TREASURES AND EVIDENCE

Borovo

Borovo: five vessels, a prestigious banquet

Three animal-shaped vessels, a platter and a jug make up the Borovo silver assemblage.

Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.

**PHOTOGRAPH OF THE ORIGINAL · CC0**
Documentary original · Exact correspondence
View of the Borovo treasure. Set of vessels, not a royal portrait. The photograph is preserved intact in its original panoramic format.
Ivano Giambattista · CC0
Source and provenance ↗Terms of use ↗

History and context

A horse, a bull and a sphinx shape three drinking vessels. They are accompanied by a platter with two handles and a jug decorated with figures. Together, the five vessels turn the table into a space for images, social relations and possible ceremonies.

Borovo helps to understand that wealth did not reside only in the amount of metal. The control of gestures, the recognition of the beings represented and the ability to gather guests could also make the authority of an elite visible.

Evidence and interpretation

ISAW documents Ruse collection, inventories II 357–361 and date 350–300 BCE. The municipal website offers different expository information.

Catalogue facts

Date: 4th century BC C.; 350–300 BCE in the ISAW catalog.
Location: Borovo Bulgaria

A SHARED TOPIC, DIFFERENT MOMENTS

Objects connected through time

Follow a topic across the collections. A shared tag is a way to compare objects, not proof that one culture influenced another.

The order uses the midpoint of each approximate date range; ranges can overlap. Spacing does not represent elapsed time. Swipe, scroll or use the arrows. With the sequence focused, use ← / →, Home or End.

You are viewing

4th century BC C.; 350–300 BCE in the ISAW catalog.

Borovo

Thracians

Explicit range from the ISAW catalog, included in the card.

Current record

Silver19 dated objects

10 / 19In the centre: Borovo

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Vessels

Before Sumer · mid-6th–5th millennium BCE · Sumer
Twin-chambered vessel from Cova de l’Or · Early Neolithic · VI–V millennia BCE · Prehistory
Before Egypt · ca. 4400–3800 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Before Nubia · V–IV millennium BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Before Gojoseon · Middle Neolithic, c. 4000 BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Bevel-rimmed bowl · ca. 3500–3000 BCE · Sumer
Uruk Vase · ca. 3300–3000 BCE · Sumer
Before Yayoi · Middle Jōmon, ca. 3000 BCE · Yayoi Japan
Vasiliki · ca. 2500–2200 BCE · Greek worlds
Before the Greeks · c. 2400–2200 BCE · Greek worlds
Before Ancient China · c. 2500–2000 BCE · Ancient China
Longshan · c. 2500–2000 BCE · Ancient China
Kerma vessel · c. 1802–1640 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Grave Circle A and Chrysolakkos · 18th–16th centuries BCE · Greek worlds
Before Vedic India · c. 1900–1300 BCE · Vedic and later Indian worlds
Jue · c. sixteenth century BCE · Ancient China
Pithos · c. 1450–1375 BCE · Greek worlds
Tutankhamun's grave goods · death towards 1323 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Stag Vessel · 14th–13th centuries BCE · Hittites
Valchitran · second half of the 14th century–beginning of the 13th century BCE, according to NAIM; other publications use wider intervals from the Late Bronze. · Thracians
Liding · 12th–11th centuries BCE · Ancient China
Before the Iberias · Final Bronze, c. 1000 BCE · Iberians
Grey bowl from Hastinapura · c. 1100–800 BCE in the classical sequence of Hastinapura · Vedic and later Indian worlds
Before Etruscans and Rome · ca. 850–800 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
The urn under the helmet · 9th–8th centuries BCE · Etruscans and Rome
Tomb 1 at Kuntur Wasi · c. 800 BCE · Pre-Inca cultures
Regolini-Galassi tomb · ca. 675–650 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
The great Greek krater of Vix · ≈530–500 BCE · Greek worlds
Scorțaru cauldron · 6th–5th centuries BCE · Thracians
Vix Tomb · c. 500 BCE · Celtic worlds
Orpheus among the Thracians · circa 440 BCE; attributed to the London Painter E 497. · Thracians
Twenty-six voiceless signs · 5th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and Saka
Rogozen · mainly 5th–4th centuries BCE; The set has a history of accumulation, not a single manufacturing date. · Thracians
Grave goods of Baza and Toya · First half of the 4th century BCE · Iberians
The Attic krater that took on a new life in Cástulo · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
The silver amphora of Chertomlyk · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
The Kul-Oba vase · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
Faces of the Steppe · Second half of the 4th century BCE · Scythians and Saka
Poroina Mare Rhyton · Second half of the 4th century BCE · Thracians
Borovo · 4th century BC C.; 350–300 BCE in the ISAW catalog. · Thracians — You are viewing
Leipzig Fish Plate · Last third 4th–early 3rd century BCE · Greek worlds
Golyamata Kosmatka · End of the 4th century – beginning of the 3rd century BCE; ritual burial at the beginning of the III according to Iskra. · Thracians
Panagyurishte · late 4th century – early 3rd century BCE, towards 300 BCE · Thracians
Dove of the Amarejo · 3rd century BCE · Iberians
Mairena Hoard · 3rd century BCE · Iberians
Vase from Chão de Lamas · Piece: III–II centuries BCE · concealment ≈110–76 BCE · Iberians
Vas dels Guerrers · 3rd–early 2nd century BCE · Iberians
Warriors' Vase · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · Iberians
The dismantled cauldron · 2nd–1st centuries BCE · Celtic worlds
Kalathos of Alcorisa · 2nd–1st centuries BCE · Iberians
Patera from Perotito · Second half of the 2nd–beginnings of the 1st century BCE · Iberians
Urewe vessel · regional range c. 800 BCE–650 CE · Bantu-speaking worlds
Two rows of coffins · Mainly Middle Yayoi, 2nd century BCE–1st century CE · Yayoi Japan
Ceramics that continued · Last third of the 2nd century BCE–1st century CE · Iberians
Roman glass oinochoe · Late 1st century BCE–early 1st century CE · Etruscans and Rome
Gladiators Cup of Chavagnes · 25–75 CE · Etruscans and Rome
Egyptian oil lamp with a fish, held in Laon · 3rd–4th centuries CE · Ancient Egypt
Laon lamp with fish · 3rd–4th centuries CE · Etruscans and Rome
Water in a shell · 1816–1826 · San histories

