This motif is based on the ornament of a sabretache plate, which were found in the former Hungarian town, Galgoc.
The pattern displayed the tree of life, wich is one of the most ancient sacred symbol of the Hungarian folk art. Also known as the world tree, because it symbolizes the organizing principle of the universe. The leaves of the tree are the celestial spheres, the tree trunk is the terrestrial sphere that is the visible world and the tree roots are the underworld or the world of the ghosts. We combined this with the 7th century motifs of the Avars.
The sabretache plate:
Provenance:
Galgócz, former Nyitra county of Hungary, now Slovakia, on the estate of Count Ferenc Erdõdy not far from the river Vág
Discovery of the finding:
In the summer of 1868, during the digging of a trench, the burial of a man and his horse was found. Ferenc Kubinyi jr. showed the surviving finds to Flóris Rómer, who otherwise had an idea of the true function of this plate. ‘a silver shield-shaped plate, similar to the cover of the Hussars’ sabretache, riveted on to leather with rivets and small hooks.’ Rómer - influenced by Tivadar Lehocky, presuming that the plates, found in 10th century Magyar graves were headgear finials – later modified his original opinion. Count Erdõdy donated the finds to the Hungarian National Museum.
Material:
Gilded silver plate.
Size:
130x112 mm.
Preparation method:
After the main contours of the pattern were traced with a sharp tool, the plate was placed on a bed of pitch and the background of the design was sunk into the metal with the use of a hammer. A silver ribbon border was riveted around its edges with twenty-three silver rivets, which also held the plate to a backplate of base silver and the leather tarsoly lid. The edge of the palmette leaves was chased with a graver, while the veins of the leaves and tendrils were made with a punch. The lines symbolising the veins end in a dot. The background once hammered back was lavishly gilded. The brilliant workmanship reflects the work of a highly skilled craftsman.
Photo: József Hapák, data: Ancient Hungarians, Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum 1996
József Huszka: History of the Magyar Turanian Ornamentation |
Artwork:
The ornamentation of the Galgócz tarsoly plate is made up of palmettes divided by an infinite scrollwork pattern. The scrolls are composed of four upward spiralling tendrils: the rhomboidal space in the centre of the looped tendrils is filled with a cinquefoil palmette unfurling from a short stem. The entire pattern is finished off by a similar palmette, and a pair of matching palmettes with shorter leaves, fill the two upper corners. The open spaces at the bottom and the top are filled with eight semi-palmettes. This pattern is similar to the one of the tarsoly plate of Szolyva.
Usage:
Only slight traces of wear can be noted. The gilding of the ribbon border has worn off during usage.
Inventory number:
Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum, Budapest - 42/1871.3.
Literature:
Rómer 1869, 1871; Hampel 1900, 533-535, 781-782; 1905, II, 456-458, III, Taf. 338; Fettich 1935, 14-15, Photo No.9; 1937, 77, LI-LIII. t.; 1942, 13, taf. 9; 171. t.; Dienes 1967, 15; 1972, 60, 2-3. t.; László 1970, 62-70, Fodor 1979, 66-67; 1975, 255, Photo No. 67; 1982, 301, Pl. XXXVI; 1994, 12, Fig.2.
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Read more: http://www.tarsolyosok.hu/eng/galgoci.htm
