Page 104 - Zbornik 27

NZ27/2003 PRILOG PROU^AVAWU ZDELA... 105

Emina Ze~evi}

THE CONTRIBUTION OF STUDY OF THE DISHES
WITH HORIZONTAL HANDLE

During the systematic archeological researches on St. Peter’s church near
by Novi Pazar, which were practiced in period from 1984–1988 between numero-
us pottery parts of the dishes with the full horizontal handle were found (T. I–IV,
pict. 1–2). On account of a small number of discovered examples of the dishes with
this shape on our territory until now, they together, with known examples from the
earlier researches on St. Peter’s church (T. VII) contribute to knowledge of this
specific and rare shape of the table vessels. Except two thing founds inside of Bel-
grade and Stalac town all other known examples of this dishes were discovered du-
ring the researches of complex of monasteries (Gradac, \ur|evi Stupovi, Sopo}a-
ni, Nova Pavlica, Studenica, Ravanica) so it was presumed that they were used in
the first place for the cult purposes from the end of the 13th until the middle of the
15th century. It is about the glaze conical dishes decorated in techniques of painted
sgraffito, with saved one or two horizontal installed handles, which can have diffe-
rent shapes (T. IX). Without Serbian territory, on territory of Bulgaria and Roma-
nia, only a few examples of the dishes are known in a shape of the smaller dish with
handles shaped like this, but they have the smaller dimensions, in substance witho-
ut ornaments on recipient and with sufficiently massive handles with a different
shape and ornament. Our all dishes are connected with equalized shapes and colors
of the used glaze, and before all characteristic ornament of concentrated circles
that decorates their handles. This motive, namely, is used on the handles and belli-
es of the dishes and ewers already from the end of the 13th century, but precisely it
s specific use on the dishes in a shape like this interpolates them in to one of the
symbols of Serbian pottery production of luxurious table vessels of this period. Re-
lationship in a decoration method and shapes of the dishes which is also noticeable
between later pottery from this localities, before all those discovered in researches
of St. Peter’s church, \ur|evi Stupovi and Sopo}ani demonstrated long and devel-
oped tradition on one determined territory, but also an approval of activity of the
important pottery work at this place which produced usual kitchen, rude pottery for
house use, but also luxurious, glaze designed to table, keeping and transference of
food and liquids and in rituals performing.
Even their use only in cult purposes remains unverified, these dishes speci-
ally founds such as an example with engraved initials (T. VII/1), confirmed that
pottery from this locality will be unavoidable in studies of the luxurious pottery on
the Serbian space in late medieval.