Half of a twin capital with a griffin motif

Description

he capital is considered to be one of the best examples of Romanesque masonry in Poland. The column head was found in 1980 in the courtyard of a baroque monastery and is one of many preserved fragments of the architectural decoration of the Romanesque monastic complex in Tyniec. Column capitals constitute a sizeable group amongst them. Researchers do not agree whether they were originally located in the church or in the cloisters. The capital has the shape of a truncated pyramid turned upside down. The surface of the capital is covered by ornamentation with zoomorphic and plant motifs. On the obverse, there is a representation of a griffin or a dragon with long pointed ears. Out of its mouth emerge vines ending in palmette leaves, among which there appears a winged figure of another animal. The reverse is covered by a composition of three palmette leaves inscribed in a heart-like shape. 4th quarter of the 11th century, Tyniec Museum of the Benedictine Abbey in Tyniec Inventory number: DA/167/2012