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The tarsoly cover plate of Karos No. 29

Leather tarsoly

40-50 graves were destroyed.

The tarsoly cover plate of Karos No. 29

Photo: József Hapák, data: Ancient Hungarians, Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum 1996

Provenance:
Grave No.29 of the 2nd cemetery, the middle hill of a North to East line of hills, West to Karos, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county

Discovery of the finding:
4-6 graves in 1899, 40-50 graves in 1935 were destroyed during agricultural work, by the landowner. 73 graves of the cemetery No.2 were uncovered by László Révész between 1986 and 1990. The cemetery was extremely rich in insignia of rank. Two graves contained a mount-ornamented tarsoly. A tarsoly cover plate was found in a third burial. The grave No.52 was the burial of an exceptionally wealthy and high-ranking man. The Karos No.3 cemetery was uncovered between 1988-1990.

Material:
Silver foreplate, gilded copper backplate

Size:
Tarsoly cover plate 128x113 mm, shield-shaped mounts 15x10 mm, little strap end: 33x12 mm, buckle: 25x11 mm.

Preparation method:
This tarsoly plate was probably made in the same workshop as the ones from Rakamaz and Tarcal. Dot terminalled lines and a palmette design were applied to decorate the plate. The ribbon border, the decorated frontplate and the copper backplate were held together with a line of rivets soldered to the reverse of the ribbon. The embossed design was further outlined by the craftsman by the gilding and hammering-back of the background.

Detail of the tarsoly cover plate of Karos No. 29

Photo: József Hapák, data: Ancient Hungarians, Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum 1996

Drawing of the tarsoly cover plate of Karos No. 29

Csaba Nyers: Introduction to Corn Kitchen

Artwork:
The frontplate has a ribbon border, cast in silver and engraved with deep, dot terminalled lines along the sides – with the exception of the upper border of the plate decorated by a palmette design. A solitary palmette is in the centre of the lower side. The frontplate is decorated with a design of looped tendrils enclosing the Tree of Life rising majestically in the centre of the plate. The fleshy leaves of the palmettes are picked out with delicate hatching, while the veins are marked with dot terminalled lines. The suspension strap of the tarsoly was adorned with two shield-shaped mounts, and the closing strap with a single such mount as well as the small strap end engraved with palmettes. Another strap was threaded through the miniature silver buckle. They could have been decorating the suspender strap of the tarsoly. Similar to this rare, Conquest age human depiction mounts are those of Tuzsér and Izsák.

Usage:

Inventory number:
Herman Ottó Múzeum, Miskolc - 94.27.1-2.

Literature:
Révész 1994, 349-368.

Detail of a former map
The provenance of the tarsoly finding can be found on this map detail of Zemplén county from 1915.
Source: Map-collection of the National Széchényi Library of Budapest

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