The Risano “capsule” and the Preslav treasure

Abstract

The Risano capsule is a two-sided round cassette consisting of two cloisonné enamel plaques. It was discovered by Arthur Evans in Croatia at the end of the 19th c.

On one plaque is depicted a predatory animal with an open mouth and a protruding tongue, and on the other one there is a multi-leaf rosette.

With the first image the author has formed a typological order, which starts from a Central Asian silver vessel and ends, for example, with a similar image on the gold medallion (disc) discovered during excavations in Veliki Preslav. The animal on the capsule wears on his neck a simplified version of a necklace called “patif ” in Sasanian Iran. The dog-headed griffin on one of the plaques from the Preslav treasure has a similar insignia, depicted in more detail.

The multi-leaf rosette from the other plaque is also part of a typological order, divided territorially into Central Asian and European, and it is difficult to perceive the chronological connection between them. On one of the enamel earrings from the Preslav treasure there is almost the same rosette, and on the wing of the eagle-headed griffin from the diadem from the same complex – its variant. The article emphasizes on a direct connection between the Sasanian art arsenal and the patterns on Byzantine enamel jewelry from the 9th – 10th c. In its context, however, it asks as many questions as it offers answers.