„Suebenköpfe“. Mušov, Czarnówko, Kariv und das römische Germanenbild

Abstract

In this contribution, the decorative busts or heads found on cauldrons are iconographically compared with images of Germanic people in Roman art. Based on a well-known passage in Tacitus’ Germania, the types are interpreted as images of Suebi, and the cauldrons are therefore called ‘Suebian cauldrons’. Iconographic and stylistic comparisons of the heads demonstrate considerable differences, which may indicate different places of production and times of origin. The type can be assumed with some probability to have originated on the Pannonian Limes, where Brigetio, in particular, yielded a considerable cluster of finds with images of Germanic tribesmen dating from the period of the Marcomannic Wars.