Mystery of the gold jewels

28. 6. 2022 - 25. 6. 2023

The T. G. M. Rakovník Museum invites you to the exhibition The Mystery of Golden Jewels with the subtitle Unique Finds of Royal Jewels from the Period of Migration of Peoples from Central Bohemia!
What does a golden treasure from the dark dawn of history look like? What did the rulers of the time adorn themselves with to demonstrate their power and wealth? And what was the level of the craft workshops of the time? The answer will be provided by the extraordinary exhibition of the T. G. M. Museum. Rakovník, which is the culmination of almost two years of research into a hoard of gold jewellery found in 2020 near Rakovnawhich brought together an extraordinary number of top scientific institutions and laboratories from the Czech Republic and abroad.

From 28 June 2022, you will have the opportunity to learn all about the discovery itself, as well as about its investigation and the results of a series of expert analyses in a special exhibition at the Rakovník Museum. The collection of gold ornaments from Rakovník consists of several artefacts of exceptional value. A ring and a massive belt buckle, made of almost pure gold and decorated with precious stones, date from the 2nd half of the 5th century. It dates from the turbulent period at the end of Late Antiquity, known in our environment as the Migration of Nations. Unknown to us at the time, tribal rulers acquired such costly and luxurious badges of their status in imperial workshops to demonstrate their power. The jewels on display are decorated with almandine, antique glass, and especially Bohemian garnets, assembled using the artisanally demanding cloisonné technique. And in the case of the belt buckle, it is one of the oldest uses of the Bohemian garnet in jewellery! The value of the discovery is not diminished by the fact that the sumptuous objects - the belt buckle and ring - were most likely part of a hidden period booty, perhaps stolen from a grave? The belt buckle, which was brutally broken into 3 pieces during the cutting of the loot, regardless of the aesthetically very impressive motif of birds of prey, bears witness to this. Together with the nearby slightly later discovery (2021) of a massive gilded silver horse halter with a human mask motif from the end of the 6th century. These evidences of the material culture of the highest aristocracy of the time are unique not only in Central Bohemia, but in the whole wider European area. Comparison with royal jewels of that time is therefore appropriate, although the mystery of who the ornaments belonged to remains unanswered...

The content of the exhibition was created in cooperation with archaeologist Doc. Jaroslav Jiřík, Ph. D. (Charles University Prague and Prácheňské muzeum in Písek), gemologist and mineralogist Dr. Radek Hanus Ph. D. and the Moravian Museum Brno. Loans of originals and replicas of jewellery from the period of the Migration of Nations were provided by the West Bohemian Museum in Pilsen, the Regional Museum in KolaMuseum in Kolyně, the Museum of Local History in Slane, the Institute of Archaeological Heritage Conservation of Northwest Bohemia in Most, the Regional Museum K. A. Polánek in Žatec, the Regional Museum in Děčín and the Institute of Archaeology of the CAS v.v.i.
The opening of the exhibition will take place on Tuesday, 28 June 2022 at 17.00h in the courtyard of the T. G. M. Rakovník Museum, Žižkovo nám. 1.

Video

Link to 3D: https://modely.cesnet.cz/models/ih3d/?c=sperky.json