Sietynų su žalčio

LTLietuvos nacionaliniame ir Lietuvos dailės muziejuose saugomi sietynai su žalčio/gyvatės formos šakomis yra vieni seniausių tarp išlikusių Lietuvoje. Anksčiau, renkant medžiagą apie Lietuvos ir kaimyninių šalių apšvietimo priemones, analogiško dekoro sietynų nepavyko aptikti nei Latvijoje, nei Lenkijoje. Dėl šios priežasties manyta, kad išskirtinio dekoro šviestuvai buvo paplitę tik Lietuvos teritorijoje. Dar kartą nuosekliai peržvelgus Vakarų Europos muziejų kolekcijas paaiškėjo, kad elegantiškai susirangiusios gyvatės motyvas sietynų šakose turi būti siejamas su Amsterdame 1598-1638 m. aktyviai dirbusio liejiko Hanso Rogierio pavarde. Straipsnyje pirmą kartą išaiškinamos sietynų su gyvatės formos šakomis ištakos Vakarų Europoje. Analizuojami Lietuvoje išlikę ir neišlikę pavyzdžiai, jų raida ir datavimo niuansai. Nagrinėjama sietynų su žalčio dekoru funkcionavimo erdvė, paliečiama simbolikos tema. Pasitelkus europinius pavyzdžius straipsnyje siekiama įvertinti ir reabilituoti Lietuvoje išlikusius gyvatės formos sietynus. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Sietynai; Žaltys; Gyvatė; Hansas Rogieris; Nyderlandai (Netherlands); Chandeliers; Serpent; Snake; Hans Rogier; Lithuania.

ENSince 2009, the heritage of chandeliers in Lithuania has been investigated. A lot of articles wer e published on this topic and a virtual catalogue of chandeliers (www.sietynupaveldas.lt) wa s compiled and is regularly updated. One of the oldest and most valuable in Lithuania are chandeliers with serpent arms, stored at the Lithuanian National Museum and the Lithuanian Art Museum. Although these chandeliers are valuable, their development and origins in Lithuania wer e not comprehensively analysed. An ornament of serpent arms is not alien in the Lithuanian culture: it is important and frequent. This wa s one of the main reasons to perform an in-depth analysis of these chandeliers and present their origins in Western Europe . This would be impossible without a comprehensive article written by Berend Dubbe and Frans van Molle about lightning tools cast by craftsman Hans Rogier van Harelbeke from the end of the 16th c. to the first half of the 17th c. A candlestick with serpent arm is stored in the Dutch National Art and History Museum (Rijksmuseum) in Amsterdam. On the edges of the holder, initials and date are cast "Hans Rogier, 1599" and a record that warns its readers for the danger of the snakes' fire and advices them to be as strong as the lion Being a successful caster for forty years (1598-1638), Hans Rogier has contributed significantly to the golden age of the Netherlands. He worked in the Protestant environment. Accordingly, his works are perfectly fine-shaped and had not only a lighting but also a didactic function. The chandeliers cast by him are still hanging in the Roma n Catholic and Reformed Churches. In Lithuania, the functional chandeliers with this exclusive decor are currently not known. Survived example s are stored at the Lithuanian museums and in private collections. It could be seen that the curling of the serpent arms differs greatly.Accordingly, serpent arms have been divided into three distinct curling groups: branches with one, two and three loops. The article analyses space functioning and symbolism of these chandeliers. The chandeliers with serpent arms created for Roman Catholic and Reformed Churche s in Western European have adapted and highly widespread in the Lithuanian synagogues. It is worth remembering a plot from the Old Testament when the Lord for disobedience has sent poisonous snakes amon g the Israelites. People used to pray for the rescue from disaster. Ordered by the Lord, Mose s mad e a "bronz e snake" . "Then when anyone wa s bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived." Chandeliers with many serpent arms may have served in synagogue s as a symbolic message and a reminder to be of vigilant and strong faith. It is likely that the interiors of the Roman Catholic Churche s in Lithuania were decorated by chandeliers like in The Netherlands. The curled serpent arms wer e recorded in the Church of Bagaslaviškis. Chandeliers with serpent arms have functioned in the interiors of the prominent cultural leaders and important cultural institutions in the first half of the last century. It is likely that this decor motif in Independent Lithuania took a completely different symbolic meaning, and in the searches of cultural identity, it wa s associated with Lithuania's past and the Baltic roots. The investigation revealed that chandeliers with serpent arms of exceptional artistic value were not specifically designed for any type of interiors, but in the Netherlands and Lithuania were used in different sacral and secular public and private interiors. The functioning of these chandeliers in chapels of different religions was potentially determined by a universal symbolic approach of a serpent/ snake. [From the publication]