The western section of Scythian art

The Scythians belonged to a broad cultural grouping that dominated the Eurasian Steppe zone between the eighth and fifth centuries B.C. They are often taken as a component of the Scytho-Siberian groups. This group included the semi-nomadic peoples, whose domains extended from the borders of Greece and Persia to the borders of China (Zhou dynasty). The Scythians were the westernmost of these peoples, inhabiting the Crimea, the steppe and forest steppe to the north of the Black Sea, and the Kuban river basin. Herodotus devoted a large part of his Historiae to a description of the lands of the Scythians and to their traditions. Their presence was also attested in stone inscriptions, on coins and in the writings of many observers following Herodotus. Although the Scythians were not the only non-Greeks in this large region, the area came to be known as Scythia.1 The western section of Scythian art includes different groups like the Kuban, Taman, Crimean, Don, Kiev and the bordering Ural group, the latter being the marking point for the eastern section of the Saka/Scythian art. The region forming the western section, included the Pontic steppes 1 The Art of The Scythians, p.2

48 and European Russia, i.e. from Ukraine to the River Volga. Scythian artifacts found from kurgans, east of Volga onwards till the frontiers of China and southwards till India have been coined as the eastern section of Scythian art. A. WESTERN SECTION—Early Scythian art objects are found from burials from the west of the Caspian Sea, often, west of the Caucasus Mountains till the borders of Eastern Europe, from the north of the Black Sea region in the south and eastwards till the borders of West Asia, in the north, till Western Siberia, and in the north-east till the land of the Sarmatians in South Siberia. What archaeologists find is hardly ever representative of the total materials and artifacts used in the past. The Scythians had no ambitious funerary structures like pyramids or richly-appointed temples over the burials of their dead. The Scythian culture was sandwiched between Central Asian, South Siberian, West Asian, Greek influences and others. The early stage of the Scythians saw the nomadic steppe origins which continued in the middle phase (beginning of the transition) and then, the later Scythic phase, saw the cultural transition from nomadic steppe origins to a partially settled

49 and a sort of Hellenised way of life. This last phase could be termed as the Graeco-Scythian tradition. All these three stages as reflected in the materials from the burials reveal the works of utilitarian types, ritual requirements and ornamental purposes. The age covered by these objects spread over centuries. What has made Scythian art so distinctive is that the vast majority of surviving objects are of gold, and of a gold of good quality and frequently of excellent craftsmanship. Gold, therefore, is the most unifying aspect of Scythian art, but other metals are also important. The tradition is distinguished by mirrors and poletops of bronze, by utensils of silver, and, in the early period, by horse trappings of finely curved bone, indicative of an ancient and vital carving tradition. Horse trappings of finely carved bone include eye-bars (Plate 1) for linking bridal reins in the shape of rams and ram-birds' heads as found from Kelermes. They can be dated in the late seventh or early sixth centuries B.C. In this early Scythian or archaic period, the animal style seemed to be a natural blend of the unique Scythian artistic tradition and certain borrowed forms, mostly of ancient Oriental origin. Two imaginary creatures, specific to the Scythians, were predominant in their art especially from the early period- 1) a flying ram with the beak of a bird of 1 Scythian Art,p.23,Pl.1.

50 prey, and 2) the griffin or a winged lion, generally with an eagle's head. Another quiver ornament common to the early Scythian period included a curled-up beast of prey usually made of bone (Plate 2). The style of the curled-up beast was rudimentary compared to later manifestations. Bronze firstly invaded, southern Russia, and then the mountainous region of the Altai and the basin of the Minusinsk. Introduction of the Bronze Age brought great changes to the mountain peoples. In Asia, bronze, having spread into the basin of the Indus and into Iran, gave rise to the Tazabagyab culture south of Lake Aral (eighteenth to tenth century B.C.). In Kazakhstan, it was bronze that united the pastoral tribes of the area under the Andronovo Culture (eighteenth to thirteenth century B.C.). Still, further east on Lake Baikal, the Glazkovo Culture (seventeenth to twelfth century B.C.) transmitted the secret of bronze metallurgy to China during the same period.2 In ten centuries, the ancient Near Eastern bronze conquered the Eurasian economy. An equal time was necessary for the aesthetic formulas of this bronze art to recross the continent in the opposite direction.The process was favoured by the persistence of the old Iranian-Anatolian formulas subsequently modified by the Karasuk culture near Minusinsk (tenth to seventh century B.C.) and by the Scythians 1 Ibid., p.25,P 1.7. ² Encyclopaedia of World Art, Vol.2, p.22.

51 (eighth to third century B.C.), in forming the basis for the subsequent nomadic art. Progress in the creation of useful objects does not necessarily mean an accompaniment of artistic development. Moreover, it can be definitely established that given art forms do not always determine the creation of analogous forms (in similar, parallel and different artistic environments) as the bronzes of Scythia and Luristan and the accompanying potteries demonstrate the same. Before classifying the Scythian objects it is important to note the organization of nomadic material culture. Nomadic material culture is best conceived in terms of three key dimensions. The first of these concerns the degree to which items of material culture exist permanently on a site-(i) fixtures, (ii) portables. The second dimension of material culture ranges from durables on the one hand to perishables on the other. A third dimension concerns the value of items, measured in the terms of the difficulty or cost of acquiring or replacing them (i.e. valuables as opposed to expendables)¹. Considering the above factors, the Scythian nomadic material culture holds a significant place for a long period of time. The 1 Roger Cribb, Nomads In Archaeology, Cambridge, 1993, p.68.

52 Scythian repertory made skillful use of bone, wood, wool, leather, precious metals, stones etc. An original manner of reflecting the encompassing world, common life world outlook and religious ideas, had developed under the Scythian nomads. Gold casting and stamping the gold foil or plate were widespread. Gold was used to decorate or finish bone. Wooden articles or cast gold aside, there is abundant evidence that the early nomads were using gold even before the appearance of extensive gold work in Scythia as found at Arzhan in Tuva, Mayemir kurgan in Altay Republic, and the Golden Barrow at Chiliktin in East Kazakhstan.1 The Scythians by classical times had moved into the steppes to the north of the Crimea and occupied the area roughly between Kiev on the Dnieper in the west and the Koban regions in the east. Their distinctive 'animal style' art is of a kind which is widespread in Central Asia as far east as Kazakhstan and Siberia. On coming into contact with the civilizations of the Greek world, they adopted motifs from these areas and by the fifth and fourth century B.C. the Scythian nomads roamed over the vast, almost crescent shaped steppe, which stretches from the confines of China to the banks of the Danube. In the north eastern section many of these peoples often displayed a tendency, which became more marked with the passing 1 The Art of The Scythians, p.5.

53 those directions. centuries, to migrate to the west or south-west of their starting point, a tendency which was doubtlessly fostered by the existence on their other borders of geographical barriers which debarred them from breaking out in Inner Asia provided long distance communication, or overland movement, in as much as no region on earth as it is landlocked by the absence of feasible maritime alternatives. The major movements of peoples, cultural innovations and goods have been on Inner Asian land routes far removed from the Pacific, Arctic and the Indian Oceans. It might be noted, however, that parts of the early Silk Road traffic was channeled through Indian Ocean ports. Use of Black Sea and Caspian Sea routes were confined to margins of Inner Asia. The lists of tribes or peoples inhabiting the northern and north-eastern littoral of the Black Sea during the Scythian period is long and complex and made all the more so by the fact that literary references are not always supported by archaeology. Actually, the best of Scythian art is characterized by a number of qualities that cannot be duplicated, as they are integrated and presented, in any other arena of gold works in the ancient world. The steppe belt and land of forest and tundra were mostly inhabited by the Finno-Ugrian tribes, mostly passive to be pressed back or assimilated by their southern neighbours, the true nomads of the steppe belt. Rapidly moving war parties, the Scythians were highly mobile horse soldiers and breeders of cattle and horses.

