Resumen de Énigmatiques coupes en bronze à large marli décoré, ou Breitrandschalen, de Hallstatt et d'ailleurs
- English
Between the Ha C and the beginning of Ha D (VIIIth-early VIIth century B.C.) around 60 bronze bowls with a decorated broad rim (Breitrandschalen) have been buried in rich tombs between Poland and Alsace, with a particular concentration in the Hallstatt cemetery (Upper Austria). Precedent studies have shown that towards the North of their distribution area these bowls often have a foot and are decorated with stamped aquatic birds while towards the South-East their decoration is geometric and they have a flat bottom. In Hallstatt both groups are represented throughout ca 30 cups, the half of the total corpus. Although they are finds from old excavations, it seems interesting to study them as a starting point of an investigation about this particular type of vessels, which significance is still unknown. The aim of the article is also to draw the attention on the important role of the decoration which is inseparable part of an item.
The first part is devoted to a catalogue of the pieces from Hallstatt, classified by decoration type of the rim, starting with the main pattern : 1°) figurative, stamped aquatic birds (head with a vertical point, head with a mane, head with a tuft, three-dimensional birds) ; 2°) geometric (stamped circles, embossed bumps, repoussé points, dots, and bowls without apparent decoration). Comparisons with similar vessels outside Hallstatt or similar decoration patterns on other objects are listed, particularly regarding those with aquatic birds (table 1). It is important to consider the whole syntax of the decoration : i.e. in the middle of the rim, besides the principal pattern, the accompanying patterns (circles, bumps, suns), as well as the finishing of the edges, the « grip » type (attached ring, riveted handles), the bottom, with or without a foot (table 2). The situation in the tombs, the context, are shortly recorded too (table 3).
The second part of the article is dedicated to some comments on comparative pieces among contemporary vessels in neighboring regions. Some other broad rim types, with embossed or stamped decoration, in Northern Italy, illustrate a new common tendency in bronze smithing techniques. Among the technical observations, the problem of the alloy is raised. Unfortunately very few bowls have been analyzed, only two exemplaries from recent excavations in Domas?aw (Poland) made in a bronze with a high tin content (15 %). In any case these bowls reaching sometimes a diameter of 45 cm and an average rim width of 5 cm, but which can reach up to 7,5 cm, most likely represented a technical challenge for the bronzesmiths and some repairs of the sheets are often observed. The setting of the foot is a special technique adoperated on the Hallstatt pieces while on other cups from south Germany it is usually riveted or embedded. The finishing of the external edge of the rims reveals characteristic features of the workshop in which they were made. In that way a production « made in Hallstatt » has been determined (table 2). External influences are also likely, with probable connections to regions around the Erzgebirge, and later with the Sulmtal, as well as Slovakia and Hungary.
A circular groove along the internal border of the rim might be an important feature meaning that it maybe was designed to support a lid or a filter. The grip type gives clues on different possibilities of use. Bowls with two riveted large horizontal handles are suitable for being carried with both hands for bringing offerings, while those with an attached ring and foot were maybe made to be exhibited on an altar or a table. The decoration with aquatic birds, maybe inspired from the myth of the Solar Barge spread during the Final Bronze Age, draws special attention. The systematic orientation of the aquatic birds (ducks, gooses, swans ?) is probably significant as shown through some comparisons with Etruscan frescoes of early VIIth century B.C. and their role is probably, more or less related with afterlife or a cosmogonic research.
Some new finds in the Eastern Hallstatt area or in southern Alp, their location and the context in the tombs give rise to interesting hypothesis : we may imagine that these bronze cups were protected in wooden boxes, baskets of textile wrappings or placed inside wooden set of shelves. Their place in the cremation tombs in Hallstatt is often central, above the ashes or nearby. Analyzing the context types, it seems that bowls decorated with aquatic birds are more frequent in male tombs while the female tombs often contain bowls with geometric pattern. This might correspond with a slightly later stage and new rites (table 3).
Finally, the possible content of the bowls is discussed, and the hypothesis of incense or perfume burners is put forward for the items with foot, circular groove and decoration with aquatic birds.
When buried in tombs most of the objects, especially the vessels, loose the identity they had during their life-time. These broad-rim bowls, due to their diversity in morphology and decoration, their local specificities - here underlined - should be considered not as a whole but as a complex range of different precious ritual vessels, anyway works of art, part of the « sets » of the elites in the Northern Alps during this period of the Early Iron Age
- français
Datées du Ha C jusqu'au début du Ha D, une soixantaine de coupes en bronze à large marli ont été recensées de la Pologne à l'Alsace, avec une densité particulière dans la nécropole de Hallstatt (Haute-Autriche). Des études synthétiques précédentes ont permis de définir deux grands groupes avec, entre autres, une prédominance du décor ornithomorphe dans l'aire septentrionale, du décor géométrique, dans l'aire sud-orientale. Ces coupes dont le diamètre peut atteindre 45 cm et le marli 7,5 cm de largeur représentent toutefois une catégorie de vaisselle particulière dont on a du mal à comprendre la place et l'usage.
A partir d'une révision détaillée du corpus de Hallstatt, une attention spéciale est portée ici sur la syntaxe des marlis décorés et les techniques d'exécution. Les coupes sont d'abord cataloguées par type de motif principal : figuratif ornithomorphe (anatidés à tête en pointe, à tête à crinière, à tête à houppe) ou non-figuratif géométrique (cercles estampés, bossettes embouties, points repoussés) ou sans décor apparent. De rares exemples d'autres supports dotés de motifs ornithomorphes semblables sont rassemblés (tableau 1) pour comparaison. La finition des bords externes permet plus particulièrement d'dentifier des habitudes d'atelier, des centres de production (tableau 2), et d'essayer d'évaluer les influences extérieures qui entrent en jeu. Une production propre à Hallstatt est identifiée, toutefois certaines coupes à décor ornithomorphe trahissent des contacts avec des régions avoisinant l'Erzgebirge (Pologne, Tchéquie, Sud-Est de l'Allemagne), possible source d'étain, et les coupes à décor géométrique, un peu plus récentes, reflètent des influences du Sud-Est, des productions du Sulmtal ou de zones plus éloignées comme la Slovaquie et la Hongrie. Les principaux éléments des contextes passés en revue (tableau 3) montrent entre autres qu'à Hallstatt, les coupes à décor ornithomorphe seraient plutôt l'apanage des hommes.
A l'aide de données issues de recherches récentes sur divers autres sites dans la zone hallstattienne orientale ou dans les centres contemporains au sud des Alpes, l'enquête s'élargit vers le problème de l'usage de ces coupes, de leur contenu potentiel, de leur place dans le rituel funéraire. La diversité de leur morphologie, de leur construction et de leur décor, mise en évidence ici, conduit à supposer des utilisations diversifiées dans le monde des vivants, variables selon les régions. Le décor estampé d'anatidés associés à des soleils semble être lié à une évocation de l'au-delà, encore proche du mythe de la barque solaire, et l'hypothèse d'un usage de brûle-parfum est abordée notamment pour les coupes munies d'une gorge circulaire et montées sur pied.
Peu à peu se dessine une approche plus fine grâce à l'observation des décors de ces grandes coupes en bronze à large marli, production prestigieuse d'assez courte durée pour quelques personnages ayant un rôle social particulier dans ces groupes du nord des Alpes
