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Earring with polyhedral bead from Bakodpuszta (a), polyhedral bead fold-out (b). Photo: Eszter Horváth 5. ábra: Poliédergombos fülbevaló Bakodpusztáról (a), a poliédergomb kiterített rajza (b). Fotó: Horváth Eszter
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Jewellery, dress accessories and other personal ornaments made of precious metal and decorated with gemstones were representative elements (prestige objects) of Migration-period supra-regional fashion in Europe. Due to their valuable materials and impressive appearance, these polychrome artefacts are highlighted items in art albums and exhibition c...
Context in source publication
Context 1
... often made of gold, occasionally of gold-plated copper alloy. Seldom, it was made by twisting three or four fine round wires (for the examples see Horváth 2012). Their ornamentthe bead -was crafted of a single hammered sheet of gold, cut-out for the inlays, which was then folded serving as the edges of a polyhedron, soldered at its vertices ( Fig. 5a-b). Among the multitude of uniform pieces in the collections of Hungarian museums there are only two stray finds that stand out. One was found in Miskolc, on the bank of River Sajó (Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén), and the other (a pair) was discovered in the area of a brick factory in Békéscsaba (Békés) (Fig. 6., Table 1.4-6.). Similarly to other ...
Citations
... The gold overlays and the small, gold ornaments (rivets, bezels, cellworks, filigree wires, granules) were manufactured from highquality gold alloys (>90 wt%). This composition is common in the 5th century AD polychrome jewellery from the Carpathian Basin, irrespective of the purposes of the artefacts (Szenthe et al., 2019;Horváth et al., 2019bHorváth et al., , 2022aHorváth et al., , 2022bMozgai et al., 2023). It is generally thought that Migration period gold objects with a relatively high gold content were probably produced by re-melting late Roman gold coins (solidi) (Kent, 1972;Arrhenius, 1977;Hawkes, 1984;Oddy and Meyer, 1986;La Niece and Cowell, 2008). ...
... A systematic analysis of the artefacts concerned is still awaited, the results so far suggest an over-represented but not exclusive use of magnesite. This white carbonate mineral has been used not only as inlays, but also as decorative knobs (Horváth et al., 2019b). Since magnesite occurs commonly and in diverse geological environments, a large comparative study would be needed in the future to determine their potential geological localities. ...
... Nevertheless, both pairs of brooches highlight unskilled craftsmen and low-quality ornaments appearing in the production of luxury polychrome brooches. Consequently, the generally low standards and prevalence of recycling are phenomena that occur even among the prestige objects of the Hunnic period elite in the Untersiebenbrunn Horizon (Horváth et al., 2019b). The workshop affinity of the two pairs of brooches is supposed but difficult to specify. ...
Fifty years after the discovery of the Regöly grave, the emblematic Hunnic period archaeological assemblage from Hungary, an extensive scientific investigation was performed on the polychrome dress accessories of the high-status woman, often referred to as the "Princess of Regöly", buried there. The multi-instrumental analyses aimed to characterise material and technological aspects of the gemstone-inlaid artefacts (a set of a pair of bowbrooches and a belt buckle), i.e., the manufacturing and decorative techniques as well as the chemical and mineralogical compositions. The non-destructive and non-invasive gemmological and geochemical analyses applied optical microscopes, handheld XRF, SEM-EDX and Raman microspectrometer. This study provides the first comprehensive examination of the Hunnic period polychrome jewellery, and highlights the potential of combining surface and subsurface analyses to specify garnet provenances. It presents the first evidence of use of antique and early medieval garnet sources during the early Migration period. The findings enhance understanding of the garnet supply chain and trade network, the production organisation and potential workshop connections. Significant differences of the brooches and the buckle reveal varying levels of luxury among the elite, providing insight into the social context of the polychrome jewellery associated with the "Princess of Regöly".
... Non-destructive handheld X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (hXRF) is one of the most popular elemental analytical methods in the fields of archaeology and cultural heritage (Shackley 2012;Frahm and Doonan 2013;Zlateva 2017), and it is often utilised in the analysis of archaeological and historical metal objects, particularly in the elemental analysis of precious metal objects (e.g. Karydas et al. 2004;Cesareo et al. 2008;Melcher et al. 2009;Parreira et al. 2009;Asderaki-Tzoumerkioti and Karydas 2011;Pardini et al. 2012;Mass and Matsen 2013;Zori and Tropper 2013;Lehmann et al. 2014;Živković et al. 2014;Mozgai et al. 2017;Mozgai et al. 2018;Horváth et al. 2019a;Szenthe et al. 2019;Mozgai et al. 2020). XRF is a simultaneous, multi-element analytical method, whereby the concentrations of most elements of the periodic table (Z = 12-92, from Mg to U) can be determined (major, minor and trace elements). ...
This study details the non-destructive chemical analysis of composite silver objects (ewers, situlas, amphora and casket) from one of the most significant late Roman finds, the Seuso Treasure. The Seuso Treasure consists of fourteen large silver vessels that were made in the fourth–early fifth centuries AD and used for dining during festive banquets and for washing and beautification. The measurements were systematically performed along a pre-designed grid at several points using handheld X-ray fluorescence analysis. The results demonstrate that all the objects were made from high-quality silver (above 90 wt% Ag), with the exception of the base of the Geometric Ewer B. Copper was added intentionally to improve the mechanical properties of soft silver. The gold and lead content of the objects shows constant values (less than 1 wt% Au and Pb). The chemical composition as well as the Bi/Pb ratio suggests that the parts of the composite objects were manufactured from different silver ingots. The ewers were constructed in two ways: (i) the base and the body were made separately, or (ii) the ewer was raised from a single silver sheet. The composite objects were assembled using three methods: (i) mechanical attachment; (ii) low-temperature, lead-tin soft solders; or (iii) high-temperature, copper-silver hard solders. Additionally, two types of gilding were revealed by the XRF analysis, one with remnants of mercury, i.e. fire-gilding, and another type without remnants of mercury, presumably diffusion bonding.
The research focuses on jewellery finds uncovered in the region of today's Czech Republic dated to the Great Migration Period. The metals and garnet inlays detected were examined with μ ‐EDXRF, whereas, for glass samples, LA‐ICP‐MS was used. The paper presented is supplemented with data concerning the technological processing of the jewellery (documented with optical microscopy) and information dealing with analogies to the artifacts studied. Based on the chemical composition combined with the results of Raman spectroscopy, the study has identified several types of garnets with varying geological origins. The occurrence frequency of the types represented differs from previously published data.
