Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 1. (2019)
Marius-Mihai Ciută: Two Sculptural Pieces Recently Returned to the National Cultural Heritage
Two Sculptural Pieces Recently Returned to the National Cultural Heritage 75 left bank of Tárnává River, but where such funeral monuments have not been discovered. Judging by the accentuated mobility of such decorative artefacts, if we accept the dating of the funeral lion as being Roman, the closest potential place of discovery could be on the Mures valley at Aiud (Brucla) or Оспа Mures (Salinae); or maybe in the Tárnává valley at Blaj,12 Micäsasa13 etc. However, if the piece really comes from Bucerdea Gränoasä, than it is not excluded that it was a Romanesque (medieval) monument.14 Such rudimentary Romanesque sculptures of small sized lions are numerous in Transylvania. Within other areas there are also known funeral lions of such sizes, yet in Transylvania the preserved Romanic lions are few. The Middle Age representation of replicas of Roman funeral lions is widespread. According to its functionality, the lion was certainly attached to a wall. If we accept its medieval origin it can be presumed that the lion had a pair, attached or affronted, since in that period both variants are met. There are frequent the situations when the lions inspired by the antic heraldic model were reproduced by medieval craftsmen for the decoration of funeral or even religious or laic monuments. The church from Bucerdea Gränoasä was built in the 14th century. A local legend tells about a church built here at the order of the King Holy Stephen I. Such construction is neither attested nor archeologically documented, but it is possible that the reformed church in Bucerdea Gränoasä to originate in earlier times (12—13th century),15 situation wherein the presence of a sculptural piece representing a Romanic lion copying the Roman funeral monuments could be explained. If the piece in question is Romanesque, than undoubtedly it was not a funeral lion, rather it was an ornament of a religious building, lion being a common known evangelic symbol (associated to the Mark the Evangelist or Prophet Daniel). Therefore, one should take into consideration that the fragment was not a funeral monument. For the aforementioned reasons and under the reserve that the piece truly originates from the village indicated by the collector, we consider that in this case the lion is a Romanesque sculpture - of potential religious significance - and not the fragment of a Roman funeral monument. 2. The fragmented lion head made of calciferous grey coloured slate (Fig. 4) was 16 cm wide, 16 cm long and 15 cm thick. The heavily fragmented piece represents the head a funeral lion, wherefrom only the face was preserved. It is missing the inferior part of the mouth and chin, as well as top of the head elements. Also, the front side of the nose was broken in antiquity. The essential iconographic elements are visible for this type of pieces, namely the eyes, treated in a levelled and symmetrical manner, as well as the mane on the head. The whiskers of the animal are represented by means of three deep incision pairs under the shape of arches. There are sufficient stylistic elements characteristic to the Roman provincial art, to tie the piece to a workshop from the Roman Dacia.16 According to its owner, the piece was found in a pile of land in the area of the CFR railway station in Alba Iulia, on the present location of the store Penny, more than 15 years ago, during necropolis with more than 240 cremation graves and 6 inhumation graves was found 400 meters westward (RepAlba 1995, 132-134. with further bibliography). 12 RepAlba 1995, 58-60. The existence here of a Roman settlement, presumed by A. Cserny and Király, is not verified but nor is it excluded. In the place known as Cästäu a Roman settlement has been identified by prof. I. Man. 13 Luca et al. 2003, 138-139. 14 For information regarding the medieval monuments we would like to thank Zeno Karl Pinter and Marian Tiplic. 15 LMI 2015 AB-II-m-B-00194. The first documented certification of the church is from 1303, under the name of Bocsard (http://www.nre.ro/regiok-gyulekezetek/kukullomente/buzasbocsard-alsokaracsonyfalva ). One should notice the similarities in the planimetry and the Romanic architectural elements of the Reformed Church in Bucerdea Gränoasä with the Calvinist Reformed Church in Cetatea de Baltä (especially in the case of the bell tower and the choir), the latter being documented as early as 1177. 16 Radu Ciobanu, Expert report within the criminal file 370/P/2018, Alba Iulia, 1 March 2018. According to the report: The item represents a Roman funeral art piece, more precisely a fragmented lion head, certainly belonging to the national cultural heritage, Fund category and to whom we can set a value, with inventory title of around 100 RON.
