Das keltische Jahrtausend. (Ausstellungskataloge der Prahistorischen Staatssammlung 23).

Das keltische Jahrtausend. (Ausstellungskataloge der Prahistorischen Staatssammlung 23). The two beaked bronze flagons from Basse-Yutz have to be countedamong the most spectacular pieces of early La Tene La T��ne?adj.Of or relating to a late Iron Age Celtic civilization dating from the fifth to the first century b.c. art. Even though theywere found as early as 1927, together with two Etruscan stamnoi, athorough publication of the pieces has only now been effected by Ruthand John Vincent John Vincent may refer to: John Vincent (general), a British general John Vincent (historian), a British historian John Vincent (sailor), an English seaman John Vincent (executive), CFO & Marketing Director, Erhard Seminars Training Megaw. The beginning of the book explains in minutedetail the circumstances of the discovery and the subsequent fate of thefour bronzes; a story almost of the quality of a crime thriller. Thefind was made by railway navies on a site owned by the Alsatian railwaycompany. One of the workmen stuffed the objects into a bag and took theloot to his flat, where he cleaned them. Only a few days later, twoother workmen took the flagons and the stamnoi to Bouzonville. They werelater sentenced for theft. In Bouzonville they tried without muchsuccess to sell the items. The treasure was even offered to the Museumin Metz, without success, since the Museum officials doubted theauthenticity of the find and only took photos. On the specious spe��cious?adj.1. Having the ring of truth or plausibility but actually fallacious: a specious argument.2. Deceptively attractive. claim ofthe objects being found locally an Antiquities dealer in Bouzonvillefinally bought them. The dealer sent his wife to the Louvre Louvre(l`vrə), foremost French museum of art, located in Paris. The building was a royal fortress and palace built by Philip II in the late 12th cent. who underthe cover of 'Russian lady', was to offer one of the flagonsfor a price of 3000 francs. The Louvre was not at all interested inbuying and announced that it would accept the vase at best as adonation. The pieces passed through a chain of dealers before beingbought for a price of |pounds~5000 by the British Museum.Through painstaking and detailed detective work the Megaws havegathered the documents relating to this odyssey, which offer among otherthings a background of the circumstances explaining why Bouzonville andItaly were repeatedly and mistakenly proposed as a provenance.The chapters give a detailed description of the four vessels, astylistic study of the flagons in comparison to other pieces of art fromthe early La Tene period, and finally the results of the technicalanalysis (by P.T Craddock). In particular the latter contains a wealthof important discoveries: the composition of the bronze used for thebeaten parts (body) and for the cast parts (figurative handles, animalfigurines on top of the spout and lid) is decidedly different. Whereascorals were used for the inlaid in��laid?v.Past tense and past participle of inlay.adj.1. Set into a surface in a decorative pattern: a mahogany dresser with an inlaid teak design.2. work on both types only the cast piecesuse red glass. The sinuous sinuous/sin��u��ous/ (sin��u-us) bending in and out; winding. sinuousbending in and out; winding. S-design on the two flagons shows the use oftwo different instruments, which were evidently not handled with thesame skill. The engraved geometric intertwined bands again show adifferent hand and must have been added much later. But the turningtraces visible in the eyes of the animal figures on both flagons weremade by the same instrument. The different craftsmen must have workedtogether closely, since the hammered and cast pieces and the inlaid workmatch. The handles are in the shape of a wolf or dog and cast hollow,surely to relieve the flagons of weight which might have made themunstable. One of the handles was miscast mis��cast?tr.v. mis��cast, mis��cast��ing, mis��casts1. To cast in an unsuitable role.2. To cast (a role, play, or film) inappropriately. and had to be repaired byfilling it with fluid bronze through small holes. The body and base ofthe flagons are merely attached by pressure and a resin glue. The insideof the vessels show layers of beeswax beeswax:see wax. beeswaxCommercially useful wax secreted by worker honeybees to make the cell walls of the honeycomb. A bee consumes an estimated 6–10 lbs (3–4. . The authors suggest that thebodies of the flagons were not permanently attached to the bases toallow them to be dried from the inside and that the layers of wax wereused as sealing compound. They must have been in use for a long timebefore they were buried, because the iron pin which served as fastenerof the small round lid was completely rusted through. Already inprehistoric times the lid was attached to the flagon with a chain.Technical analysis shows that several specialists worked together in theproduction. The Megaws consider that the workshops might well have beenin different locations.The discussion of the Etruscan stamnoi also includes the resultsrecently presented by B. Shefton. According to his analysis the stamnoibelong to the Giardini-Margherita Group or the Durrnberg group, whichboth might well have originated from the same centre of production inthe Middle Tiber Valley. The stylistic analysis discusses each form indetail. Through this, the author's aim is to discover the roots ofthe La Tene style set out by Jacobsthal (in the ornament style of theHallstatt period, Etruscan and Scythian art). Whereas the influence ofthe Hallstatt culture and the Mediterranean area is clearly evident, theconnection with Scythian art is controversial, especially where theanimal depictions are concerned: in the case of Basse-Yutz the canids.After weighing up the stylistic parallels, the authors come to theconvincing conclusion that connections with Scythian art are notverifiable. Analysis of the ornaments reveals close parallels to the artof the Middle Rhine area. On the other hand, the Megaws point outconnections to the Marne region. The authors would like to explain thedivergent motifs and the technical differences by proposing thatcraftsmen came together (or were called together) from different regionsto produce these unique pieces. The floral pattern and the ornamentwhich can be read as Cheshire-style masks suggest assignation ASSIGNATION, Scotch law. The ceding or yielding a thing to another of which intimation must be made. to thedeveloped phase of the early style. The authors' suggestion of anabsolute date for the production of the flagons at the end of the 5thcentury BC is very convincing, and in accordance with Shefton'sdating of the stamnoi.It is not possible to decide if the find came from a burial or hoard.The authors remind us that the river-bed of the Moselle is about 700 maway, which excludes the possibility of a votive vo��tive?adj.1. Given or dedicated in fulfillment of a vow or pledge: a votive offering.2. hoard at or in theriver. They favour the notion of a burial context and assume that theashes (the remains of the dead) might well have been washed out of thevessels when they were cleaned. In my opinion, the evidence pointstowards the burial of vessels which were used in ritual and which wereinterred either to hide them from a threat or to ensure that they wouldnever he profaned after their final use.At the end of the book the Megaws point out that the definitive workabout the Basse-Yutz find is still to be written. This aim can only beaccomplished when a more thorough technical analysis of early La Teneart becomes available. The question as to whether the vessels wereproduced in permanent workshops by itinerant craftsmen or a combinationof the two can only be answered when more results are secured.