Openwork badge with bird

An openwork badge from the beginning of the 13th century discovered in 1962 in Kamień Pomorski during rebuilding works of the Old Town at the junction of Władysława Jagiełły and Garncarska streets. The round, openwork badge, fastened to leather or fabric, was cast from a light soft metal, probably tin-lead alloy. It is distinguished by careful chiselling, i.e., levelling all unevennesses that might have arisen during casting in the mould. In the central part, there is a bird's silhouette with its head turned to the left and its wings down, surrounded by concentric circles, with quadrangular holes giving the badge lightness. The identification of the bird species, and thus the correct interpretation of the symbolic content of the badge, remains an open question. It is sometimes assumed that it is a dove or pigeon, a symbol of the Holy Spirit in Christian iconography. It is also supposed to be a bird of prey, a falcon or an eagle. The Kamień badge is a Western European import, probably German. Almost identical objects have been found in Wrocław's Ostrów Tumski and Szczecin's Wzgórze Zamkowe. In their form and artistry they resemble pilgrim badges, emblems fastened to clothes, headgear or bags, visible signs of pilgrimage to sacred places.

Sławomir Słowiński