The eastern section of Scythian art

In the eastern section, as mentioned above, the name Scythia or Saka/Scythia was extended to areas east of the Caspian Sea, including Siberia, Mongolia and the western borders of China. It also included Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanisthan, Pakistan and India. I Ibid.,Pl. 17. 2 Ibid.,Pl. 16. ³ Ibid.,Pl.213. 4 The Golden Deer of Eurasia, Pl. 153. Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,

101 Before entering the eastern section proper one comes to Filippovka, a nomadic cemetery in the foothills of the Ural Mountains, at the eastern edge of the western section of the Scythian art. The reason for including the Filippovka burial in the eastern section is that most of the objects found here have stylistic affinity with the objects found from the tombs of the Altai region, Siberia and Western China.¹ Spectacular gold and silver objects dating from the fifth to the fourth century B.C. were excavated between 1986 and 1990 from the burial mound at Filippovka, which lies on the open steppe in the southern Ural Mountains region, sixty miles west of Orenburg. These finds constitute a brilliant new chapter in the history of the art of the nomads. Among the precious works of art from the funerary deposits are also gold and silver vessels of foreign manufacture resembling in both form and style works from the Achaemenid Iran. Other gold and bronze plaques exhibit similarities with the art of both ancient Bactria and modern Kazakhstan. The presence of the Scythians is evident in the horse trappings and the great cast-bronze cauldrons found in the central tomb chamber at kurgan I in Filippovka. The subjects commonly represented on the Filippovka finds are similar to those in the animal repertoire of contemporary Scythian art. The stylistic affinity of the Filippovka deer, lie to the east, in Bashadar, Tuekta and Pazyryk. The overall ornamentation Ibid., p.6.

102 on bodies of animals was also common on the eastern steppes not only in wood carving but also in gold work found from the Issyk kurgan.¹ Filippovka was well situated to control both east-west travel along the steppes and the north-south routes, to the gold mines of the Urals and the Altai or through central Asia to the fringes of the Achaemenid empire.2 Various gold attachments for wooden vessels have been found. In pit 2 of kurgan 1, four different types of hammered gold plaques in the so-called animal style were found. Hammering the metal over a wooden form produced them. Weapons include a sword inlaid with gold (Plate 66),³ a dagger like the typical akinakes (Plate 67), 4 and whetstone (Plate 68).5 The horse trappings include a gold buckle (Plate 69) 6 and gold bridle decorations in the form of griffins or griffins' heads (Plates 70,71 and 72).7 Two bronze roundels depicting a combat between two camels (Plate 73)8 were perhaps ornaments for a horse's chest collar. There are only few garment plaques and jewellery. { Ibid., p.7. 2 Ibid., p.8. Ibid., p.80,P 1.5. * Ibid., Pl.6. 5 Ibid., Pl.7. 6 Ibid.,Pl.8. 7 Ibid., Pls.9,10,11. 8 Ibid., Pl. 13.

103 Scholars love to attribute the materials of the Altai group of nomads to the Scythians. The great connecting factor was the animal motifs common to the products of the western section. The present day Altay Republic was home to the early nomads of the Pazyryk culture. To the north, in the Minusinsk basin lived the people of the Tagar culture. Bronze stags cast in relief and hammered were common in the Tagar repertoire. Present day Tuva was the centre of the Aldi-Bal' and Saglin cultures, while northern and central Mongolia are identified with the so-called Chandman culture. The early nomadic tribes of Mongolia lived in khurees, or circles (an idea of steppe nomad tribes from 800 B.C.) in the centre of which, the elder's hooded cart (gerlug) was surrounded by an encampment of gers or tents. The later Khans adopted this but instead of the gerlug, they built a palace (butchord) and monastic compound in the centre and surrounded the whole camp with a fortified wall or fence. Noin Ula in Mongolia is an important Scytho-Siberian centre. Over 200 kurgans dated in the third to first century B.C. contained precious objects like golden pendants, silver plaques, table like structures¹ with animal motifs, bronze artifacts, pottery, textiles and utensils. Bronze objects include plaques, belt-buckles, horse trappings, bronze cauldrons 1 History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Vol.II,p.160.