54 Moreover, within the ancient world of the Near East, North Africa and the Mediterranean cultures, where the purity and workability of gold were exploited more thoroughly than in any other Western traditions, the gold of the Scythians has an unusual, if not unique, position; it survived, at least in part, where most of the gold work of the Greeks, much of that of the Etruscans, and virtually all that of the Achaemenids have disappeared. On the basis of archaeological excavations, it is deduced that the Scythians settled around the northern shores of the Black Sea, and later spread to neighbouring regions and beyond. But their place of origin is controversial and it is difficult to ascertain whether they must be traced to the near or far part of Central Asia, or even further, to South Siberia. As the controversy continues, it is to be noted that nomads before the Scythian age roamed over vast areas of the steppe from a still earlier period, and those nomads who had settled around the northern shores of the Black Sea were termed Scythians by Herodotus. Later archaeological discoveries have linked many nomadic tribes with the Scythians. Even, the identity of archeological finds have been frequently disputed, with some scholars referring to the burials in the Kuban region, or in the area of the lower Don river for example, as Scythian and others, as Meotian. Even assuming the possibility of distinguishing a variety of traditions, it seems

55 certain that the social and cultural boundaries between Scythians and non-Scythians were constantly blurring. This is fairly demonstrated in the Scythians' ornamental traditions. In the region of the Caucasus mountains, for example, the Scythian ornamental use of the zoomorphic forms, attests to the assimilation of the stylistic elements from the pre-Scythian period Koban culture and its outflows. Recent excavations at Tli-Bagrat in the Koban have revealed numerous bronze artifacts classified as follows: a) Pre-Koban artifacts - end of 3000 B.C. till middle of 2000 B.C.; b) Ancient Koban artifacts-1400 B.C. to 1300 B.C.; c) Classical Koban bronzes - 1200 B.C. to 1000 B.C.; d) Artifacts of transition period from Bronze to Iron Age - 9 th Century B.C.; e) Artifacts of a period of wide Iron Age or Koban-Scythian 8 th Century B.C.to 6 th Century B.C. An interesting bronze object from Tli-Bagrat dated in the ninth century B.C. is perhaps a symbol of eternal motion. It has three animal headed curving projections, bent in clockwise direction with a hole in the centre (similar to the driving wheel of a car).1 There is also an animal and bird plaque, showing a definite organization of space as in later Scythian work such as the bronze bridle plaques in Seven Brothers dated in the mid-fifth Madina Tesieva, Koban Bronzes in Tli', Aleksandravski prospect, No.7, Sept.Oct. 1999, Vladikavkaz, p.3. The table, however, shows a time gap of some six hundred years (2000 B.C.-1400 B.C.) which might have been due to overlapping in archaeological findings.

56 century B.C. Also found in Tli-Bagrat is a fragment of a saddle decoration having animal designs and circular geometrical patterns. The fragment also shows a design of men on horsebacks and significantly, all men are headless, which reminds one of the Scythian custom of cutting off the enemies' heads. Apart from the Koban region, in the region of the middle Don river, where Scythian ornamentation reflected the zoomorphic representational traditions identified with the Sauromatians to the east and, to a lesser extent, with those of the Ananino culture to the north, there was a marked influence of Scytho-Siberian traditions of Central Asia and South Siberia. By the fourth century B.C., the Scythian bridle trappings found in burials of the steppe zone north of the Black Sea reflected a determined adaptation of a Thracian tendency to treat decorative objects in terms of flat, incised surfaces, whereby established motifs, such as griffin heads, wings and feathering were simplified to a great extent. The art of the steppes portrays the griffin in an infinite variety of forms that vividly convey the force and ferocity of this mythical beast. The tendency to adopt non-Scythian elements to Scythian traditions of ornamentation and object typology is particularly apparent with regard

57 to the Scythian reception of Persian, Greek, and Hellenistic elements. It was a matter of direct Hellenization and also indirect Hellenization. So energetic was that reception and reworking that one must consider it in terms of an active process; that is, a reception in which Scythian patrons and craftsmen sought out and made use of the styles, motifs and even techniques of their urbanized neighbours. This determined adoption and adaptation are evident in the imported objects found in such abundance within the grave furnishings such as clay amphorae, painted Greek ware, gold and silver vessels, and jewellery. Finds of such objects as far north as the forest-steppe zone and within burials of both commoners and wealthy members of Scythian society testify to the expansion of a receptive attention and of conscious trading in order to obtain the desired goods. Certain Scythian images worked their way into the subjects of Hellenic mythology, while some characters of Greek mythology share the attributes of similar figures in Scythian mythology and have moved from the places they inhabited in more ancient Greek tradition to the Scythian north. In the early period of Scythian art it was possible to discern West Asian and Greek elements alongside elements that clearly emerged from a steppe nomadic tradition. By the fifth century there were few objects that could be associated with a Near Eastern provenance and more that could be considered to be either Scythian, Graeco-Scythian or ''barbarian'. At the

58 same time, and throughout the succeeding fourth century, the number of objects understood to be Greek continued to expand. The technique and style of major Scythian artifacts or works of art would reveal all the contacts (Altaian, Caucasian, Hellenistic and others) in the western section of the Scythian art. This region comprises of European Russia, i.e. Ukraine up to the river Volga. Within this section falls different groups like the Kuban, Taman, Crimean, Dniepr, Don, Kiev, Volga and the bordering Ural group, the latter extending to the eastern section. The objects found in the various groups can be classified under three phases i.e. the early Scythian phase, middle and later Scythian phase. The orientation and relationship between the groups are difficult to comprehend, that is, it is difficult to give importance to any particular group or to assign the beginning of Scythian art to any group. According to the sites excavated, the concentration of kurgans has been found to be on the Dneiper, Don, Kuban, Taman and Crimean groups, and they are all to be seen as a whole in the evolution of Scythian art in the western section proper. The early period of the western section of the Scythian art include the products of the Kelermes and Kuban groups, dated in the late seventh and

59 early sixth century B.C. The earliest major burials, Kelermes along with Litoy and Kostromskaya, indicate the presence of Scythians north of the Caucasus before the destruction of Nineveh and before the disappearance of Urartu. At the same time the material found at Kelermes reflect a productive cultural interchange with Near Eastern cultural centres. Some objects in the ruins of the Urartian fortress, Karmir Blur, are rendered in a style reminiscent of Scythian traditions of Kelermes and Litoy. Different types of artifacts like objects of utility, ornaments, trappings and weapons belong to different periods of Scythian art. 1.OBJECTS OF UTILITY Regarding Scythian objects of utility, we have at first considered mirrors. The mirror with a raised lip and a central knob handle is exemplified by a bronze mirror with a coiled feline on the loop handle as found from Kelermes 2. Tagar burials indicate that by the early Iron Age, the knob-handled mirror was a significant part of the early nomadic burial ritual. A knob-handled mirror from the Mayemir steppe is ornamented with the raised line representations of five deer and a goat around the central

60 knob. The coiled feline in the bronze mirror is similar to the archaic feline type of the Arzhan, Mayemir and the Chiliktin formulations. By virtue of this feline image, the mirror type, and its bronze fabrication, this is the most authentic example of the Siberian style. The Kelermes mirror is in appearance similar to two bronze mirrors from Smela.2 From Kelermes 4, a rounded mirror with central knob or loop has been found. It is of silver covered with electrum plate. In style it combines a Siberian mirror type with motifs and styles of Ionian and West Asian origins.³ The centre of the back has the design of a series of lotus petals arranged in an oblong shape. Arranged within eight wedge-shaped sections on the back of the mirror are a number of individual and grouped images, like the Mistress of Animals holding two panther-like felines by their front paws, two lions confronting each other over a back-turned ibex, two seated sphinxes confronting each other over a standing, winged griffin, a dog like creature with a bear and an eagle like bird over the bear's back. The latter is similar to the Litoy bird plaques. In the last wedge before the Mistress of Animals, a lion savages the body of a bull over the body of a standing boar (Plate 3).4 The mirror is an useful indication of the manner in which native Scythian and nonnative traditions were beginning to be merged. Another mirror of the early ¹ G. Borovka, Scythian Art, New York, 1928, p.41. 2 E.H.Minns, Scythians And Greeks, New York, 1913, Fig. 85. 3 The Art of The Scythians,p.183. A Scythian Art, Pl.47.

