|
|



Numerous items from Bosporan necropolises, from the time of the great migration of peoples across the European continent, constitute a unique collection. It incorporates arms and armour, harness, decorations for clothes, gold jewellery, glass vessels both imported and the work of local craftsmen, and bronzes by Byzantine bronzesmiths.
A large part of the collection consists of gold jewellery executed in the polychrome style that was predominant in the period, and these pieces can be divided into two groups: the first group has a combination of gold ground with inlays of semiprecious stones in red and orange shades, the settings made from a narrow gold strip soldered onto the surface to form a border; the second is characterized by the absence of gold ground or filigree decoration, while inlays of soldered bars make up clusters of geometrical patterns. This latter method of inlay is based on the cloisonné technique: the sockets were filled with resin and thin pieces of semiprecious stones or glass were then positioned at the level of the upper edge of the sockets, the vivid colour of the stone set off by covering the resin with gold foil. Items from the first group were mainly decorations for clothing, such as buckles, earrings and fibulae. Whereas this group continues the traditions of ancient jewellery production and can be regarded as the work of Bosporan craftsmen, the second group represents the introduction of new methods to the region.

|
|

Double-bladed Sword
First half of the 5th century AD
Full description

Bracelet
Late 4th-early 5th century AD
Full description

Ornamental Plaque
Late 4th-early 5th centuries AD
Full description
|