Cologne earring
The Cologne earring is one of the outstanding finds from the Archaeological Zone Cologne . The splendid piece of jewelry is a Byzantine work or is at least in the tradition of Byzantine work.
description
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The earring has the shape of a three-quarter moon, a so-called "lunula". The basic material is gold, in which pearls and glass beads as well as a gem in the center are set . The real pearls on the outer edge of the three-quarter moon alternate with turquoise glass pearls. Only a single turquoise-colored glass bead is incorporated into the inner edge, which is held in place by a smooth gold frame surrounded by loop bands. At the foothills of the crescent moon, a red stone in the shape of a teardrop and behind it a larger round glass bead in the same color are placed on each side. The dark blue gem, a so-called Niccolo in the center , shows an eros torturing a butterfly with a torch (symbol for the pain of love), is the re-use of an ancient Roman piece. The ends that merge into the clasp are designed in the form of animal heads with the rings holding the gold wire bracket in their mouths. The gold body is covered with gold granules and pearl wires. Similar to the Mainz treasure find, the earring has a multi-level structure in which the gem and the flanking stones are held in place by loop mounts. On the ground, worked with a lot of excess gold solder, there are individual filigree pearls that stand concentrically on small brackets and tutulus-shaped filigree spirals and pearl wire tendrils.
The completely preserved and so far completely unrestored piece is about five centimeters long and 3.5 centimeters wide. It has two repairs on the back, which indicates a long period of use.
classification
The materials from which the earring was made were all of high quality. Not only the gold and the real pearls, but also the glass pearls were precious at the time of production in the early High Middle Ages . The workmanship is also of great quality. Stylistically, the piece is reminiscent of works of the Byzantine goldsmith's art, but it remains unclear whether this piece is an import, a piece made by a craftsman from Byzantium, or by a local craftsman based on Byzantine predecessors. The exchange with the Byzantine Empire was comparatively large at this time - the earring is mostly dated towards the end of the 10th century or more rarely the 11th century. Byzantine craftsmen came to the region especially in the wake of Otto II's bride , Theophanu .
The earring found in a former latrine during the excavations in the Archaeological Zone of Cologne in 2011 is reminiscent of other splendid earrings of this type from this time, for example two pieces from a treasure find made in Mainz towards the end of the 19th century ( Kaiserinnenschatz , or Mainz treasure find ), which today is kept in the most important parts of the Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin and to an earring from the Stadionhofer barracks, also found a few years later in Mainz, which is now in the Landesmuseum Mainz . Both sites are in the immediate vicinity of the medieval synagogue in Mainz. Numerous, much more simply worked, pieces are also dated by a majority of researchers towards the end of the 10th century, and by a minority in the 11th century. They were initially attributed to the Empress Gisela, the wife of Conrad II , and later to the Empress Agnes von Poitou , the second wife of Henry III. All five earrings may have been from the Imperial environment. The opinion that was sometimes held that it would be about works from Mainz was shaken with the new discovery from Cologne. Mechthild Schulze-Dörlamm from the Roman-Germanic Central Museum in Mainz classified the new find from Cologne as a "Mainz type" piece. The head of the Essen Cathedral Treasury at the time, Birgitta Falk , established connections to two items from the Essen Cathedral Treasury , the “children's crown” of Otto III. and the cross with the large sinkholes . Cologne was a well-known center of goldsmithing in the Middle Ages, but the written sources only started here in the 12th century. The gold earring could speak for a former outstanding Cologne workshop. Further references are made to the Ottonian Imperial Crown in Vienna, which, however, is dated before 967. Similar are two earrings from a treasure find in Runsberga , Öland , which, thanks to coins also found, is dated to around 1106. Schulze-Dörlamm sees here a confirmation of a later dating of the Mainz treasure find. This late dating is rejected by a majority in the literature with justification. In the first publication, a dating from the end of the 10th to the 1st third of the 11th century is suggested, which corresponds to the Mainz treasure trove.
The earring is the first such find associated with Cologne. It not only shows clear signs of use, but has also been repaired as mentioned. The expert for medieval jewelery, Lothar Lambacher from the Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin, described the piece as a “find of the century” and a “discovery of the very first order and of noble, probably even imperial origin”.
Loss, rediscovery and reception
When it was found, the earring was in the destruction horizon of the Cologne Jewish pogrom from the year 1096. Thus, it is one of the earliest finds from the sewer, in which later finds are also found in higher strata up to around the time of the pogrom of 1349, what K. Kliemann induced a late dating that can be safely ruled out. There are theories as to how the piece of jewelry got into the cesspool in which it was found, none of which can ultimately be proven: It is likely that it was deliberately sunk to protect the valuable jewelry during the 1096 pogrom. It can be safely ruled out that it is a simple loss. How he came into Jewish possession of one, at least a reference to the imperial family, is probably to be brought into connection with pledges of Emperor Heinrich VI, who probably obtained funds for his military campaigns from Jewish bankers in Cologne and Mainz. So it was probably a deposit.
The Aldenwater house, to which the latrine belonged, can be unequivocally assigned to the Jewish quarter of Cologne from other finds (tablets with Hebrew inscriptions), which is why the earring, whose counterpart was not found, will be in the future MiQua. LVR Jewish Museum in Cologne's Archaeological Quarter is to be exhibited as one of the outstanding finds. Shortly after the earring was presented in the press, it became part of Cologne folklore. For the play Wat fott es, es Fott! by Marina Barth in the Klüngelpütz-Theater , a fictional story about the loss and discovery of the earring became a central element.
literature
- Sven Schütte , Marianne Gechter (Hrsg.): Cologne: Archaeological Zone / Jewish Museum. From excavation to museum - Cologne archeology between town hall and praetorium. Results and materials 2006–2012. City of Cologne, Archaeological Zone, Cologne 2012, ISBN 978-3-9812541-1-2 , there Schütte pp. 191–194.
- Catalog Golden Splendor Medieval Treasure Art in Westphalia, Münster 2012. There Marianne Gechter, Eileen Kose, Sven Schütte, cat. No. 145: Finds from the medieval goldsmiths quarter in Cologne, p. 302 - p. 304. Hirmer ISBN 978-3-7774 -5041-4
Web links
Single receipts
- ↑ Kempkens, Holger., Krohm, Hartmut (Art historian), Marx, Petra., Althoff, Gerd., Catholic Church. Diocese of Münster in Westphalia (Germany): Golden splendor: Medieval treasure art in Westphalia: February 26th to May 28th 2012 in the LWL State Museum for Art and Cultural History, Münster and in the cathedral chamber of the St. Paulus Cathedral Church, Münster . Hirmer Verlag, Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-7774-5041-4 .
- ↑ Magnificently crafted earring from the year 1100 recovered in Cologne
- ↑ Theater premiere: With the Hänneschen into the Middle Ages