61 Scythian period, was found at Annovka on the left bank of the Ingulets River in the Ukranian Steppe and it was dated in the late sixth century B.C. It is of bronze,¹ and the handle is in the form of a female caryatid and this is similar to a bronze mirror handle in the form of a goddess with dogs and lions on her shoulders from Kherson². Seven Brothers barrow, (mid fifth century B.C.) yielded a mirror handle in the form of a youth caryatid with rams on his shoulders. The technique is reminiscent of the Greek style. Also of the early Scythian period is the mirror found at the necropolis of Olbia (sixth century B.C.). "It is of bronze, with a handle terminating in a ram head and joined to the disk by a recumbent stag".³ Cauldrons constitute an important Scythian utility object. They are found in Scythian kurgans from the seventh century B.C. onwards. Herodotus wrote about the well-known Scythian bronze or copper cauldrons, which were sacrificial vessels as well as national insignia. A cauldron with a caprid handle has been found from Kelermes (late seventh or early sixth century B.C.).It is made of cast bronze and the only ornamentation is a broad, raised zig-zag band below the lip. "A similar cauldron was found from Kelermes, and it was decorated with large, 'E.H. Minns, op. cit., Fig. 281. 2 Ibid., Figs. 279-280. 3 The Art of The Scythians,p.186.

62 rhomboid pattern in raised bands".1 In Raskopana Mogila, of the Dnepropetrovsk Region in the Ukrainian Steppe (early fourth century B.C. ), a cauldron of cast bronze with semi-spherical handles and applied bucrania, circles and palmettes has been found. It has a narrower mouth than the Kelermes type. A cast bronze cauldron with six squared caprids on the rim and a relief lozenge-shaped pattern was found at Chertomlyk on the right bank of River Dniepr (fourth century B.C.). The Chertomlyk cauldron also bears comparison with a cauldron from the earlier burial of Solokha. Solokha cauldron is characterized by typical geometrical patterns such as zig-zags and semi-spherical loops, which had all along dominated the nomadic atelier. We come to rhytons. Fragments of a silver rhyton with engraved images of griffins; large birds, fronds, palmettes and lotus-petal border have been found from Kelermes. It belongs to the late seventh or early sixth century B.C. Seven Brothers barrow has yielded three rhytons belonging to the fifth century B.C. A silver rhyton with ridged horn terminating in the protome of a winged goat is one of them. The other two are gold rhytons, one with beaded ornamental bands terminating in a ram head and the 1 Ibid., p. 190.

63 other terminates in the protome of a dog. The lower two-thirds of the third rhyton is covered by an engraved lozenge pattern; in the upper third by a feather pattern.¹ The use of gold overlays was an early Scythian tradition. Also belonging to the middle Scythian period was an encircling overlay of gilded silver for a horn rhyton found at Elizavetovsk 9 (fifth or fourth century B.C.). The metal overlay, intended to ornament the upper section of a horn rhyton, is ornamented with the repeated pattern of an eaglegriffin tearing at a fish or dolphin. Another gold overlay for a rhyton, with a band of deer heads, two bands of modified twisted-rope pattern, and a lionhead tip was found at Velikaya Znamyanka (mid-fifth century B.C.). "Two large bands are ornamented with a modified twisted-rope pattern,executed in..... archaic carving techniques".2 Pole tops are one of the most significant objects used by the Scythians, and apparently it was part of the ritual furnishings. At Kelermes, was found a pair of poletops terminating in the heads of horses, and made of bronze (Plate 4).³ As E.Jacobson has drawn our attention "The horses have long vertical necks, heads set at right angles, large protruding eyes, nostrils and mouths indicated by raised bands, upright ears rendered in partitioned 1 Ibid., p.218. 2 Ibid., p. 221. 3 Ibid., Fig. 112.

thu 64 heart-shaped motifs, characteristic of the treatment found on many psalia zoomorphic images in the early Scythian period (analogous formulation of horse-headed bone psalia from the Urartian site of Norshun-Tepe)".¹ Two bronze poletops in the shape of great bird-heads with hanging bells was found from Ullsky 2, Kuban group (sixth century B.C.). Both these poletops are in the form of great beak-heads with superimposed smaller beak-heads marking the ridge of what would be the birds' ceres. The large beak-head is a common element in early Scythian art, as is the backturned caprid found on the more elaborate of the poletops. Along the projecting fold of the cere smaller birds' heads have been represented by parallel lines in relief (Plate 5).2 On the more elaborately decorated specimen the scroll of the beak has also been adorned with such parallel lines in relief. In the middle of this figure yet another birds' head has been depicted, facing the opposite way. Below it, the figure of a wild goat in the already familiar attitude with head turned back and legs tucked up, has been moulded in relief. These two poletops are among the finest achievements of Scythian art in the decorative treatment of organic bodily forms. A pole top terminating in a griffin head with an openwork body made of bronze (Plate 6) was found from Kelermes.3 The body takes the form of a bulbous openwork over a 1 ¹ Ibid., p. 249. 2 Ibid., Fig. 113. 3 Ibid., Fig. 115.

65 squared socket. A poletop terminating in a stag on a spherical bottle (Plate 7) has been found from Makhoshevsky barrow (Kuban, late seventh century B.C.).This poletop is stylistically a bit different from the others. The style of the standing stag is similar to that of the stag found from the Altay region. This poletop is also made of bronze.¹ An interesting poletop terminating in the head of a bell-shaped rattle has been found from Ulsky 2 (sixth century B.C.). This impressive bronze bull head has jutting flat ears and long curved horns. Separating the head from the pear-shaped rattle section is a thick twisted rope. Scythian barrows have yielded many wooden vessels. These vessels were specially ornamented by a variety of gold plaques. Gold plaques for a wooden-bowl in the form of beak-heads and recumbent deer have been found from Ak-Mechet, Crimea from early fifth century B.C. The notched treatment on the lower edge of the beaks and the large rounded eyes and powerful ceres places this bird motif within a tradition well attested by fifth century finds from Seven Brothers and from the Dniepr forest-steppe zone. The plaques are filled with images of recumbent deer with raised antlered heads. We see relatively realistic treatment of heads, eyes, ears but in its ' Ibid., Fig.116.

66 surface treatment there are still remnants of the earlier traditions of bone or wood carving. This alert vitality of the deer on the Ak-Mechet plaques are rooted in yet another distinctive aspect of Scythian art-its ability to capture the distinguishing aspect of a living creature, the essence, as it were, of the animal or human. During the middle period of Scythian art, that specific vitality of an animal being 'centred' (of the archaic style), was weakened as a result of the transformation of the archaic style. The vessels with their basic wooden material, have almost lost all their wooden portions. The wooden versions were ornamented with gold overlays, which were raised and secured to the wooden bowls by means of small gold nails. The gold plates would be used to cover the wing handles with which many of the vessels were provided and to ornament sections of the body. The tradition of ornamenting wooden bowls with gold plated works, most probably, with repousse and chasing techniques, seems to have been common among the Scythians of the seventh to fifth centuries B.C.and to have lasted even into the fourth century B.C. Also the Ak-Mechet vessel overlays with images of deer and bird heads, along with Kostromskaya stag and the Kelermes panther are the most "powerful expressions" of the psychological intensity and of the manner in which posture and surface lent themselves to the expression of monumentality of Scythian art.1 Gold 1 ¹ Ibid., p. 67.