104 and bronze candleholders. A significant felt rug decorated with chain-stitch designs showing typical steppe motifs like the elk and griffin locked in combat has been found in Noin Ula.¹ The presence of lacquered cups, silk and other objects reveals links with China during the Han period. (206 B.C. - 220 A.D.). The effect of Scythian art is especially marked in the Hunan art of the Chu age. It largely contained animal motifs like stylized tigers, horned lions and other beasts, which had been depicted in the western section like eagle headed griffins. Under the Hans, the influence of Siberian art of the Scythian type became for a time so forceful that some of the oriental bronze plaques scarcely differed in arrangement and form from the nomadic works, whilst the Chinese dragon become twisted into an altogether Scythian posture, its head turned in one direction and its body in another. At much the same time the Chinese metal-workers began to stylize the tails and extremities of many of their beasts in accordance with the characteristic convention of the Altaian and Scythain art. The pole and furniture finials, which had flourished in early Scytho-Siberian art appeared in China. Forty graves excavated at Xiangbaobao² in the grasslands near River Tashkurgan have yielded bronze bridle pieces executed in the Scytho-Siberian style. This locality borders the Saka territory of the Tarim basin in the west. Interestingly, the territory of 1 Ibid., p. 161. ² Ibid., p.210.

105 Khotan, had, like the rest of the Tarim Basin, been under Chinese supremacy both under Han and Tang dynasties. Intaglios from Yotkan reveal careful delineations of a warrior of the Indo-Scythic type.¹ In the LouLan graves at Lop Nor the deceased wears a peaked brown felt hat 2 much. similar to the Saka type. At Alagou (Turfan county) bone ornaments are carved with the heads of animals in a style reminiscent of the Scythian art.3 We have seen the stag motif very much used in the Scythian art. In Siberia, the so-called stag figures (surely of elk, as confirmed by the heavy drooping muzzle) are very common. The peculiarities of the elk, like the heavy muzzle, broad palm antlers, and exaggerated long limbs, have all influenced the Scythian art. The ceres and the hooked beak are characteristic marks of birds of prey and at the same time typical features of Scytho-Siberian stylization. Their territory was merged into the steppe belt and land of forest and tundra, mostly inhabited by Finno-Ugrian tribes.The Scythian connection with Asia Minor is clearly reflected in the so-called Ziwiyeh treasure from the Saqqez tomb in Iranian Kurdistan (seventh century B.C.), which contains outstanding artifacts in which 1 M.Aurel Stein, Ancient Khotan, p.210. 2 ² Ibid., p.211. 3 Ibid., p.213.

106 images characteristic of both ancient Near Eastern and Scythian art are combined. The golden objects in the Scythian style found at Ziwiyeh are similar to finds from the Scythian burial mounds, such as the sword with a gold covered hilt and scabbard in the Elizavetgrad kurgan, Ukraine, and the gold-handled sword and axe (Plate 53) from the Kelermes kurgan in the Kuban region.¹ As seen, all these objects combine Scythian motifs (reclining deer) with ancient Eastern imagery (the holy tree with its attendant divinities and fantastic animals) and it is probably correct to consider that they are imitates of Urartian artifacts, modified by the addition of elements in purely Scythian style. Art historians have tried to relate the birth of the Scythian art to the period of Scythian campaigns in Asia Minor, but on the other hand, we find examples of the pre-Scythian and Scythian art discovered in Siberia, which predate those from Ziwiyeh (i.e. seventh century B.C.) and are also decorated in the animal style. It is to be noted that throughout Eastern Europe extending to Inner Asia, there existed a nomadic animal art, practised by the vast hordes of tribes, mingling to form a whole nomadic system. The term "Scythian" is now applied to a large number of ethnically unrelated tribes characterized by a strong Iranian influence in their personal and place names. Its 1 Scythian Art,Pls.36,37.

107 wider area. application is frequently limited to the tribes inhabiting the coastal flatlands of the Black Sea region as seen in the western section. But archeologists have shown that the early Scythian monuments of this region are related to ancient steppe culture, which belongs to the middle of the second millennium B.C. The term Scythian denotes a vast mass of tribes sharing the same economic and cultural existence and spread over a much From the sixth to the third century B.C., the steppe lands between the Don, the Volga and the Urals were the home of a culture similar to that of the Black Sea Scythians. The bearers of this culture, whom the Greeks called Sarmatians, were in turn linked with the tribes of Eastern Kazakhstan, whose own culture is brilliantly represented by a series of gold plaques depicting reclining deer found in the sixth century Chiliktinsky kurgan. Beyond steppes of Kazakhstan, these tribes stretched to High Altai, whose frozen burial mounds perfectly preserved objects in wood, bone, felt and metal and in which the Chinese, Iranian and Scythian influences are clearly apparent. That the nomads manufactured carpets and rugs in antiquity is well illustrated by the world's oldest carpets and felt objects found in Altaian Scythian barrows. They were made of sheep's wool, goat hair and camel hair. Pile weaving traditions still continue in Kirghyzia and in Kazakhstan and felt carpets executed in the mosaic

108 technique are of great artistic worth.¹ Imagery at Altai had much to contribute to the Scytho-Siberian-Saka art. Four carved figures of walking tigers cover the length of a sarcophagus lid (Plate 74) 2 found from Altai dated in the sixth century B.C. Beneath the legs of the predators are depictions of hoofed animals: three rams, two boars, and two elk. The proportions are not to scale; the tigers are much larger than the other animals and dominate the composition. The tiger's fur is indicated by flame patterns, and the bodies of the hoofed animals are suggested by spiraliform designs. This stylistic approach is characteristic of early Altai art of the sixth century B.C. and illustrates the high level of the artisans wood carving. Cast gold aside, there is abundant evidence that the early nomads were using gold even before the appearance of extensive gold work in Scythia. Bits and pieces of gold and turquoise were found from the burial of Arzhan in Tuva. In a recent discovery of 2700 years old tomb of a noble couple in Tuva, there is a marked evidence of the Scythian's reverence for their mounts. Some 5,700 pieces of gold artifacts were found, which prompted the Russian archaeologist Chugunov to comment-"Tuva has ¹ L.B.L.A.S.C.C., Issue 5,p.71. 2 ² The Golden Deer of Eurasia, Pl. 174.

109 always been an archaeological white spot. Now it has a colour; gold."1 In the western section, plenty of gold has been found in the Scythian tombs in Ukraine, but those pieces were produced in later centuries, either by or under the influence of the Greeks. These new pieces² predate the other and display a uniquely Scythian style, indicating that the Scythians were skilled gold-smiths even before they encountered the Greeks. Included in the cache from Tuva were two magnificent neck pieces, a buckle from an arrow quiver, a headpiece ornament and foil fish used to decorate a horse's bridle. There is abundant evidence that the nomads had the preference for gold objects in both the western and eastern section. Bits and pieces of gold and turquoise were recovered from Arzhan, in Tuva. The archaeology of Tuva is and will remain mainly an archaeology of barrows, for in this republic the number of barrow burials far exceeds that of all other groups in the eastern section. A burial complex of the Scythian time was found near Mount Kazylgan, and S. I. Vainstein, the archaeologist, suggested the name of the Kazylgan culture for the Scythian-type culture of Tuva.³ Other Scythian sites include the area on the river Ij in Todzhin region, as well as the burial complexes of Ozen-Ala-Belig and Kokaael. The Kazylgan culture spans from seventh to third centuries B.C. From the seventh to sixth 1 M.Edwards, Unearthing Siberian Gold', National Geographic, June 2003, p.129. ² Ibid., p.123. 3 V. Semenov, K.Chugunov, 'New evidence of the Scythian-type culture of Tuva', Ancient Civilizations From Scythia to Siberia, Vol.2, p.311.