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

A Kerma vessel deposited at Abydos · Second Intermediate Period · Ancient Egypt
A tradition that invents · collected in 1993 or 1995 · Batwa / Twa histories
A vase travels; the rite changes · No individual dating published on this record · Iberians
Early pottery · before ca. 9400 cal BCE · Mande Worlds
Liédena Flask · Roman period · individual chronology not published in the entry · Etruscans and Rome
Made in Garama · I millennium BCE–I millennium CE · Garamantes
Oil in a calabash · ca. 1947 · Batwa / Twa histories
The unfinished gesture · 1947 · Batwa / Twa histories
Travelling objects · Mainly Roman period · Garamantes
Urns from Adichanallur · Iron Age · samples towards 665 and 467 BCE · Vedic and later Indian worlds
Vessels without a language · Urewe, broad regional range ca. 800 BCE–650 CE · Bantu-speaking worlds

Animal imagery

Lion-man · ≈40,000 years · Aurignacian · Prehistory
Before the San · ≈25.500–23.500 BCE · San histories
Before the name San · ≈25.500–23.500 BCE · San histories
Altamira · Assemblage ≈36,000–13,000 BP · bison ≈18,400–15,300 cal BP · Prehistory
Lascaux · ≈23,500–21,000 cal BP · debated contextual estimate · Prehistory
Zaraysk Bison · ≈23,000–21,000 years · Prehistory
Rondelle de Mas-d'Azil · ≈18,000–16,000 years · Prehistory
Lamp from La Mouthe · ≈20,500–13,000 years · Magdalenian framework · Prehistory
Engraved stone from Çakmaktepe · PPNA · site proposal: ≈9600–8800 BCE, provisional · Prehistory
Cueva de las Manos · Sequence ≈9300–1300 BP · Prehistory
Cylinder seal · c. 3500–3100 BCE · Sumer
Queen's Lyre · ca. 2600–2500 BCE · Sumer
The goat from PG 1237 · ca. 2600–2400 BCE · Sumer
Indus seals · ca. 2600–1900 BCE · Indus civilisation
Queen of the Night · 19th–18th centuries BCE · Sumer
Bull-leaping · c. 1600–1450 BCE · Greek worlds
Stag Vessel · 14th–13th centuries BCE · Hittites
Before the Scythians and Sakas · Final Bronze–Initial Iron, ca. 1200–600 BCE · Scythians and Saka
Ivory in Nimrud · 9th–8th centuries BCE · Phoenicians
Lamassu of Khorsabad · Reign of Sargon II · 721–705 BCE · Sumer
The Tello Obelisk · c. 800–500 BCE · Pre-Inca cultures
Ashurbanipal Hunt · 645–635 BCE · Sumer
Banquet under leopards · Around 480–470 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
The oldest knotted carpet · 5th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and Saka
The silver amphora of Chertomlyk · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
Thoth in the form of a baboon · 664–30 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Poroina Mare Rhyton · Second half of the 4th century BCE · Thracians
Borovo · 4th century BC C.; 350–300 BCE in the ISAW catalog. · Thracians — You are viewing
Leipzig Fish Plate · Last third 4th–early 3rd century BCE · Greek worlds
Dove of the Amarejo · 3rd century BCE · Iberians
Chão de Lamas pectoral · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · concealed in the early 1st century BCE · Iberians
Fibula from Lancia · ≈300–100 BCE · Iberians
Horse fibula · 2nd century BCE · disputed chronology · Iberians
The dismantled cauldron · 2nd–1st centuries BCE · Celtic worlds
Kalathos of Alcorisa · 2nd–1st centuries BCE · Iberians
Egyptian oil lamp with a fish, held in Laon · 3rd–4th centuries CE · Ancient Egypt
Laon lamp with fish · 3rd–4th centuries CE · Etruscans and Rome
Gold rhinoceros · ca. 1220–1290; found in 1933 · Bantu-speaking worlds
Zimbabwe birds · main period of Great Zimbabwe, c. 12th–15th centuries · Bantu-speaking worlds

