STOVE TILES FROM TRANSYLVANIA (VIII). MEDIEVAL STOVE TILES FROM THE TOWN OF CLUJ
STOVE TILES FROM TRANSYLVANIA (VIII). MEDIEVAL STOVE TILES FROM THE TOWN OF CLUJ

Summary/Abstract: The article analyses some of the stove tile lots discovered in excavations in Cluj. An unexpectedly rich range of representations can be reconstructed, with no analogues (yet?) in the province. At the moment, the collection of authentically medieval pieces (excluding pre‑modern ones) found in Cluj‑Napoca includes representations of the pelican, the lion, Samson and the lion, David and Goliath, the Annunciation, the Good Samaritan, St. Ladislaus battling the Cuman, St. Jerome, St. Michael the Archangel, a twin‑tailed siren, a griffin, an unidentified beast, the illustration of a medieval epic poem (?), knights, dismounted knights, stove tiles with the coat of arms of King Matthias Corvinus. The conclusion is natural: in terms of stove tiles, Cluj‑Napoca is, to date, the richest town in the whole of Transylvania. The exceptional situation of the town in producing stove tiles seems to be linked the turn of the 15th–16th centuries. Besides the remains and individuality of the archaeologically discovered workshop, there are grounds for the identification of at least two other craftsmen. For the time being, the most fragments of glazed tiles in the entire provincial area are located in the same place, some of them polychrome, which is also a rarity. The artistic value of the mould makers is well worth emphasising.

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