Glass and faience in the territory of Poland in the 2nd–1st millennium BC: production technology, origin and incoming directions
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Tomasz Purowski
Abstract
Finds of vitreous material from Poland are proof of the long-distance trade routes that passed through the region in the 2nd–1st millennium BC. Faience beads produced in central Europe are known from the Early Bronze Age. Objects made of glass melted in Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Alpine region broadly considered made their way into Polish territory from the Bronze Age II. In the Bronze Age II–III faience beads of Mycenaean and Egyptian provenience are encountered on rare occasions. Glassy faience, made in Italy or the Alpine region, was the most common during the Hallstatt C period.
The leader in trading glassy material products in Europe from the BA II–III to the La Tène B period was the Alpine region (especially region of northern Italy). The initial aim of mediating in the transfer to the north of faience and glass beads of Eastern Mediterranean origin grew to include also distribution of products of local production. Artifacts of northern Black Sea provenance started streaming into central Europe in the Hallstatt D, whereas in the La Tène C the Danubian Celtic workshops took over as the primary dealers of the glass jewelry that they produced.
Résumé
En Pologne, un grand nombre d’objets en matières vitreuses sont mis au jour, attestant qu’au IIe–Ier millénaire av.n.è. cette région fut traversée par de petites (locales) et grandes voies de commerce. Du bronze ancien datent les perles de faïence provenant de l’Europe centrale. A partir du bronze moyen, on note une affluence d’objets en verre dont le matériau est fabriqué en Mésopotamie, en Égypte et dans les régions alpines, au sens large du terme. Au bronze moyen et final appartiennent de très rares perles de faïence d’origine égyptienne et mycénienne. La faïence vitrifiée dans la masse, dite glassy faience, est la plus répandue au Hallstatt C; elle est fabriquée en Italie et dans les régions alpines orientales.
En Europe, à partir du bronze moyen et final jusqu’à La Tène B, le rôle principal dans le commerce des objets en matière vitreuse est joué par la région alpine (surtout la partie septentrionale de l’Italie). Au début, il s’agit de la redistribution de perles de faïence provenant de l’est méditerranéen, puis de la distribution d’objets de fabrication locale. A partir du Hallstatt D, l’Europe centrale observe l’affluence d’objets en provenance des régions septentrionales de la mer Noire. Pendant La Tène C, le gros de la fabrication de bijoux en verre revient aux ateliers celtiques de la région danubienne.
Abstrakt
W Polsce znajdowane są liczne przedmioty zrobione z tworzyw szklistych, poświadczające, że przez ten obszar w II–I tys. p.n.e. przebiegały lokalne i dalekosiężne szlaki handlowe. We wczesnej epoce brązu znane są paciorki fajansowe, które wykonano w centralnej Europie. Od II okresu epoki brązu napływają przedmioty szklane, których szkło wytopiono w Mezopotamii, Egipcie lub na szeroko rozumianym obszarze alpejskim. W II–III okresie epoki brązu spotykane są sporadycznie paciorki fajansowe proweniencji egipskiej lub mykeńskiej. Tzw. szklisty fajans był najbardziej popularny w okresie halsztackim C; wykonano go w Italii lub na obszarach wschodnioalpejskich.
W Europie od II–III okresu epoki brązu po okres lateński B wiodącą rolę w handlu przedmiotami wykonanymi z tworzyw szklistych odgrywał rejon alpejski (szczególnie obszary północnej Italii). Początkowo rola ta polegała na przekazywaniu dalej paciorków fajansowych i szklanych proweniencji wschodniośródziemnomorskiej, a następnie na dystrybucji wyrobów własnej produkcji. Od okresu halsztackiego D rozpoczął się napływ do środkowej Europy przedmiotów pochodzenia północnonadczarnomorskiego. W okresie lateńskim C wiodącą rolę w produkcji szklanej biżuterii przejęły naddunajskie warsztaty celtyckie.
© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
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- Abhandlungen
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- The Eneolithic cemetery at Khvalynsk on the Volga River
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- Weichenstellerinnen – ein Blick hinter die Kulissen der Fachdisziplin Vorgeschichte zwischen 1918–1939
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- Rezensionen
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- Laerke Recht, Katarzyna Zeman-Wiśniewska (eds), Animal Iconography in the Archaeological Record. New Approaches, New Dimensions. Equinox Publishing Ltd. (Sheffield, Bristol 2021). Hardcover, 220 pages, 108 illustrations, 10 tables, ISBN 978-1-78179-926-0
