Golden lion fitting from Obervorschütz
The golden lion fitting from Obervorschütz is a Merovingian-Franconian find from the 5th century. The historically and art-historically significant gold-plated bronze fittings are kept in the Fritzlar Heimatmuseum Hochzeitshaus .
presentation
Depicted is a seated lion with a torn open mouth, which may originally have been faced by another, not preserved, one. The lion is bordered by a finely crafted braided ribbon motif in the Byzantine-Roman style. The fine workmanship and the golden lion motif suggest that the wearer of the weir hangings could have been a leading figure in the Franconia . The meticulous and detailed execution is remarkable. The fitting was worked in the finely worked geometric and semi-plastic animal style using the chip carving technique.
history
The fitting was found in the 1950s near the Gudensberg district of Obervorschütz on a field south of the Ems near the Bonigel desert , in the heart of the Chatti settlement area. The fitting, preserved as a semi-plastic fragment, was part of a Franconian defense hanger; the complementary fragment remains lost. The fitting was made by an anonymous Franconian master smith of the 5th century. The work takes on the style of animal representations of Eurasian steppe peoples such as the Scythians and Sarmatians . This art form also flourished among the Teutons during the Great Migration in the 5th century. The artist obviously knew the animal style of the Longobards of Northern Italy .
literature
- Joseph Bergmann: Prehistory and Early History Collection in the Fritzlar Local History Museum . (Ed.) Hessischer Museumsverband eV Kassel, 1975, pp. 44–45
- Eduard Brauns: Hiking and travel guide through North Hesse and Waldeck. A. Bernecker Verlag Melsungen, 1971, p. 18 f.