Author’s guidance through the exhibition “Between Trapeza and Sofra. Metal Vessels from the 13th to the 19th Century in the Collections of the National Museum of Serbia” was held in the Gallery of the National Museum Kraljevo, on Wednesday, April 9th, 2025, starting at 6 p.m. Archaeologist Natasa Cerović, senior curator of the National Museum of Serbia and one of the authors of the exhibition, at the very beginning explained the difference between the table and the sofra, two different words that describe a place for dining. Based on the etymology of the word, the table is derived from a word of Greek origin and describes a rectangular table, while the sofra is derived from an Arp word and denotes a bench covered with cloth, while in our region it is associated with a low board on which lunch was eaten. The very names of the table and the sofra that were chosen for the title of this exhibition speak of the meeting of cultures of the East and the West in our region. Of the 81 metal vessels, 30 are cups that do not resemble today’s ones. Although their shape is more reminiscent of bowls, they were used as cups on the tables of the Serbian nobility, but also later during the Ottoman period when they were forgotten in the rest of Europe. They were intended for drinking liquids and represented a status symbol of the nobility.
The presentation of the exhibits began with the oldest objects in the exhibition, dating back to the 13th century, such as the plate of Sevast Čuzmen, found not far from Zaječar, which in its shape resembles similar vessels from antiquity. It is also one of the first vessels to arrive at the National Museum of Serbia. It is made of silver, like the cups from Arilje, which were most likely used as church vessels. Natasa Cerović then explained that these vessels are characterized by Byzantine stylistic influences. She said that the cup from Stob with the bust of a young man in a medallion is a classic Gothic creation and that it is the only object in this exhibition that entered the collection of the National Museum as a result of archaeological excavations.
She then presented an object of the greatest historical importance, a silver cup with gilding, on which the name of Emperor Dušan is engraved around the coat of arms of a double-headed eagle. She shared with the interested audience information from written sources that Stefan Dušan in the Venetian Republic ordered, in addition to silk, silver belts and a large number of silver cups, even before his imperial coronation in 1346. However, this cup cannot originate from that, but more likely from a later order, due to the inscription itself “In Christ God, faithful Emperor Stepan”. She also noted that this cup is not a personal object of Emperor Dušan, but an object that was gifted to the nobility. Speaking about the find from Banatska Dubica, she noted that the hoard also contained the money of the Hungarian King Sigismund II, who disappeared in one of the two disasters that the National Museum suffered in the world wars.
She presented richly decorated cups with Gothic and Western European influences, where the dominant images are animals, vines and fantastic beasts, which at times meet with Byzantine and Ottoman iconographic elements. Speaking in detail about the cups from the period of Ottoman rule, she explained and showed concrete examples of the rumi and hataj motifs that are characteristic of oriental art. Craftsmen used a small chisel to precisely carve floral motifs, using the chiseling method.
After that, she presented to the audience a series of vessels that were used for liturgical purposes, such as a cup for heat, a bowl for collecting offerings, a bowl from Donji Branetići, which is interesting because it has two inscriptions, one from the 16th century when the bowl was made and the other from 1848, which mentions hieromonk Serafim Marković and the Vraćevšnica monastery. The most significant object of this group is the plate of Patriarch Arsenije IV Jovanović Šakabenta from 1726, which comes from Sarajevo workshops.
The next group consists of vessels with Arabic inscriptions, such as a hand-washing bowl with a representation of a dolphin and the sun, the plate of Mustafa-aga, the plate of Osman-pasha, the lid of a censer in which various fragrant resins were burned, when reading the Quran, but also during bathing and dining. The Sufi bowl is decorated with clouds with verses from the Quran engraved within it, representing blessings. The first spring rain was collected in this bowl, which was served to the faithful and was believed to protect them from illness and curses. Showing the sahans and other bowls used daily in the household, the author of the exhibition spoke about the dishes that were represented on the Turkish sofra and their sequence, from soup, rice with meat to the custom of drinking compote, which was made from fruit with the addition of tea.
At the very end of the exhaustive tour of this exceptional exhibition, the author showed kondir and ibriks, used for serving liquids, hammam bowls, used for bathing, and a collection of kitchen utensils, such as avans and kettles. The exhibition, which was solemnly concluded with this tour, uniquely connected art, history, religion, and everyday life. The author’s guided tour was extremely well attended, very interesting and informative.