67 plaques for a wooden bowl in the form of fishes and recumbent deer have been found from Solokha, left bank of the Dniepr river, Ukrainian Steppe (early fifth century B.C.) The antlers of the deer transform into elaborate bird-heads. Other than wooden vessels, metal ones have also been found. A vessel with scenes of Scythian youths fighting lions and mythic beasts have been found from Solokha (early fourth century B.C.). It is made of silver gilt. The two wing hands on either side of the vessel establish the divisions between the two main panels, and the handles are ornamented on the upper face by two attached rams' heads with large horns. Separating the rams' heads is a small tri-lobed palmette. Virtually all the ornamental decoration has been gilded to stand out, mouth of vessel emphasized by a delicate, gilded ivy tendril, base line identified by a gilded twisted-rope pattern (a common feature in Scythian art). Below that, the bowl is covered with a raised lotus pattern. The base is raised by a ring foot, within which, on the underside is engraved a lotus pattern-realism of texture and ornament. A vessel with images of Scythian men (Plate 8) was found at Gaymanova Mogila, north of Melitopol of the Ukrainian Steppe (fourth century B.C.). It has a notable frieze in high relief, depicting Scythian

68 warriors and in it Blavatskiy had seen only scenes from everyday life.¹ Two of the Scythian men on the Gaymanova vessel wear thick, twisted torques visible on one side of their heavy beards, their terminals not indicated. The sides of this bowl-shaped vessel are filled with scenes of six Scythian males, conversing in an outdoor setting. The vessel body is silver, the images and all applied ornaments are gilded. A raised lotus-petal pattern, separated from the larger representations by a narrow band of lotus petals, covers the base of the vessel. The lip of the vessel is ornamented with an applied strip metal ornamented with an unusual pattern of painted and inverted leaves separated by small raised spheres and tiny palmettes. The gilded metal overlaying each of the wing handles is ornamented with ram's heads, back-to-back. The relief treatment of the ram's heads, and of parts of men, is occasionally high.2 Gaymanova Mogila served as the burial vault for Scythian royalty and the funeral objects discovered in it corresponds in many details to the customs associated with the burial of Scythain kings as described by Herodotus (even the bowl with images of Scythian men corresponds to the Scythian legend narrated by Herodotus). In Gaymanova Mogila were also found golden and silver vessels, the attributes of Scythian royal power, cups, horns for wine, a drinking bowl, a pitcher, and remains of men buried with 2 1 V.D. Blavatskiy, Art Of The Northern Black Sea In Antiquity, Moscow, 1947, p.71. The Art of The Scythians, Figs. 82,83.

69 the king. The depiction of images at Gaimanova Mogila may be compared to that of the images in the bowls from Kul Oba and Chastyye Mogily. Where Blavatskiy had seen only scenes from everyday life and Rostovtsev had found representations either of everyday life or uncertain cultic practices, Rayevskiy finds specific references to myths of Scythian origin. Rayevskiy talks about the accommodations between the Scythian version and that of the Greeks, and between 'a desire' to reflect narrative and the 'need' to reduce distracting detail.¹ Referring to Rayevskiy's 'desires' and 'need', it is important to note that an art form, in this case, the Scythic nomadic animal art, has to work within a framework of technicalities, which actually determines the work and not being dictated by 'desire' or 'need'. Spherical vessels without handles, having representations of Scythian males were found at Kul Oba ( Plate 9 )and in the Kirch peninsula (fourth century B.C.).They were made of gold or electrum.² One such small, beautifully proportioned vessel is divided vertically into three sections above a low and appended ring foot. It could be a Scythian ritual vessel (the shape is similar to Indian ritual vessels, made of copper) having scenes of Scythian mythology and with ornaments in the lower part. Underneath 1 See his paper 'Skifskiy Mifologicheskiy Syuzhet v Iskusstve i ideologii Tsarstva Ateya' in Sovetskaya Arkheologiya, 1970, No.3, pp.90 to 101. 2 Scythian Art, Pls. 184 - 187. -

70 the vessel, on its base, is an engraved floret pattern surrounded by a circle of beads.1 The lower part of the vessel is covered with a flat pattern of lotus petals, expanding upwards from the base. Separating the lower part of the vessel from the figural frieze is a wide pattern of twisted rope, rendered, as in the case of the lower lotus-petal pattern, by means of broad, indented lines. The neck and mouth of the vessel are plain gold, unornamented except through the graceful shaping of the pulled-in neck and the high, open mouth. The figures represented on the upper section of the vessel body are rendered in a relatively high repousse technique. These images are all of Scythian males, presented with their weapons: bows, arrows, goryti, spears and shields. Despite this warlike accoutrement, however, the men are all represented in remarkable quiet interchange, (therefore, warlike accoutrements were but daily accessories of Scythian life). On one side of the vessel, two figures seated on hummocks or rocks are engaged in conversation (Plate 12) holding (in a relaxed attitude) their spears. One figure wears a gorytus on his left side, the left side of the other figure, on the right, is hidden by his large oblong shield. The men lean towards each other with intent expressions. In another section ( Plate 10), one hooded Scythian helps a companion bandage his left leg. In the next section ( Plate 11) one man seems to be prying into the other's mouth as if 1 The Art of The Scythians,p.203.

71 to assist an aching tooth. The fixed attention of the one who assists, the response of the victim of toothache, are vivid and effectively rendered. Around and between the rocks and hummocks where the men sit are engraved small, long stemmed flowers. The rendition of their clothing conveys the manner in which the soft boots, pants and belted jacket hug the body. The men's clothing is all ornamented in a similar style, but there are noticeable variations, which are realistically rendered, with fine and expressive detailing of the men's faces, bodies and hair. Although there is a particular idealized Greco-Scythian type, yet there is an impressive distinctiveness in posture and attention. The figures are well spread across the surface of the vessel; the smooth, open gold spaces separating individuals and groups, add to the overall sense of compactness, and along with the quiet focused aspect of the men, create an extraordinary sense of monumentality. There is a fine display of spacing, whereby the intervals between the figures conspire with their posture and expressions to emphasize their individuality. The sense of spacing is important in this later phase of Scythian art, as earlier individual ornamentation of a stag or griffin itself comprised the object. These scenes may illustrate a legend recorded by Herodotus, which relate how the three sons of Heracles

72 (apparently identical to the first Scythian king, Targiatus) decided the question of succession by stringing his bow¹. A spherical vessel with representations of Scythian males found at Chastyye Mogily 3, near Veronezh, upper Don basin., fourth century B.C. is another masterpiece of the western section. It is made of silver gilt.2 Like the vessel from Kul Oba, this vessel (Plates 13,14 and 15) is divided into three main sections. The lower section has a pattern of expanding lotus petals. Separating the main figural section from both the base and the throat are two friezes of engraved double-edged lotus petals. The throat is high and straight, expanding to an open mouth, thus differing from the Kul Oba vessel. It seems that this vessel is less refined than that from Kul Oba, as the men depicted are stiffer, less spontaneous, and their strongly articulated modelling conflicts with the rounded surface of the vessel. The subject matter along with that of the Kul Oba and Gaymanova Mogila suggest a common source, perhaps a myth or legend or epic. There are six male figures grouped in three paired scenes, and one of the figures reappear in all. He is an elderly Scythian with long hair and a beard.³ The men wear long kaftans, with triangular gussets, trimmed with fur and 1 Scythian Art,p.5. 2 Ibid., Pls. 171-173. The Art of The Scythians,Figs.85-86.

73 embroidered on the shoulders and chest with fantastic designs. There is the typical combination of the Scythian appearance - men wearing gorytus, quiver and bow case. All the figures are gilded and only the faces and hands are silver. Each image is distinct in style. It is worth emphasizing that this is the first known example of Scythian decorative art depicting Scythian leaders of the highest rank. Regarding the three bowls from Kul Oba, Gaymanova and Chastyye Mogily, all belonging to the Crimean group (early to late fourth century B.C.), Dniepr group (fourth century B.C.), Voronezh and Don regions (fourth century B.C.) respectively, their depiction of a seemingly similar tale shows the widespread diffusion of a common origin. Chastyye Mogily being far removed to the north-east of the main Hellenistic influence (northern Black Sea region), reveals less Hellenistic, more Asiatic influence. In order to explain the representative differences between the Kul Oba and Chastyye Mogily vessels and between them and the Gaymanova bowl, Rayevskiy proposes a process by which accommodations were made between the Scythian version and that of the Greeks, and between a desire to reflect narrative and the need to reduce distracting detail.1 1 Loc. Cit.

74 Amphora is a typical utility vessel of the late Scythian phase i.e. fourth century onwards. There is only one significant vessel of this group, and that being the great amphora from Chertomlyk, on the right bank of the river Dniepr. All other amphorae found in burials are plain ceramic vessels. The amphora (Plate 16) is dated in the late fourth century B.C. It has floral ornaments, a frieze of men and horses and griffins savaging stags. It is made of silver gilt and its height is 70 cms. It has faucets in the form of sculptured heads of lions (two) and of a hippocampus (one)¹. Regarding the frieze in the Chertomlyk vase, all the figurines of men and horses were moulded separately and only arranged in a composition when they were soldered to the vessel. It is one of the best-known utility objects from the Scythian world. Above its splayed foot, the body of the amphora is divided into three principle sections. From the feet to the shoulder, the vessel is covered with a broad tendril motif, executed in gilded repousse. From the tendrils sprout stylized flowers and palmettes, and among the graceful scrolls of the vines appear a variety of birds. Around the shoulder is a frieze of separately cast figures of Scythian males and horses. The collar of the vessel above this frieze is filled with images of griffins savaging stags. The front and lower centre of the tendril pattern and vessel are established by a large Pegasus head: behind the jutting head the animal's I Scythian Art,Pls.265-268.

