The Municipality of Pljevlja has canceled the tender for the procurement of a specialized security display case with a pedestal for displaying a museum exhibit - a diatreta, one of the most valuable cultural assets of Montenegro.
The estimated value of the procurement was 50.000 euros excluding VAT, and the delivery deadline was six months from the date of the tender announcement, or by the end of September at the latest.
The Municipality said that they canceled the tender because no bids were submitted.
The purchase of a specialized display case would create the conditions for the diatreta, which has been kept away from the public eye for years, to be exhibited for the first time.
The tender documentation states that the display case base should be made of durable, durable material, special steel, white in color, square in shape, side length - 155 cm and height - 25 cm. The pedestal is circular in shape, made of durable, hard material, white in color. The pedestal must have the ability to mechanically rotate in a semicircular motion. The display case should be equipped with a sensor system that will be active when a valuable exhibit is displayed. The display case should be equipped with a wireless alarm system that will be activated when the glass surfaces are exposed to mechanical impact or an attempt to forcefully open them, with a sound siren.
Director of the Folk Museum in Pljevlja Dejana Drobnjak She said that the purchase of a specialized display case with a pedestal was a donation from UNESCO to the Museum.
She also said that the display case would be used for occasional display of diatreta.
Although it is one of the most valuable movable cultural assets of Montenegro, the diatretu, a luxurious glass made of relief-decorated crystal colorless glass, which dates back to the fourth century, is not available to visitors to the Local History Museum in Pljevlja, and only a few have had the opportunity to see it.
This exhibit, of priceless value, is rarely seen by even the employees of that institution.
Drobnjak says that the current space in the Cultural Center in Pljevlja is not adequate to permanently display this valuable exhibit.
He says that it would only be possible to do this if the Native Museum had its own building, where it would be possible to organize physical and technical protection.
The diatreta was found during archaeological research at the site of Municipium S in the Pljevlja suburban settlement of Komini in 1975.
The Pljevlja diatreta is one of the more beautiful diatretas, belonging to the group of netted and perfectly crafted, and there are four or five of them in the world.
The Diatreta has never been restored and has its original, nearly two-millennium-old paint.
It consists of a bell-shaped cup made of transparent colorless glass and a cobalt blue net that freely wraps the prehar in three rows of rings with everything. The letters written above the net are the same color as the net, although the inscription is not connected to the net, but stands free and consists of 19 letters. One letter 'O' is damaged, and the last letter that is missing is most likely the letter 'M' (emoria). The inscription reads: VIVAS PANELLENI BONA (Paneleni for memory).
The diatreta is 14,9 centimeters high, the diameter of the opening is 13,3, and the base is 3,7 centimeters. It can be dated to the XNUMXth and early XNUMXth centuries AD, and the place of manufacture is the famous Cologne workshops. The mesh and the cup are made of one piece. After dipping the core in paint and cooling, the glass was ground with wheels of various shapes and dimensions, so that a mesh was obtained that was connected to the base, i.e. the core, with glass columns. Diatreta are not only a technical curiosity, but, due to the perfect virtuosity with which the grinding wheel was guided, they also represent an artistic achievement.
So far, a small number of diatretas have been discovered, and only a few of them have been completely preserved. Diatreta was found in necropolis two in a large-sized tomb consisting of several chambers and chambers at the site of Municipium S. She was found in a lead sarcophagus. The tomb had been robbed a long time ago, but the robbers missed this precious find laid next to the right shoulder of the deceased.
The masters who made diatretes were under the special protection of the Roman emperors and received preferential treatment. They were only allowed to make one or two diatretes in their lifetime.
Bonus video:
