Bowl with engraving

A bronze bowl discovered in 1932 in Kamień Pomorski. From the notes preserved in the National Museum (Muzeum Narodowe) in Szczecin, it was found in unspecified circumstances to the east of the Old Town, where an early medieval marketplace is located. The vessel is made from a single fragment of copper alloy sheet, using unmoulding and moulding. The edge of the bowl is turned outwards, in places lowered towards the bottom, slightly thickened on edge, and the bottom is slightly concave. The bowl is partially damaged, part of the wall is missing from the bottom to the spout. The engraved decoration covering the inside of the vessel is visible despite the loss and destruction of the surface. There is a large medallion filled with straight and broken lines on the bottom. There are four oval medallions on the wall surface with a similar motif, arranged symmetrically, and four half-medallions between them decorated with a motif of spreading bundles of three broken lines. The stone vessel belongs to a group of bowls with medallions filled with geometrical motifs and referring to intensely processed plant motifs. It was not possible to specify the function of these objects. It is assumed that they could have been used for washing hands during liturgical rites. Such dishes were imported to Poland in the 12th century from Western Europe, most probably from the Rhineland.

Sławomir Słowiński