75 full wings spread out over the tendril pattern. In addition to this poursprout, the vessel has two lion head pour-spouts, one on either side of the vessel and lower down, close to the foot. These beautifully modelled and gilded heads are similar to the Kul Oba torque terminal.¹ Long tendrils gracefully encircle both lion heads. The raised images of griffins are depicted with an idealized realism and a refinement of texturing, and one is reminded of similar, if not smaller representations on the Tolstaya Mogila pectoral. The use of the tendril pattern interspersed by large birds is effective, unusual and unique. The images of griffin and deer, the large tendril design and birds were done by repousse. The gradations of relief work in these areas are subtle and effective.2 It seems that the conceptual power and stylistic perfection of this amphora cannot be explained by reference to any known Greek paradigms. Regarding the Scythian utility objects, one may continue that in the Kul Oba cup series, and in the Chertomlyk amphora, there are images of Scythian males represented alone or in groups of two or more, and that these images appear only in the late fifth or early fourth century B.C. These male images appear to be ordinary mortals, and it is not clear whether they represent deities or semi-divine figures. I The Art of The Scythians,Fig.18. Ibid., p.213.

76 Phiales are also an important utility object of the late Scythian period. Phiales are saucer shaped vessels. Gold and silver phials were recorded in the inventories of the Parthenon beginning in the late fifth century B.C.¹ A gold phiale with three bands of lions attacking horses and deers was found at Solokha (Dniepr group-fourth century B.C.).² The underside of the phiale is divided into three registers of densely interwoven images of lions and lionesses attacking horses and deer. The realistically detailed animals were executed according to a carefully copied pattern, repeated in a high repousse technique. The area around the omphalus is a smooth surface bordered by a fine lotus petal pattern. Around the upper edge of the outer register of animals is an ivy leaf tendril. Another gold phiale with Gorgon-Medusa masks, snakes, feline heads, fish and dolphins was found at Kul Oba, Kirch Peninsula, fourth century B.C.3 Around the smooth surface surrounding the omphalus is a band of frolicking and playful porpoises and dolphins. A small lotus petal band separates this non-Scythian motif from the larger surface of the phiale. That area is divided into petal-shaped lobes of diminishing sizes, and a human head long bearded Scythian, dominates each lobe. The largest petal shaped M.Vickers, 'Golden Greece; Relative Values, Minae, and Temple Inventories', Am. Journ. Arch., Vol. 94,1990, pp.613-625. 2 Scythian Art, Pls. 162-163. 3 Ibid.,Pls. 164-165.

77 lobes are filled at their lower end by Gorgon-Medusa heads with jutting tongues and mock-ferocious grimaces. From these monster heads coil small snakes; above, large coiling forms with bended borders fill the lobe. Between the peaked ends of these lobes appear the frontal heads of Scythian males, bearded and generally ferocious in aspect. Small frontal and inverted feline heads and frontal boar heads fill much of the remaining space between the larger lobes. According to Esther Jacobson, 1 the workmanship demonstrated in this phiale is impressive. The combinations and permutations of the motifs are hardly easy to reconcile with any Greek tradition, representational or decorative. 2. ORNAMENTS Besides utility objects, ornaments found in Scythian burials, form an important section of the Scythian art. Like the utility objects, ornaments could also be classified under the early, middle and late Scythian periods. Within the context of West Asian traditions, the Scythians' interest in earrings and pendants as forms of personal adornments was hardly unusual. Earrings were a highly elaborate form of female adornment in Egypt and the Near East. Such objects were generally absent from early 1 ¹ The Art of The Scythians,p.215.

78 Scythian burials. Earliest earring types appearing in Scythian burials were boat-shaped or circular in form. This form elaborated and combined with the disc-pendant, resulting in elaborate earrings and temple pendants (worn hanging from a diadem or crown, over the wearer's temples). From fifth to third centuries B.C., there are a number of usual Greek earring forms, such as the splayed spiral with granulated terminals and earrings with posts ornamented with disks or rosettes from which dangle miniature figures such as Erotes, Nikai, or dancing figures, as at Juz Oba, Bolshaya Bliznitsa and Artjukov's barrow.¹ One kind of earring well-known from the Hellenistic sites, seems virtually absent from Scythian burials except the following.This is the earring type formed by a tapered hoop and terminating in the head of an animal or person. Most of the earrings involve an elaborate use of filigree, granulations and enamel. In their elegant refinement of metalwork techniques, there is an affiliation with the less modest inlaid gold ornaments found at Tillya-tepe, at the near eastern frontiers.2 The other earrings found in Scythian burials mostly belong to the later period i.e. 4 th century onwards. The earrings of the middle Scythian period include the boat-shaped earrings with rosette-ornamented terminals as found from Volkovtsy 4 on the left bank of the Dniepr river, and they belong to the fifth century B.C. They are made of gold with 'E.H.Minns, op. cit., Fig. 318. 2 The Art of The Scythians, p.84.

79 granulation. The boat-shaped earrings (Plates 17 and 18) have filigree ornaments and triangles of granulated surfaces and rosette terminals.1 Each earring is ornamented with a border of braid pattern. These earrings representing the basic boat-shaped formulations and ornamented with granulation are associated with Ziwiyeh and Karmir Blur finds. As in the utility objects, so also in the ornaments, the Scythian sensibility is much revealed by the pleasingly smooth surfaces of the boat elements, contrasted with the piled granulation. Boat shaped earrings with perched and hanging birds were found at Novoseltsy 4 (Dniepr group, fourth century B.C.). They were made of gold with granulation technique as in the earlier periods.² They were actually crescent-shaped earrings (Plates 19 and 20) decorated with granulated triangles and sculptured figurines of water birds at the ends and suspended on chains. The differences from the earlier ones are marked, with water birds sitting on each of the terminals. There is a variation to the boat shape. According to Jacobson, this "is not found in Greek jewellery and represents a local adaptation of a basic earring form, yet having the Scythian simple depiction of birds".³ At Dort Oba 2, Crimea, fourth century B.C., was found a boat-shaped earring with griffin headed 1 Scythian Art Pls. 115-116. 2 Ibid., Pls. 247-248. 3 ³ The Art of The Scythians,p.86.

80 terminals. The basic boat shape is ornamented with a traditional braid pattern and triangular masses of granulation. This is quite similar to the boat-shaped earring with griffin head from Nymphaeum dated in the fifth century B.C.2 A prime indicator of the pre-existence of a pectoral tradition is the gold pectoral from Ziwiyeh.³ With goats, fantastic animals, and winged genii symmetrically arranged on either side of a stylized Tree of Life, the pectoral refers to a larger Near Eastern representational tradition; with its crouching felines in the narrowed ends of the lunette, it seems to make reference to a proto-Scythian tradition, or at least to a Central Asian nomadic tradition. From Urartu have been found a number of pectorals of silver and bronze. A smooth-roped torque with lion-head terminals has been found from a kurgan near the village of Arkhangel'skoe, left bank of the Ingulets river, in the Ukrainian steppe, fifth century B.C. It is of gold with filigree and enamel.4 Ibid., p.86. 2 R.Higgins, Greek and Roman Jewellery, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1980, Pl.24 D. 3 R. Ghirshman, The Arts of Ancient Iran, New York, 1964, Pl. 137. * The Art of The Scythians,p.122.