110 centuries B.C. the earliest Scythian-type burials are found. L. R. Kyzlasov invented another name for the Scythian culture of Tuva: the Ujuk culture, 1 in the Ujuk valley dated in the seventh to third centuries B.C. Different ethnic groups had inhabited Tuva in the Scythian period. Typical Scythian bronze bridle-bits with cheek-pieces, a saddle-girth buckle and strap distributors were found from a hoard in the mound of Aldy-Bel', a barrow at the burial site of Ortaa-Khem in Central Tuva.² The grave goods include the so-called "Scythian triad" (Scythian animal-style decorations, arms and horse- harnesses) which proves that Tuva was one of the centres where the development of cultures of the Scytho-Siberian cluster took place. From the kurgan 13 of Sagly-Bazhi II in the Ovur region, Tuva, a low-relief horn plaque (Plate 76) in the form of a recumbent horse³ with head cast down, has been found. Although the horse was an essential feature of nomadic culture, it is unusual as a subject, as most animals represented are wild rather than domesticated. The mane is indicated by rows of curving, leaf like shapes. Curved designs including scrolls emphasise the horse's musculature. The typical almond-shaped eyes are there. 1 Ibid., p.312. 2 Ibid., p.315, Fig.4. 3 The Golden Deer of Eurasia, Pl. 197.

111 Gold earrings (Plate 77) from the central Aldy- Bel' burial barrow I, of the Saryg-Bulun burial site, are reminiscent of the Taxila type.¹ They consist of conic pendants decorated with granules and comma-shaped insets. So far the Arzhan barrow remains the only completely excavated monument among the great barrows of Tuva, though there are several other great barrows similar in appearance in the centre of the Ujuk basin.Gold garment decorations (Plates 78 and 79) representing birds of prey and an iron figurine inlayed with gold representing a predatory animal² have been found from the burial site of Kosh-Pej, barrow 2, in Tuva. The gold garment-decorations representing birds of prey are very much similar with the birds of prey found in the western section specially at Litoy kurgan (Plate 44)³ of seventh century B.C. Kosh-Pej has also revealed gold garment-decorations (Plate 80) shaped as reposing panthers* and a gold svastika-shaped decoration and iron buckles covered with gold leaf (Plate 81).5 It is interesting that Chiliktin-type gold cornelian and turquoise beads and gold hemispheric plaques with loops soldered on to their back were found from Kosh-Pej. The garments of the dead buried in the Ujuk barrows were covered with numerous decorations of gold. Eagles 2 ¹V.Semenov, K.Chugunov, op. cit., p.318, Fig.6. ² Ibid., pp.322,323,Figs.9,10. 3 V.Schiltz, op.cit., p.88, Pl.64. *V.Semenov, K.Chugunov, op.cit., p.324, Fig. 11. 5 Ibid., p.325, Fig.12.

112 and other birds of prey carved out of gold leaf are widely represented and they were attached to a headdress. Belt of garments had various belt-clasps of bronze or iron covered with gold leaf and "butterfly"-shaped plaques¹ were found. These plaques are similar to those found in Altai, Tillya-tepe, the Minusinsk basin and the Baikal region dated in the fifth to fourth centuries B.C. Kosh-Pej 2 has images of ibexes and boars carved out of gold leaf. In the burials of Suglug-khem dated in the second century B.C., typical Saka/Scythian bronze buckles and belt decorations (Plate 82) were found.2 The garments of a noble warrior from the same burial, decorated with more than a hundred golden figurines, ³ were found. The belt was inlaid with gold leaf, decorated with twenty cowrie shells which were also covered with gold leaf. In three of the female burials of Suglug-Khem high caps were found along with gold earrings, wooden combs, gold pins, gold torques, bronze cauldrons and mirrors, some of which having zoomorphic side-handles (one representing an ibex) (Plate 83).4 L. R. Kyzlasov thought that the barrow of Suglug-Khem was erected by the Sakas coming from 1 Ibid., p.327. 2 Ibid., p.332,Fig.18. 3 Ibid., p.333. * Ibid., p.331, Fig.17.

