Visigothic filigree in the Guarrazar (Toledo) and Torredonjimeno (Jaén) treasures
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Published
Nov 12, 2021
Abstract
The Guarrazar treasure is a group of Visigothic votive crowns and crosses found in 1858. A second treasure was found at Torredonjimeno in 1926, and both of them are now scattered in Spanish and French institutions in Madrid, Barcelona, Córdoba and Paris. The Guarrazar objects are better preserved, with the complete crown and cross of King Reccesvinthus as its highlight, although a large part was destroyed or lost. In contrast, the Torredonjimeno treasure is a huge quantity of highly fragmented crowns and crosses. It is the biggest group of Visigothic jewellery in Europe, which is very scarce and poorly studied. This paper discusses only a small part of the Visigothic jeweller’s skill, that related to filigree work. Visigothic craftsmanship should not be considered as medieval, but as the last manifestation of the technology of antiquity.
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References
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Whitfield N 1998, ‘The manufacture of ancient beaded wire: experiments and observations’, Jewellery Studies 8, 57–86.
Athanassopoulos F, Banon E, Barchi N E, Ellis M, McCallum L R, Nash J A, Orr C G 1983, ‘The technology of loop-in-loop chains in the third millennium BC’, American Journal of Archaeology 87(4), 547–548.
Balmaseda L 2001, ‘De la historia del hallazgo y la arqueología’, in A Perea (ed), El Tesoro Visigodo de Guarrazar (Madrid), 63–117.
Brepohl E 1987, Theophilus Presbyter und die Mittelalterliche Goldschmiedekunst (Leipzig).
Casanovas A and Rovira J (eds) 2003, Torredonjimeno. Tesoro, Monarquía y Liturgia, exhibition catalogue (Barcelona).
Deppert-Lippitz B 1985, Griechischer Goldschmuck (Mainz am Rhein).
García Moreno L A 2003, ‘El tesoro de Torredonjimeno. Su contexto histórico’, in A Casanovas and J Rovira (eds), Torredonjimeno. Tesoro, Monarquía y Liturgia, exhibition catalogue (Barcelona), 31–43.
García-Vuelta O 2001, ‘Las imágenes de Guarrazar’, in A Perea (ed), El Tesoro Visigodo de Guarrazar (Madrid), 297–309.
González J (ed) 2002, San Isidoro. Doctor Hispaniae, exhibition catalogue (Seville).
Grierson P and Blackburn M 1986, Medieval European Coinage. Vol I: The Early Middle Ages. Cambridge University Press.
Higgins R 1980, Greek and Roman Jewellery 2nd edn (London).
Oddy W A 1977, ‘The production of gold wire in antiquity. Handmaking methods before the introduction of the draw plate’, Gold Bulletin 10(3), 79–87.
Ogden J 1982, Jewellery of the Ancient World (London).
Peixoto J M 1995. ‘Métodos fi sicos e quimicos de análise no estudo da composiçâo das ligas de que sâo feitas as moedas’, in M P García-Bellido and R M Sobral (eds), La Moneda Hispánica: ciudad y territorio (Madrid: Anejos de Archivo Español de Arqueología 14), 15–24.
Perea A 1990, ‘Estudio microscópico y micoranalítico de las soldaduras y otros procesos técnicos en la orfebrería prehistórica del Sur de la Peninsula Ibérica’, Trabajos de Prehistoria 47, 103–160.
Perea A 1999, ‘Project Au for the study of goldwork technology and the concept of technological domain systems’, in S M M Young, A M Pollard, P Budd and R A Ixer (eds), Metals in Antiquity (Oxford: BAR International Series 792), 68–71.
Perea A (ed) 2001a, El Tesoro Visigodo de Guarrazar (Madrid).
Perea A 2001b, ‘De los talleres y los orfebres’, in A Perea (ed), El Tesoro Visigodo de Guarrazar (Madrid), 119–200.
Ripoll G 1985, La Necrópolis visigoda de El Carpio del Tajo (Toledo) (Madrid: Excavaciones Arqueológicas en España 142).
Thouvenin A 1971, ‘La fabrication des fi ls et des fi ligranes de métaux précieux chez les anciens’, Revue d’Histoire des Mines et de la Métallurgie 3(1), 89–108.
Velázquez I 2001, ‘Las inscripciones del tesoro de Guarrazar’, in A Perea (ed), El Tesoro Visigodo de Guarrazar (Madrid), 319–345.
Whitfield N 1998, ‘The manufacture of ancient beaded wire: experiments and observations’, Jewellery Studies 8, 57–86.
How to Cite
Perea, A. (2021). Visigothic filigree in the Guarrazar (Toledo) and Torredonjimeno (Jaén) treasures. Historical Metallurgy, 40(1), 1-11. https://www.hmsjournal.org/index.php/home/article/view/229
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Articles
How to Cite
Perea, A. (2021). Visigothic filigree in the Guarrazar (Toledo) and Torredonjimeno (Jaén) treasures. Historical Metallurgy, 40(1), 1-11. https://www.hmsjournal.org/index.php/home/article/view/229