81 Nymphaeum 17 has yielded a necklace with twelve links of framed rosettes, dangling buds and palmette terminals.¹ It is made of gold with notched wire and enamel. This necklace was found on the chest of a warrior (as evident from the kurgan). This delicate piece of jewellery offers an early dating for the appearance of enamel work in Scythian materials. It reflects the manner in which imported or purely Greek jewellery might be reused within a Scythian context. At Kelermes 3 dated in the seventh or early sixth century B.C. has been found a diadem, with a griffin-headed protome, pendants and rosettes. It is made of gold with filigree and enamel.2 The diadem is made of a stiff band of gold, to which are attached flowers worked separately in a die, and a centrally located griffin protome. The cells for its eyes (griffin) and the cells covering its neck are defined by raised and ridged borders. The collar is edged with filigree. Pendants in the form of small buds hang from loops in the lower edge of the band. From each end of the diadem band (worn so that the ends would be at the back of the wearer's head) dangles a gold chain terminating in rams' heads. The Kelermes griffin diadem bears striking similarities to diadems from ancient Egypt, dating to 'Ibid., p. 129. 2 Scythian Art Pls. 45, 46.

82 the Hyksos period and to the New Kingdom. ¹Another diadem² with rosettes, disks and birds was found at Kelermes I, Kuban (dated in the late seventh or early sixth century B.C.). It is made of gold with granulation and inlaid paste or amber. The gold band has rosettes tacked to the lower edge, disks with punch-marks and birds attached in alternating sequence to the upper edge, and alternating bands and standing flowers on the band itself. Birds have the large eyes and beaks of the archaic Scythian tradition. The leaves are ornamented with granulation the six petals of the flowers are contrasted with large central mounds of granulation. At Litoy kurgan has been found a diadem with gold chains and rosettes, of late seventh or early sixth century B.C. It is made of gold with granulation. This diadem³ is made of three strands of gold chains bound together by rosettes. The petals and the inner circles of the flowers are picked out by granulation and the terminal of the diadem is ornamented with tiny triangulated areas filled with granulation. From each end of the diadem hangs a cluster of small single chains that terminate in gold spheres decorated with triangulated mounds of granulation. The terminal collars are also decorated with masses of granulation. A gold diadem of 1 The Art of The Scythians,p.146. ² Ibid., p. 148. ³ Ibid., p. 149.

83 aptik form(Plate 21) with stamped band and pendants in the form of threelobed blades or pods, was found from Three Brothers 1 (latter half of the fourth century B.C.).¹ This diadem takes the form of an aptik characterized by a low curved band that encircled the head. The band is ornamented at the top with an egg-and-dart frieze; a second frieze of alternating upright palmettes and acanthus, and a lower, main frieze of rampant lions and lionesses facing each other. The Scythian universal use of geometrical patterns is also found here. The main frieze is bordered above and below by rows of punched dots, while the lowest, finishing frieze, repeats the eggand-dart motif. As reconstructed, the aptik is ornamented with dangling elements in the form of three-lobed, blade-like pods hanging from a band combining spheres and plaques ornamented with scrolls. In ornamental motifs and in the combination of band, worked by stamps or a die, and hanging elements, this headdress falls squarely within the Scythian diadem and crown traditions of the late fourth century B.C. Remains of a gold ritual headdress with tendril and acanthus patterned band, hanging buds and dancing maenads were found at Deyev, fourth century B.C.2 The bands have been embossed or stamped with a tendril motif with sprouting acanthus heads and flowers. Maenad figures were worked from this gold. From Bolshaya Bliznitsa, fourth century B.C. was found a crown in the 1 Scythian Art,Pl.223. 2 Ibid.,Pl. 135.

84 form of a low calathus decorated with scenes of griffins battling Amazons.1 It is made of gold. The crown (Plates 22,23 and 24) is entirely covered by thirty pieces of worked gold sheets to which the separately worked and cut figures have been attached. The upper edge of the crown shows an eggand-dart ornament while the lower border is filled with a motif of rosettes within squared meanders. Human figures on the crown have been raised in high relief, with considerable texturing of the surface. They wore close fitting pants ornamented with a lozenge pattern or with small floral motifs. The garments are stippled. From Karagodeuashkh (late fourth century B.C.), was found a gold plaque for a lost cone-shaped headdress.2 This triangular plaque (Plate 25) was evidently used to ornament a tall coneshaped headdress and was cut from a larger piece of gold. In the upper section of the plaque appears the frontal figure of a woman in a chiton and in the middle register, another frontally standing woman with two horses on either side. A crude egg-and-dart pattern separates the upper and middle registers. Separating the middle register from the lowest and largest are two confronting winged griffins on either side of an urn. In the lowest section of the plaque appears a centrally placed and frontally seated female. She wears a long gown punched as if to indicate sewn clothing plaques and a tall conical headdress. There are standing males in Scythian 1 Ibid., Pls. 226-228. * Ibid., Pl. 232.

85 clothings.An openwork cone shaped gold headdress (Plate 26) decorated with volutes and floral designs (fourth century B.C.) was found from AkBurun barrow, Crimea.¹ It has an unusual form perhaps belonging to the Sarmatian style. This openwork headdress has no analogies with the exception of a helmet. The Kul Oba (fourth century B.C.) pendants with relief Athena heads, dangling chains, rosettes, and amphora shaped elements are beautiful examples of Greek jewellery. They are made of gold with filigree, granulation and enamel. 2 One of the temple pendant (Plate 27) has a disk with a relief head of Athena in a helmet with three crests supported by a sphinx and two winged horses and little griffins at its cheek pieces. There is also an owl and a serpent. The whole disk seems to represent a myth. Attached to the disk is a tracery of twisted chains bearing drop-shaped ornaments decorated with filigree. Points of chain linking are decorated with rosettes and plaques inlaid with coloured enamels. Around the disk is an elegant ivy tendril pattern rendered in fine, notched filigree and blue and green enamelled leaves. The border is framed by filigree and accented with small florets. Appearing on the outer edge of this border are several 1 heart-shaped leaves accented with enamel inlay. It is interesting to note ¹ Ibid.,Pl. 229. ² Ibid.,Pl. 134.

86 that the so-called Athena in the disk herself wears an earring of the disk and inverted pyramid type. The amphora-shaped elements are picked out with granulation. "The style is perfectly Greek, but as nothing exactly like them has been found elsewhere we should probably regard them as a local peculiarity, possibly even made by Greeks for barbarian customers."1 The Athena pendant from Kul Oba has a massiveness in its design that distinguishes it from the more refined disks with Nikai also from Kul Oba. Dated in the fourth century B.C., is a pendant (Plate 28) with a relief image of a woman riding a hippocampus. It was found from Bolshaya Bliznitsa.? It has dangling chains, rosettes, and amphora shaped elements. Massive in appearance, yet more compact than the Kul Oba pendant having Athena, it is made of gold with filigree, granulation and enamel. The large disks of these paired pendants are rendered in high relief. Each disk is bordered with a frieze of delicate wire shaped in a stylized lotus pattern and edged by arrows of tiny granules. Within each disk, a woman riding a hippocampus wears a chiton and a calathus from which a cloth hangs over her shoulders. She sits sideways on the hippocampus. On one side of the disk the woman holds a chest armour with her right arm, on the other she holds greaves with her left arm. Dolphins frolic to the side of and below the main images indicating the watery environment of the hippocampi. Small halfR. Higgins, op.cit.,p.130. 2 Scythian Art,Pl.251.

87 spheres each with a central granule, and alternating with flowers, mark the points where the crossed chains are attached to the disks. The amphora shapes, chains and flowers are similar in the Athena pendants. It could be said that because of their unique size and monumentality, they reflect the Hellenized tastes distinctive of the northern Black Sea region, and keeping in mind, the art of the earlier period of North Black Sea region, it could refer to the Scythianisation of Hellenic subjects and ornamental traditions. The West Asia tradition carried out by the Scythian art perhaps eased the Scythianisation. At Kul Oba was found a pendant with a disk Nikai, having a hanging boat shape, and chains with rosettes and amphorae, fourth century B.C. It is of gold with granulation, filigree and enamel. The disks on this pair, ornamented with an outer border of large granules, and a series of inner friezes of notched wire, 'braided' wire and blue and green enameled lotus petals. The refinement of workmanship, here, reaches a climax in tiny, almost invisible, four figures of Nereids riding dolphins among the notched wire scrolls surrounding the central flower area of the disks. The boat shapes are more elaborate and compared to the Athena pendants, this is more decorative, amalgamating disk, boat shapes, scrolls, chains, rosettes, amphora, all into one earring. At Theodosia, Crimea, (of late fourth or third century B.C.), were found pendants each with a diskIbid., Pl. 180.