113 central Kazkhstan.' The findings are similar in style to those found from Ptichata Mogila in Bulgaria, two rich burials in the Vysokaya Mogila on the Dniepr and the kurgan of Arzhan in Tuva (all dated in the eighth to seventh century B.C.).The kurgan of Arzhan-2 in Tuva valley poses a major question about the authorship of the splendid gold pieces discovered there. The ornaments depicting workmanship of the highest quality confirmed the fact that the Scythians in the eastern section were well acquainted with gold techniques. Several thin gold disks, imprinted with coiled feline images near the Mayemir kurgan in the Altay Republic, Issyk kurgan in the East Kazakhstan, and recently excavated burial on the Ukok plateau in the Altay Republic have also revealed much richness. From the Golden Barrow at Chilktin in East Kazakhstan were recovered twenty-nine gold foil images of felines and several foil images of deer with inlaid turquoise eyes. As in the case of the Mayemir finds, these foil images had been pressed over more sturdy forms carved from wood or leather. The coiled felines from Chiliktin are similar to the coiled feline shaped bridle ornament (Plate 2) from Temir-Gora.2 1 Ibid., p.333. 2 Scythian Art, P 1.7.

114 The early Scythian gold reindeer (Plate 84) from Chilikta, 1 and the gold deer (Plate 63) from the royal Scythian burial at Kostromskaya, in the Caucasus² for instance, have a typically Scythian folded pose. From kurgan 5, Chilikta burial ground (south of Lake Zaysan), Kazakhstan, two reindeershaped plaques have been found. They have been dated to the early Scythian period, from the second half of the eighth century B.C. to the first half of the seventh century B.C. Gold and turquoise have been cleverly used. On each of these flat, gold-sheet plaques, probably used to decorate a leather quiver, the reindeer faces right, with legs folded under the body. The head is raised, with nostrils, mouth, and eye indicated by hollows; the pointed ear is inlaid with turquoise which was sufficiently found in Siberia; and the large antlers have one branch in the front and four to the rear, a more naturalistic rendering, characteristic of this eastern region, than the more stylized depictions of stags in the Scythian art of the Pontic steppes. Both plaques were hammered over a mold in low relief. From the same burial several hundred gold objects have been found. Among them were small reliefs of a typically early Scythian and Siberian animal style, especially the stags with feet crouched beneath the body, and the stylized antlers. Arresting bronze arrowheads were found in a sheath adorned with golden stags dated in the seventh to sixth century B.C. The fourteen figures The Golden Deer of Eurasia, Pl. 170. ² The Golden Deer of Eurasia, Pl. 170.

115 of gold reindeer from Chilikta were found with remnants of a leather quiver and arrows and gold plating decorated with 24 figures of deer in separately stamped compartments like the one from Kelermes (Plate 50) in the Caucacus.1 The golden skeleton from Issyk kurgan makes abundantly clear the extent to which the Saka would literally robe a person in gold at the time of burial. But whether the Issyk burial was that of a man or a woman is a mystery² as new evidence suggests that the buried in the Issyk kurgan was a woman. The body had been attired in boots, trousers, and a leather tunic decorated with some 2,400 arrow shaped gold plaques. Thirteen gold deer heads flanked by three gold plaques of moose with unusual twisted torsos (Plates 85 and 86) had been sewn to a belt.³ Snow leopards with gaping mouths decorated a gold torque found around the neck of the skeleton. Plaques of horses with twisted torsos decorated scabbards that held an iron dagger and a sword. These ceremonial weapons, both embellished with gold animals, lay beside the remains. A short sword or dagger like the akinakes from Filippovka (Plate 67)4 has also been found. The hilt is composed of 1 Ibid., Pl. 142. 2 ³ J. Davis-Kimball, 'Chieftain or Warrior Priestess ?', Archaeology, Sept.-Oct. 1997, p.41. 3 The Golden Deer of Eurasia, p.7, Figs.4,5. 4 * The Golden Deer of Eurasia, p.7, Figs. 4,5.

116 opposed griffins' heads. Near the head was a gold-bound whip handle. Ceramic, silver and bronze vessel, as well as flat wooden dishes and beaters for koumiss (fermented mare's milk) were also found in the tomb. The most spectacular object in the burial was a conical headdress elaborately decorated in gold. The intact burial at Issyk and other Saka burials establish the existence of a tradition at least as early as the fifth century B.C. of using gold plaques to so ornament a garment as to acquire the appearance of gold cloth. The same can be said about the Tillya-tepe burial. The headdress from Issyk was probably made of felt with a flap extending down over the neck. Its base consisted of pairs of winged mountain goats carved out of wood and sheathed in gold. Two gold foil strips painted black and red, were set vertically on the centre of the hat. On each side of these strips were what some scholars have called a pair of gold feathers or wings and a pair of upright gold arrows or miniature spears. On a felt carpet from kurgan 5 at Pazyryk in southern Siberia, of about the same date as the Issyk burial a similar motif is found.2 Gold-foil depictions of mountains, birds, snow leopards with twisted torsos, winged tigers, and mountain goats were attached to the sides of the headdress, and a small gold ram was set on its point. Although the burial was said to be of a man, the headdress reminded the Kazakh excavators of hats worn by brides in 'J.Davis-Kimball, op.cit., p.40. 2 Ibid., p.40.

