Had de sierschijf van Helden een oudere tegenhanger?

Samenvatting

Did the decorative disc of Helden have an older counterpart?

About ten years ago, a discovery report from 1840 came to light stating that a gilded silver decorative disc (phalera) had been found
near Meijel (Netherlands) in 1807. The disc itself was not preserved. The description showed similarities with the decorative disc, which was later found nearby, in Helden. This last disc became part of thecollection of the Roermond notary Charles Guillon (1811-1873) and is now in the possession of the National Museum of Antiquities (Rijksmuseum van Oudheden) in Leiden. Apart from the similarities, there was also a difference. The Meijel specimen was crescent-shaped, while the Helden piece is round. This article examines whether these discs are indeed two different finds or whether the decorative disc from Helden was already known, but as the silver decorative disc from Meijel.
According to the oldest find report, the two decorative discs may have a different shape, but there are many similarities. They are made of gilded silver and feature images of a series of animals, including lions. Both pieces were found in virtually the same area and their successive owners – mostly mayors – have a long-standing family connection.
The decorative disc from Helden originally comes from Thrace, as does the one from Meijel probably, but crescent-shaped phalerae are not found in the region of origin and only one possibly comparable example comes from the Channel Island of Sark. The Meijel phalera was taken to Paris during the French period to be shown to experts, but unfortunately no records of this visit have been preserved. Ultimately, it was not possible to find any hard or convincing evidence that these discs are one and the same object, so we must assume that they are two separate phalerae. However, the search did yield new information about the year of discovery of the Helden ornamental disc, its possible location and its eventual acquisition by the National Museum of Antiquities. In addition, new information has been discovered about the role that the Helden phalera played in the international archaeological museum world.