88 shaped ornament, having a dangling boat shape, a chain with amphorae and flowers, and a frieze with winged figures, quadriga and flowers.¹ It is of gold, with filigree and granulation. At Karagodeuashkh, Kuban, fourth century B.C. was found a pendant or earring in the form of a disk with hanging inverted pyramids.2 This motif will again be encountered at Tillyatepe. It is of gold with filigree and granulations. The disk is ornamented with filigree tendrils and bordered by circles of filigree work. A beautiful example of later Scythian art is a pectoral³ with four twisted ropes, having three representational friezes, and lion-headed terminals.It was found from Tolstaya Mogila (fourth century B.C.), and is made of gold with filigree and enamel. This pectoral (Plates 29, 30 and 31) terminating with lions' heads and decorated with scenes of Scythian life in the upper frieze, fighting animals in the lower frieze and floral ornament in the middle is considered a masterpiece of Greek metal-work. It has a large collar like form. The decorative elements in this central frieze are composed of string wires shaped into curled tendrils; on which are superimposed three-dimensional flowers, leaves and modelled birds. The lower, openwork frieze is dominated by images of animals modelled in the half-round. The 'The Art of The Scythians, p.93. 2 E. H. Minns, op.cit., Fig. 119. 3 Scythian Art, Pls. 118 - 121.

89 sense of vitality and reality of the elements in all the three friezes is extraordinary indeed. "The pectoral impresses one by the massive amount of gold and the technical aspects of its working. Most of the figure of animals, men, birds, some of the floral elements, and implements (vessels, goryti) were cast and soldered or pinned to the frame. Many of the flowers were prepared out of gold sheet and then ornamented with notched wire and enamel. The lower frieze has a combination of real and fantastic animals. A number of scholars have assumed that the pectoral was part of the battle regalia of the chief warrior buried at Tolstaya Mogila".1 Another pectoral, impressive in its features was found at Bolshaya Bliznitsa, Taman Peninsula, fourth century B.C. It is of gold with enamel. The pectoral has a frieze of animals and floral elements, two twisted ropes and lion head terminals.2 It is a crescent shaped pectoral (Plate 32) with fifteen, sculptured figurines of animals (goats, rams, dogs and hares) and filigree flowers, and petals between two twisted plaits. The clasps are in the form of relief heads of lions, dated in the fourth century B.C. It is less of a Greek work than the Tolstaya pectoral. Bordering the frieze proper, and held within the ropes, are lotus-petal friezes. The larger animals appear to have been cast and soldered to the frames and to the vertical posts with flowers. The general finish of this pectoral is less refined than that of the Tolstaya 1 The Art of The Scythians, p.118. 2 Scythian Art,Pls.255,256.

90 Mogila pectoral, and like the Tolstaya one, here also the animals diminish in size. Solokha revealed a twisted-rope torque¹ with lion head terminals, datable to the early fourth century B.C. It is of gold with filigree work and enamel. The torque has terminals in the form of lion's heads and filigree plant ornament with coloured enamels. The collars are ornamented with an elegant, broad pattern of lotus and palmette motifs. The lion heads are similar to those of the single torque terminal from Kul Oba. There is the use of beaded encircling wires and the collar ornamentation with lotus buds, palmettes, filigree and enamel. This torque was found on the neck of the man buried in the famous Solokha tomb. At Kul Oba was found a twisted rope torque with terminals in the form of Scythian riders, datable to the fourth century B.C. It is of gold with enamel and filigree.2 The torque(Plate 33) is made of twisted gold wire with caps decorated with palmettes, lotus flowers and egg-and-dart ornaments inlaid with coloured enamels. The terminals are in the form of half-length facing horsemen-two bearded Scythian riders. Realistic texturing of the horses' manes and men's hair are similar to the Gaimanova and Chastiyye Mogily bowls. The collars behind the riders combine a number of elements, which are found elsewhere and frequently on the Scythian goldwork of the fourth century B.C.These include braided wires, lotus-petal friezes, and S-shaped spirals 1 Ibid., Pls. 122,123. 2 Ibid., Pls. 126, 127.

91 picked out with granules of gold. In its fine exploitation of enamelled areas, this torque, like the single terminal, continues the interest in coloristic effects noted with reference to Scythian earrings and temple pendants. A torque with smooth ropes having lion-head terminals was found at Talayev barrow, Crimea(fourth century B.C.).¹ This torque (Plate 34) is based on a solid gold rope. The ornamentation of the collars consists of a braided pattern separating and bordering large areas ornamented with long Sshapes of wire, and with scrolled centres punctuated with granules. The closest comparisons to this formulation come out of the materials of Central Asian burials, like the Issyk Kurgan and other Siberian burials.2 At Kul Oba a gold smooth rope torque, 3 with terminals in the form of recumbent lions (Plate 35), reveals realistic treatment and the general form is that of a single band terminating in the bodies of predatory felines, reminiscent of torque traditions from the Altay Pazyryk culture. It is similar to the Karagodeuashkh spiralled torque (Plate 36).4 A spiralled smooth rope torque (Plate 37) terminating in recumbent lions, and made of gold was found from Chertomlyk.5 At the ends of the torque appear crouched felines in the form of panthers or lionesses. According to Kubarev, the 1 Ibid., Pls. 236, 237. 2 The Art of The Scythians, p. 122. 3 Scythian Art Pl. 125. * Ibid., Pl. 240. S Ibid., Pl. 239.

92 torque is reminiscent of those with carved panther terminals from the Altay region, such as that from Kurgan 12, Ulandryk I.1 A spiralled, gold, smooth-rope torque(Plate 38) terminating in deer and approached by felines, was found at Tolstaya Mogila (fourth century B.C.).2 The torque has two groups of sculptured lions. The animals are finished in general detail, with some ribs and musculature schematically indicated. The motif of several panthers approaching deer, as if in predation, recalls the more complex treatment of the same theme on a carved wooden diadem from Ulandryk, in the Altay.3 Another spiralled smooth-rope torque (Plate 39) with felines was found at Chertomlyk. It was made of gold and had applied jagged ornamentations.4 As in the case of the torque from Tolstaya Mogila, the terminals are edged by a triple line and an added frieze of triangular designs. Sculptured figures of six panther-like felines, extremely smooth, recall carved wooden precedents from Altay burials of the Pazyryk culture. They also unfailingly recall the manner in which the Sakas would edge their bronze altars with rows of felines. In many cases, however, these felines would be winged as found from a square altar with winged felines from Semirechiye and a round alter with long-legged standing felines from East 'V.D.Kubarev, Kurgany Ulandryka, Novosibirsk, 1987, PL.XXVII/10. Scythian Art, Pl. 124. 3 ³ V.D.Kubarev, op. cit., PLLXIX/9. Scythian Art,Pl.235.

93 Kazakhstan.¹ Another spiralled smooth-rope torque (Plate 36) terminating in the representations of lions savaging boar was found at Karagodeuashkh (late fourth century B.C.).2 The ends of the spiral behind each terminal are treated in a notched and beaded form, reminiscent of that on the Kul Oba torque. Here the bead sections are covered with diagonal incisions. Detailed texturing of the boar's bristles, lion's manes and facial wrinkles are present. In the realism of these animal groups, this torque appears to mediate between the distinctly non-Hellenised appearance of other spiralled forms and the more clearly Hellenised treatment of the twisted torques.³ From Bolshaya Bliznitsa was found a pair of bracelets (Plate 40) with doubled twisted ropes and rampant lion-terminals. It is of gold plate over bronze, with filigree and enamel beneath the animals' legs, gold wire is used to render large palmettes that retain a trace of enamel. From Kul Oba was found a bracelet with twisted rope (Plate 41) terminating in the halfbodies of sphinxes, fourth century B.C.5 It is of gold over bronze. The sphinxes have been very delicately detailed. Each collar is ornamented with a small frieze of lotus petals, a larger frieze of alternating lotus and ¹ K.A.Akishev, Kurgan Issyk, Moscow, 1978, Figs.74,75. 2 Scythian Art,Pl.240. 3 The Art of The Scythians,p.125. 4 Scythian Art, Pl.234. 5 Ibid.,Pl. 182.

