Future Memory in Place report - Isayev
Appendix C: Text and Image Accompanied the Unveiling of the Sculpture Tessera Hospitalis at the National Waterfront Museum, Swansea
Tessera Hospitalis
It is a record of mutual friendship that acts
as a binding contract extending over
geographic distances and generations.
It appears in a play by Plautus: Poenulus
(The Little Carthaginian) (958; 1047-55).
Ivory Boar found in a cemetery
in Carthage of 6th century BC
meaning it is 2600 years old:
Written on it, in Etruscan:
Mi puinel karthazie els q[---]na
(I (am) Puinel from Carthage…)
Ivory Lion from the sanctuary
under Sant'Omobono in Rome
at the time of the Etruscan King
of Rome Tarquinius Priscus:
7th / beginning 6th century BC
Written in Etruscan the Name:
Araz Silqetenas Spurianas
Future Memory in Place report - Isayev
Appendix C: Text and Image Accompanied the Unveiling of the Sculpture Tessera Hospitalis at the National Waterfront Museum, Swansea
Tessera Hospitalis, National Waterfront Museum, Swansea
Amgueddfa Genedlaethol y Glannau, Abertawe
The Tessera Hospitalis is an ancient symbol of friendship and
long distance ties. From archaeology and the ancient comedy of
Plautus, Poenulus, we know that some 3000 years ago friends
exchanged such objects stretching their bonds to each other
over hundreds of miles and generations. In a world of the
ancient Mediterranean, where people were often on the move,
hospitality was key.
This sculpture has been inspired by the ancient Tessera
Hospitalis, a small unique token made of ivory, metal or clay,
which could be in any shape - a lion, boar, ram, gheko or an
abstract symbol … It was made in two parts, each friend holding
on to a half as a promise and as a marker of identity to be
presented next time they, or their children, reunited. This
modern sculpture is an interpretation of the ancient Tessera and
what it represents. It is not static but mobile, as it is only one
half of the whole. Each shape has been uniquely created by a
pupil from one of the 9 Swansea schools that took part in the
project Future Memory in Place, Cila, Cwm Glas,
Cwmrhydyceirw, Dylan Thomas, Hendrefoilan, Morriston,
Parkland, Sea View and St. Helens, as well as other members of
the Swansea community. Each of them is the guardian of their
Tessera which links them to this monument and the moment of
its creation.
What will be the stories of the Tesserae of this sculpture - only
those who made them and hold the other half will know - as
they extend their ties to each other and the ancient port of
Swansea into the future and across the globe.
Funded by Arts and Humanities Research Council, Beyond Text
Mae Tessera Hospitalis yn symbol hynafol o gyfeillgarwch a
rhwymau hirbell. O archeoleg a chomedi hynafol Plautus,
Poenulus, rydym yn gwybod, ryw 3000 o flynyddoedd yn ôl, fod
cyfeillion yn cyfnewid eitemau o’r fath, gan estyn y clymau â’i
gilydd dros gannoedd o filltiroedd a chenedlaethau. Yn hen fyd y
Canoldir, lle y byddai pobl yn aml ar fynd, roedd lletygarwch yn
hollbwysig.
Mae’r cerflun hwn wedi’i ysbrydoli gan y Tessera Hospitalis
hynafol, eitem fach unigryw wedi’i gwneud o ifori, metel neu
glai, a allai fod ar unrhyw ffurf - llew, baedd, hwrdd, geco neu
symbol haniaethol … Byddai’n cael ei gwneud mewn dwy ran,
gyda phob ffrind yn cadw hanner yr eitem fel addewid a nod
hunaniaeth i’w gyflwyno y tro nesaf y bydden nhw, neu eu plant,
yn dod at ei gilydd. Dehongliad o’r Tessera hynafol yw’r cerflun
modern hwn a’r hyn mae’n ei gynrychioli. Nid rhywbeth statig
yw’r cerflun ond rhywbeth symudol, gan mai un hanner yn unig
o’r cyfan yw e. Mae pob siâp wedi’i greu’n unigryw gan ddisgybl
o un o 9 ysgol yn Abertawe a gymerodd ran yn y prosiect Future
Memory in Place, Cila, Cwm Glas, Cwmrhydyceirw, Dylan
Thomas, Hendrefoilan, Morriston, Parkland, Sea View, St.
Helens, yn ogystal ag aelodau eraill o gymuned Abertawe.
Gwarcheidwad ei Tessera ei hun yw pob un ohonynt – rhywbeth
sy’n ei gysylltu â’r cofadail hwn ac ennyd ei greu.
Beth fydd straeon Tesserae y cerflun hwn? – dim ond y rhai a’u
gwnaeth a’r rhai sy’n dal yr ail hanner fydd yn gwybod – wrth
iddynt estyn eu clymau â’i gilydd ac â phorthladd hynafol
Abertawe i’r dyfodol ac ar draws y byd.