Il tesoro di Desana

Preface by Dieter Quast. Appendices by Birgit Arrhenius, Paola Comba and Marco Aimone.

The Desana Treasure has been well known since its discovery, or rather, since it was purchased on the antiques market in 1938 by the 'Museo Civico di Arte Antica' in Turin. The composition of the Desana treasure shows that is was 'collected' over centuries. A ring with gemstone and a chain from the 2/3rd century are the oldest elements and objects from early 6th century the most recent. The latter give the date for the burial. Though, most objects are from the late 5th / early 6th century AD, that is from the reign of Theoderich the Great. The composition of the Desana treasure is interesting from another point of view as well. There are male and female dress adornments and silverware in the form of spoons. This new analysis of the Desana treasure allows a fresh view on this complex and offers insights into society in Ostrogothic Italy, especially into the relationship between old Latin landowners and Ostrogothic nobility. The detailed description and photographs of the 51 objects give valuable information regarding the goldsmith's art, which is extremely important because of the lack in Italy of burials of the same value belonging to that period. So, this description is crucial for future research about goldsmith's workshops in the late antique Mediterranean.