Two pre-romanesque ciboriums from Crkvina in Galovac near Zadar

Abstract

Of the many fragments of plastic art discovered by the systematic investigation of the complex archeological site Crkvina in the village of Galovac near Zadar, which has been going on for years and whose typological-functional and plastic- stylistic peculiarities represent a significant archeological found of pre-Romanesque monuments, in this paper the author dwells upon only two ciboriums - one of which is six-sided, the other four-sided. The ciboriums are unique and rare architectonic-sculptural monuments of pre- Romanesque stone church furnishings and have been discovered only on the most significant Old Croatian localities in the Dalmatian part of Croatia - in Bijadi near Trogir, Biskupija - Crkvina, Kapitul near Knin and in the Croatian king's Dimitije Zvonimir's coronation basilica (St Peter's and Moses) in Solin; they have also been found in almost all the important churches in the Romanic cities along the eastern Adriatic coast where they were made in the first place. More than 160 smaller and larger fragments of the two ciboriums from Crkvina near Galovac have been unearthed. The paper catalogues and accompanies them with photo documentation. On the basis of these fragments, the author assembles the technical documentation, showing specific relevant construction details as well as complete, almost wholly exact reconstructions. This gives the reader a notion of their original appearance (Appendix I-IV). The author opines that the six-sided ciborium went with the altar while the four-sided belonged to the baptistery. On the basis of a stylistic analysis of the decorative motifs and sculptural details of the ciboriums, the author Considers both ciboriums to be contemporaneous and dates them to the beginning of the 91*1 century. The author believes that these are the oldest and, at the same lime, the most perfectly preserved pre-Romanesque ciboriums from the Dalmation region of Croatia and represent an important scientific contribution to the study of the development of pre-Romanesque art amongst the Croats.