| Abstrakt: |
In the Spring of 1989 in Žagarė (Joniškis District), Kalno st. 14, a miniature stone that looks like a little sculpture of a human head was uncovered whilst planting a tree in a private garden. The paper aims at defining (or reconstructing) the mythological and cultural content of the sculpture. To this end, Stabrauskas draws on geological data, systemic causative analysis (considering the peculiarities of the way the stone was worked and the expedience of the elements represented) of the artistic intervention, appropriate folkloric as well as mythological parallels and associations, and some linguistic data (especially from Žagarė region). The unknown artist complemented and corrected the features of the stone modelling it to resemble a human head. The destructive element of the represented creature is especially highlighted. Therefore, the image can be hypothetically assumed to represent the personification of all destructive powers, akin to the image of the Reaper that from historical sources and the folklore is known to be the executer of the function of death. The features of the image are interpreted ophiomorphically, it may be the prototype of the Reaper image that arrived into the written sources later on. A locally made ring featuring traits characteristic of reptile designs in metal items dating back to the 13th century was found next to the stone. One can make a careful hypothesis that around this time the two findings might have been used to perform traditional, religious or possibly sacrificial rituals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
