Some Specimens of Early Prehistoric Plastic Art in Slovenia

Abstract

As to the present investigations prehistorical plastic a rt products are seerce in Slovenia th e chief reason thereof being the fact th a t th e territo ry was b u t little exam ined as to th e ea rlier periods. H itherto th ree statuettes have been excavated, one on the Moor of L jubljana, one at M aribor, and one at Ptuj. Chronologically the first one seems to be the earliest, w hile the other two are n early p arallel. Yet they differ as to their elaboration, respec[1]tively conception. Typological I y they represent th ree various types. The sta tu e tte from the Moor of L ju b ljan a corresponds to the anthropom orphic vases of the sam e site. Stylization has reaiched its acme th ere though this statu ette b e the earliest one. The one of M aribor is the most naturalistic. As fa r as the statuettes are ornam ented th e ir ornam ents represent clothing, respectively tex tile ornam ents. O n the statu ette of M aribor Schuchardt saw also a kind of a sk irt of grass or some sim ilar m aterial, w hich is very doubtful. It has been .estab lish ed th a t the statu ette of L ju b ljan a belongs to the Slavo[1]nian culture, and the one of P tu j to the Illy rian culture, chronologically somehow to the transition from the Bronze into the H allstadt Period. The statu ette of M aribor is likely to belong to the Illy rian culture] as well, though the d ata of its excavation be rath e r uncertain. O ur statu ettes originate from the D anube valley. The one of L ju b ljan a m ay be rem iniscent of the N eolithic Period, b u t the other two- have originated u n d er th e influence of th e Slavonian cu ltu re m any elem ents of w hich have been found in the Illy rian settlem ent on the C astle of P tu j sim ultaneously w ith the sta tu e tte itself. O th er plastic a rt products are represented by anthropom orphic vases from th e Moor of L ju b ljan a corresponding stylistically to the statu ette from th e re as well. The ornam ents rep resen t te x tile motives taken from the clothing in nature. It is not clear w hat th e purpose of th e anthropom orphic! vasea was. They m ight have been eith er cult vessels or even -idols, though it seems •rather unlikely. T here are some m ore vessels th a t m ight b e included into plastic vases, and th a t w ere probably not used in everyday life, b u t to some special purpose. Such is a v ery rough vase in the shape of a shod foot or a shoe, fu rth e r a fragm ent of a vessel w ith a very thin neck w hich is covered by a sm all p late w ith tw o little holes. Sim ilar ones are to be found in the area of th e D anubian N eolithic cu ltu re at Vinca (Vasic calls them arybaloses and candelabrum -shaped vases), and at B utm ir as well. Also a p itcher m ay be included; it is interesting on account of its having been flatly com pressed w hile being m anufactured, and sem icircularly w ound. Its purpose is not clear. O n the Moor of L ju b ljan a also clay rattles are fre q u e n t They are m ade in biconical shapes, in the shape of a common hum an statuette, and in the shape of some flying anim al. The la tte r two w ere variously in terp reted . The first one as a cow ering owl, the second one as a hedgehog. All of them w ere on a cord, and represented am ulets against bad ghosts. They are not likely to have been children’s toys, and little likely to have been cult or ritu a l objects. A -plastic object from the C astle of P tu j m ay represent phallus owing to its shape. It belongs to the Illy rian culture. W ith p lastic products in Slovenia w e cannot speak about th eir artistic degree, b u t a t the m ost about the degree of trad e art. The chief aim was not th e shape, b u t the contents. T here are b u t few individual peculiarities of the producer to be noticed. Most products are m ade by routine