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Bhimbetka · Mesolithic–historical and medieval period · Prehistory
Eland Cave · Regional tradition of ≈4,000 years · up to historical period · Prehistory
Fawn spear-thrower · Middle Magdalenian · Prehistory
Game Pass Shelter · Regional rock art chronology · panel not dated in isolation · San histories
Kakadu · Regional corpus ≈20,000 BP–contemporary era · Prehistory
Leang Karampuang · Minimum 51,200 years · dating published in 2024 · Prehistory
Sierra de San Francisco · Broad tradition with direct dates ≈5290–295 BP · Prehistory
Tassili n’Ajjer · Corpus ≈6000 BCE–first centuries CE · Prehistory
The Thracian Horseman · Roman era · diffusion especially in the 2nd–3rd centuries CE · Thracians
Trumpet from Numantia · No individual dating published on this record · Iberians

Banqueting

The great Greek krater of Vix · ≈530–500 BCE · Greek worlds
Rogozen · mainly 5th–4th centuries BCE; The set has a history of accumulation, not a single manufacturing date. · Thracians
Borovo · 4th century BC C.; 350–300 BCE in the ISAW catalog. · Thracians — You are viewing
Panagyurishte · late 4th century – early 3rd century BCE, towards 300 BCE · Thracians
Vase from Chão de Lamas · Piece: III–II centuries BCE · concealment ≈110–76 BCE · Iberians
Patera from Perotito · Second half of the 2nd–beginnings of the 1st century BCE · Iberians

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

The Banquet of Seuthes II · Towards 400 BCE. Anabasis episode · Thracians

A closer look

About 1 min to read · 2 sections. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: September 5, 2026.

Identifying the five vessels

The three rhytons end in a galloping horse, a bull and a sphinx. The two-handled platter and jug complete the group. The different silhouettes made each vessel recognizable and turned the beverage service into a sequence of animal, human and imaginary beings.

Museum · Ruse Museum: BorovoAccess recorded: September 5, 2026.
Research · ISAW, New York University: Treasure with rhytons, bowl, and pitcherAccess recorded: September 5, 2026.

Royal names and proposed uses

Inscriptions on several vessels mention Cotys, a name linked to Thracian royalty. The Ruse museum interprets the service as a ritual. The association between names, precious metal and images allows us to relate it to elite environments, although we do not know the exact sequence of the gestures and celebrations in which it participated.

Location and territory

APPROXIMATE LOCATION

Borovo BulgariaApproximate reference of origin or production, not exact findspot.

Where it is held

Ruse Regional History Museum

Item or group in the record · Documented collection

Lending institution and inventory numbers II 357–361 documented by ISAW. Originals and replicas may change location; current display has not been confirmed.

The holding institution is documented; public display may change. Check its official record before visiting.

Sources and references

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Borovo

History and context

Evidence and interpretation

Catalogue facts

Objects connected through time

Borovo

The goat from PG 1237

Stag Vessel

Before the Iberias

Twenty-six voiceless signs

Rogozen

The silver amphora of Chertomlyk

Treasure of Jávea

Thoth in the form of a baboon

Poroina Mare Rhyton

Borovo

Falcata from Almedinilla

Treasure of Cheste

Mairena Hoard

Chão de Lamas pectoral

Vase from Chão de Lamas

Horse fibula

The dismantled cauldron

Patera from Perotito

Denarius of Carisius

A closer look

Identifying the five vessels

Royal names and proposed uses

Location and territory

Where it is held

Ruse Regional History Museum

Sources and references

Did you enjoy this exhibit?