Ukrašene brončane falere s trnom: ornament kao amblem
Ornamented bronze phalerae with a thorn: ornament as an emblem

Summary/Abstract: The presented research deals with ornamented bronze phalerae with a thorn from several cultural groups from the territory of the Northern Adriatic and its hinterland. It was motivated by the treating of such a phalera discovered in Osor on the island of Cres in Kvarner. Considered and critically evaluated in a broader cultural context, the phalerae were formally analysed and due to their stylistic features divided in to four basic types with further variants. Type I being the characteristic for the area of Caput Adriae and its Alps hinterland (Figs. 2-5, 13), type II for the territory of the of Italic Piceni (Figs. 5-8), type III for the western Balkan area of Dinaric Alps (Fig. 5,10) and type IV for the territory of ancient Macedonia (Figs. 10-11). The mutual relationship of individual types has been the backbone of the research history (Fig. 12). However, the concentration of individual types in specific areas demonstrated, despite their similarities, a degree of individuality in aestheticism and a localspecific fabrication, wearing and depositing habits which separate them as an individual jewelry groups ideologically and semantically present in the attire of the wider cultural area. Contrary to the previous research for this publication the majority of discovered phalerae were collected and analyzed. Consequently we were able to observe as much as 10 examples of Type I phalerae from the wider area of Caput Adriae. Due to their quantity, they can be considered as being one of the cultural characteristics of the area of Škocjan. The area, the phalera from Osor should be considered as being directly related to. Their spatial distribution demonstrates specific interrelationship of those cultural areas reflected in the communication of ambiguity, non-verbal in particular. From the demonstrated we can also notice the disproportionality in their use of being part attire in individual cultures. Apart from highly valuable attire of the deceased women in Vergina and the luxurious attire of the Picenian women, they will also designate the highly privileged status of the local aristocracies. And their exceptionally intensified equivalents can be seen in the attires of the southern Lucani and Enotri (Fig. 9). From the same perspective one should evaluate the rich, large hoards with a mixed composition from the western Balkan area such as Krehin Gradac and Veliki Mošunj (Fig. 5, 13-20) where the reflection of the female principles is more than evident. Observed through this perspective, the attire from the area of northern Adriatic’s and alpine hinterlands seems rather modest which could be partially attributed to the relatively small number of precise details about the context of their discoveries.

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