Borovo Treasure
The Borovo Treasure, also known as the Borovo Silver Treasure, is a Thracian[1][2] hoard of five matching silver-gilt items discovered in late 1974 while ploughing a field in Borovo, Bulgaria.[3][4]
| Borovo Treasure | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Material | silver |
| Created | 383 BC – 359 BC |
| Discovered | 1974 at Borovo |
| Present location | Rousse Regional Historical Museum |
Items
The treasure consists of a table set of five silver-gilt items:[1][2]
- Three rhyta, each a different size, and with a different base. The largest has a figure of a sphinx and bears the inscription: "[Belongs to] Cotys from [the town of] Beos.", as well as the name of the craftsman, Etbeos.[5] The second has a figure of a horse, and the third, the smallest, has a bull. Each are half figures.
- A large, two-handled bowl: This item is decorated with a relief of a deer being attacked by a griffin.[6]
- A rhyta jug with images gods at a feast, scenes showing the mythological cycles, with images of Dionysus and Heracles, satyrs, griffons, and sphinxes.[4]
Discovery
The discovery was made while ploughing a field approximately 2 km from the village of Borovo, Ruse, in Bulgaria. Unfortunately, the plow severely damaged objects, but after extensive restoration work, the damage is nearly invisible.[1][2][6]
It is unknown why the treasure was buried at that particular site, since no tumulus was found at the location.[6]
Origins
The inscription on the sphinx rhyta indicates that the treasure may have been a gift to a local Getic ruler from the king Cotys I (382-359 BC),[4] who reigned in the Odrysian Kingdom from 383 to 359 BC.[6] It is for this reason that the treasure is considered to be from the early to mid fourth century BC.[1][2][4][6]
Gallery
See also
- Persian-Sassanid art patterns
- Thraco-Cimmerian
- Treasure of Nagyszentmiklós
- Zoomorphic style
Other Thracian treasures:
References
- "Borovo Treasure - Landmarks/Treasures - BulgariaInside.com". Bulgariainside.eu. 2010-03-24. Retrieved 2011-08-31.
- "The Borovo silver treasure | Ancient Treasures, Ancient Thracians". Ancient-treasure.info. Retrieved 2011-08-31.
- Ovcharov, Dimiter (2005). "The Borovo Treasure: A Feast Eating or Sacrificial Set". Fifteen Treasures from Bulgarian Lands. Translated by Pencheva, Maya. Sofia: Bulgarian Bestseller, National Museum of Books and Polygraphy. p. 49.
- "Bulgaria's Thracian Heritage - The Borovo Treasure". Omda.bg. Archived from the original on 2011-09-18. Retrieved 2011-08-31.
- Marazov, Ivan; Fol, Alexander (1977). Thrace and the Thracians. New York: St. Martin’s Press. pp. 79, 81. Retrieved 21 June 2018 – via Internet Archive.
- "Borovo Treasure". Heritage Key. Archived from the original on 2010-11-26. Retrieved 2011-08-31.
Further reading
- Venedikov, Ivan (1977). "The Archaeological Wealth of Ancient Thrace". The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. 35 (1): 7–71. JSTOR 3258668. via- Met Publications
- "Treasure found at the village of Borovo (Rousse District); First Half of the Fourth Century B.C., District Museum of History, Rousse". Thracian Treasures from Bulgaria: Checklist of The Special Exhibition, June 11 - September 4, 1977, coordinated by Dietrich von Bothmer, items 288-292. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1977. Retrieved 24 June 2018 – via Digital Collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- Eisenberg, Jerome M. (January 1998). "The Wealth of the Thracians: A Spectacular Exhibitions of Thracian Treasures Travelling America" (PDF). The International Review of Ancient Art & Archaeology - MINERVA. 9 (1): 16. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
- Valeva, Julia (2015). "Chapter 14: Gold, Silver and Bronze Vessels". In Valeva, Julia; Nankov, Emil; Graninger, Denver (eds.). A Companion to Ancient Thrace. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 198, 201–202, 204.