Die emailverzierte Trinkhornkette aus dem Fürstengrab (Grab 2) von Kariv

Abstract

Among the elements of drinking horns recorded in the princely grave in Kariv, western Ukraine, are a chain and terminal with enamel decoration. Both finds belong to the phenomenon of eastern-European objects decorated with champlevé enamel that was widespread throughout a huge area stretching from the south-eastern Baltic Sea coast to the Black Sea, and from the Dnieper River basin up through the Volga River basin. These enamelled objects included a number of local forms of ornaments and dress accessories, but also elements of equestrian equipment and drinking horn chains decorated with red, orange, blue, green, yellow or white enamel; often one item was decorated with enamel in several different colours. These outstanding multi-coloured objects became supra-regional status symbols across huge regions of Eastern Europe.
The genesis of these eastern-European enamelled objects may be connected with the inspiration and influence of Roman workshops. Some of the finds were probably produced to order for eastern barbarian elites by highly skilled jewellers in provincial Roman workshops. There may also have been itinerant craftsmen who specialized in the manufacture of enamelled objects. A “stationary”  workshop producing finds decorated with enamel was found in the settlement at Abidnja (Adamenka) in northern Belarus.
The enamelled objects have been recorded in several concentrations: in the territory of the Balts (north-eastern Poland, central and  eastern Lithuania, eastern Latvia), in the upper and middle Dnieper River basin, in the Desna- and Don River basins, in the upper Oka River basin, in the territory of the Baltic Finns (northern and eastern Estonia, southwestern Finland) and in the area occupied by the Volga Finns. Isolated stray finds are known from the Crimea and the Black Sea region, the Carpathian Basin, and eastern Poland. The earliest enamelled objects date from the mid-2nd century AD and the latest from the late-4th and 5th centuries AD. However, the tradition of decorating local forms with enamel continued in Eastern Europe until the Late Migration Period (cf. bow brooches – Bügelfibeln).
Finds of drinking horn chains decorated with enamel, while quite rare (25 in total), are interregional, widespread across the whole  territory of eastern Europe. Seven chains with enamel are known from the Baltic lands (northern and eastern Lithuania, Latvia, Samland), two from the area of the Tarand Graves Culture (Baltic Finns), 13 from the Kiev Culture, a splendid item from the Moščino Culture, one from the Caucasus and one from the Wielbark Culture. Only a few of the chains were recorded in closed assemblages that could be precisely dated. Finds from two graves in northern Lithuania are dated to phases C1a–C1b, corresponding with the Kariv find.
None of the known chains is directly analogous with the Kariv example. Enamelled items of this type were produced to individual order and differ from each other for that reason. Analogies can be identified only by analysis of particular elements of the chains; their shape, decorations and enamelled motifs. To discover the source of inspiration for the Kariv find, we must look at the individual details and ornamental designs, not only of other chains, but also of other categories of enamelled objects.
The phenomenon of splendid drinking horn chains decorated with enamel has been linked with the interregional warrior elites of Eastern Europe and interpreted as a method of self-identification among this group and as a symbol of its prestige.