94 palmettes executed in fine filigree and borders of notched wires. On this bracelet, the bronze interior is visible through a number of breaks in the gold. Although the workmanship of details, here, seems thoroughly Greek,¹ the weightiness of the sphinxes and of the bracelets as a whole sets them outside a purely Greek taste. From Karagodeuashkh, Kuban, fourth century B.C., was found a gold, two-spiralled and flattened bracelet (Plate 42) terminating in hippocampi.2 The gold bands are thin and appear to have been cut and hammered into their ridged shape. The hippocampi terminals were fabricated from separate pieces of gold and then soldered on to the bands. The bracelets are rough in finish and reflect a tradition of hammering rather than casting. Hippocampi appear frequently in late Scythian art, as on the scabbard from Kul Oba and the confronting hippocampi on a gold openwork plaque from Alexandropol.³ From Solokha, early fourth century, the famous gold comb (Plate 43) crested with recumbent lions, fighting figures and horses, has been found.4 The men, lions and horses were all cast separately and then soldered together. The squared teeth were also separately cast. It is a small but 1 The Art of The Scythians,p.134. 2 Scythian Art,Pl.250. 3 E.H.Minns, op.cit., Fig.42. *V.Schiltz, Les Scythes et les Nomades des Steppes, Paris, 1994, pp.359,414 and Pl.359.

95 monumental comb. The comb derives its style from the wooden or bone comb types of Scythian and Scytho-Siberian tradition. The crests of simpler Scythian combs may have been covered with gold, as the early comb with a crest in the form of stylized bird heads, from the Khanenko Collection, and the remains of gold covered combs found from Mastyugino and Chastyye Mogily.1 The squared teeth of the comb, somehow represents the formation of a Greek colonnade (in a micro form). Clothing plaques was a major sub-group of ornaments as innumerable Scythian burials have revealed thousands of gold plaques intended to be sewn to clothing. The actual ornamentation of clothing with plaques is well attested to by representations on Scythian objectsprimarily, rosettes, stars, rings, disks, stepped ornaments, squares, floral elements, and animal motifs. The Scythians must have derived their tradition of gold clothing plaques from the Assyrians and Achaemenids, but the fact remains that this decorative tradition was widespread within the nomadic world of the Eurasian steppe, and there are indications that it may have gone back to a period preceding significant contact between the nomadic and Achaemenid worlds. The intact burial at Issyk and other Saka burials establish the existence of a tradition at least as early as the ¹S.I.Kaposhina, 'Pamyiatniki zverinogo stilya iz O'lbii',Kratkiye soobshcheniya XXXIV, 1950, Fig.9.

96 fifth century B.C., of using gold plaques to so ornament a garment as to acquire the appearance of gold cloth. Evidences are also found at Tillyatepe. Plaques representing spread-winged birds (late seventh-early sixth century B.C.) were found from Litoy (Plate 44).¹ Seven Brothers 2 (mid-fifth century B.C.) yielded plaques showing representations of recumbent ibexes, crouching sphinxes, back-turned roosters, Silenus heads, ram's and bull's heads, owls, flying boars with palmette bodies, Janus head with a helmeted warrior on one side and a lion's face on the other, youth kneeling and rampant lions. Solokha has yielded the important plaque (Plate 45) showing two Scythians kneeling and drinking from a rhyton within a squared frame (fourth century B.C.).2 Kul Oba plaques have representations of two Scythians drinking from a single rhyton (Plate 46),³ two Scythians standing back to back with drawn bows, and various animal motifs. Bolshaya Bliznitsa (fourth century B.C.) plaques (Plates 47 and 48) show various forms.4 There are plaques in the shape of dancing women in long robes and nude youths, plaques in the shape of women on animals (Plate 49), similar to several images from the Tillya-tepe burials, 5 a robed woman on a panther and others. ¹ Scythian Art, Pl. 19. 2 Ibid., Pl. 142. 3 Ibid.,Pl. 196. 4 Ibid.,Pls.208,209. S Bactrian Gold,Pl.78.

3. WEAPONS 97 From Kelermes 4, Kuban, late seventh or early sixth century B.C., was found a gold overlay¹ for gorytus (Plate 50). It is ornamented with the images of recumbent deer and crouching felines. It is in the form of a gold sheet and it would have been attached by nails along the edges, as is indicated by the small holes. The images on the Kelermes overlay (Plates 51 and 52) are indicative of the kind of monumentality and sober archaic style that characterized early Scythian art. Their antlers and bodies reveal the techniques of wood or bone carving, and the crouched feline images recall those found from Ziwiyeh.2 In the late period of Scythian art, from Chertomlyk (late fourth century B.C.) was found a gorytus cover³ with scenes said to be from the life of Achilles. It is perhaps of Greek craftsmanship, as revealed by its ornamentation and narrative character. Its replication in almost identical goryti covers from Melitopol, Five Brothers, on firms the existence of workshops. The combinations of ornamental bands, reveal a standardized vocabulary of motifs, common to both the eastern and western sections of Saka/ Scythian art. Remains of a Scythian Art,Pl.23. 2 R.Ghirshman, op.cit., Pl. 147. 3 Scythian Art,Pls.224,225.

98 gorytus cover with scenes of a battle was found from Karagodeuashkh (late fourth century B.C.).1 It is made of silver-gilt, and has borders of conventionalized lotus buds, stylized lotus petal pattern, and triple twisted rope pattern. The figural style is similar to that of the Chertomlyk gorytus. A scabbard casing, with procession of fantastic animals on the shaft, winged genii on the top, and recumbent deer on the hanging plates,² was found at Kelermes 1, Kuban, late seventh or early sixth century B.C. A similar type was also found at Litoy kurgan of the same date. It was made of gold over perhaps a wood and leather frame. It shows a refined technique of ornamentation with winged genii. The fantastic animals on the gold scabbard casings suggest a general Near Eastern iconographic tradition. In reconstructions of warriors in regalia, the sword in the Saka/Scythian repertoire hangs on the right front of the man's belt and falls to the front or right. Such an arrangement for short swords is supported by carved images of Sakas and Persians on the Persepolis Apadana.³ An axe overlay (Plates 53 and 54) with stacked images of fantastic animals, goats, boar and deer was found at Kelermes 1.4 It used gold over an iron core. The beasts appear to be imaginative variations on the theme of the recumbent animal. A 1 E.H.Minns, op. cit., Figs. 124,125. 2 Scythian Art, Pls.32-35. 3 The Art of The Scythians, p.233. 4 Scythian Art, Pls.37-40.

99 scabbard casing (Plates 55 and 56) for an iron sword, with raised images of felines and caprids was found at Shumeiko (late sixth or early fifth century B.C.).¹ It was made of gold with surface granulation. The lower section of the sheath is of plain gold, ornamented at its upper edge by three tiers of triangulated masses of granulation. Another gold scabbard casing (Plate 57) with lions savaging humans and deer heads was found at Solokha (early fourth century B.C.). 2 The shaft of this casing is divided into several sections by cross-bars of a twisted-rope pattern. A beak-head in the shoulder of the feline is suggestive of the Scythian tradition (from early sixth to fifth century B.C.). From Tolstaya Mogila (fourth century B.C.), a scabbard casing (Plates 58, 59, 60 and 61) with scenes of lions and griffins savaging deer and horses, was found.³ Images here are treated with greater realism with respect to the musculature and texture, and by a more massive treatment of both the griffins and the lions. The Scythians ornamented not only their clothing but also their weapons and horses with plaques of bronze, gold and silver. The most famous plaques, associated with weaponry, are those attached to shields. 1 Ibid., Pls.66,67. 2 Ibid., Pls. 155,156. 3 Ibid., Pls. 150-154. '

100 They include the large gold panther plaque (Plate 62) from Kelermes,¹ the deer plaques from Kostromskaya (Plate 63), 2 and Kul Oba (Plate 64).³ A bronze bridle cheek piece (Plate 65) from Elizavetinskaia depicts a stylized head of a stag amidst the openwork of the plaque-like cheek piece. Shown in profile, the head is almost lost among the enormous antlers which form an intricate, seemingly pure ornamental composition. Perhaps more than any other material from Scythian burials, the ornamental plaques from horse harnesses seem to reflect the changes from the native archaic tradition, which gradually transformed into new nomadic traditions in the fifth century under the influence of Hellenic tastes.