jesus’ death on the Cross from the very beginning of the formation of Christian tradition. The so-called sénmurv appearing in place of a lion does not necessarily contradict the proposed interpretation, since the former composite animal was likewise a widespread phenomenon in Byzantine and Western European Christian art, while the formal traits of the one depicted on the Tiszabezdéd plate, that is, the animal’s wide open muzzle and dynamic run towards the cross corresponds well with the intended meaning. The accumulation of other attributes, most of which are of technical nature, along with this Crucifixion imagery popular in the Carolingian world seems to point to a goldsmith trained in the Carolingian tradition (perhaps somewhere on the Eastern peripheries of the Carolingian Empire). Be as it may, the Tiszabezdéd plate appears to be manufactured in the Carpathian Basin and its goldsmith was well aware with and influenced by the tradition of Ancient Hungarian metalwork. Ádám Bollók Hungarian Academy of Sciences Research Center for the Humanities Institute of Archaeology H-1014 Budapest Úri u. 49. e-mail: bollokadam@yahoo.de 202
