A bowl for hanging up

The bowl was made of bronze using the casting technique. It is a beautiful example of the so-called hanging vessel. It is characterised by a spectacular two-cone belly topped with a high cylindrical neck with two handles on the rim. Its surface is decorated with original artistic motifs, engraved and punched. Undoubtedly, the vessel had a particular purpose. We can guess a connection with the performance of unknown rituals. The presented bowl was a part of a large hoard consisting mainly of ornaments and tools, single specimens of weapons, horse harness, and small fragments of unidentified bronze objects. It was found in 1846 during the construction of a highway. It was donated to the Society of Antiquities (Towarzystwo Starożytności) in Szczecin by the foreman, Mr Lody. The find remained intact until 1944. Due to increased Allied air raids on the city at the end of the Second World War, the bowl and two ornaments were evacuated deep into Germany, while the other elements of the hoard remained on site. The vessel only returned to Szczecin in 2009 due to the Polish-German exchange of ancient archaeological artefacts. The cast bowl from Dzwonowo is a characteristic product of the Nordic culture zone at the end of the Bronze Age (approx. 900-750 BC). Most such bowls come from Denmark and southern Sweden. A dozen specimens have been found in neighbouring Mecklenburg. In Poland, their presence is limited to Pomerania, where only six vessels of this category have been discovered so far, only two of which have survived intact. All Pomeranian finds are considered the so-called imports, which means they were made in distant, most probably northern metallurgical workshops.

Dorota Kozłowska