117 traditional wedding ceremonies. Artifacts in the Issyk burial are so similar to those found in burials of women warriors and priestesses at Pokrovka in the southern Ural steppe that one cannot help speculating that this person was actually a young woman. Three earrings adorned with turquoise, carnelian and white beads suggest more elaborate jewellery than is usually associated with male Saka warriors. A gilded bronze mirror is placed to the body's left and above the head. Such mirrors are associated with priestesses in archaeological contexts at Pokrovka, Tuva, in southern Siberia west of Lake Baikal and the Altai mountains. Both male and female shamans in Tuva still use mirrors in curing rituals.¹ From the Altai culture, eighth to seventh century B.C., a bronze mirror (Plate 87) with figures of standing stag and a mountain goat has been found.2 The cast, round mirror, once brightly polished, is now corroded. The reverse has a high rim; the loop handle in the centre was broken off in antiquity. Five raisedoutline figures of stags and one of a mountain goat, arranged around the handle, decorate the surface. The animals are shown in profile, their heads raised high and surmounted by spiraliform antlers or horns. Each has four thin, elongated legs ending in pointed hooves, as if it were standing on tiptoe. The style is similar to that found on the earlier so-called deer stones and on petroglyphs in the Sayan and Altai mountains and in Mongolia. In 1 Ibid., p.41 2 The Golden Deer of Eurasia, Pl. 169.

118 antiquity, mirrors were not simply objects of everyday use but were thought to possess magical powers, reflecting and therefore repelling evil spirits. The decoration on this mirror may also have had calendrical significance. The Issyk burial is also similar to that of a fifth century B.C. burial of a woman in Ukok in the Altai Mountains excavated in 1993.¹ Among the objects found at Ukok were a silver mirror with an incised deer on its reverse, wooden trays and bowls. The Ukok woman wore a short kaftan, leather boots and an elaborate coiffure resembling a conical hat. Tattoos of animals with twisted torsos on the Ukok female are paralleled in the gold ornaments from Issyk. Similar to the golden ram figurine surmounting the headdress from Issyk burial are the wooden ibex heads found from Kuturguntas, Siberia. It is not clear, however, to which object the ibex heads (Plate 88) from the Kuturguntas barrow have been attached.2 Beginning with Arzhan in the eighth century B.C., the archeological remains of the Scytho-Siberians reveal that they were master bronzecasters. They were also familiar with gold-work. Two gold belt plaques show the technique of cast open work and this technique is a Siberian 'J.Davis-Kimball, op. cit., p.41. 2 M.V.Polosmak, Investigations of a Pazyryk Barrow at Kuturguntas', Ancient Civilizations From Scythia to Siberia, Vol.2, p. 100, Fig.7.

119 specialization. An interesting gold belt plaque from the Lake Baikal area is cast and hammered and it depicts a fantastic, horse like animal locked in combat with a feline predator. The mythical creature has a beak-shaped snout and antlers with seven tines, each of which terminates in a beaked bird's head, as do the mane and long, curling tail. Empty space on the body is filled with relief images of animals. The great feline disk from Arzhan and the fine poletops from that site and from numerous Tagar finds offer testimony that the predecessors of the Scythians had developed a sophisticated understanding of bronze metallurgy.¹ Since the Scythians did not have palaces, they carried their wealth on their own bodies and ion the regalia of their horses, their weapons and their utensils. Such an extreme display of wealth and status seems to have been one of the characteristics adopted by the Scythians during their Near Eastern sojourn. Excavations in the old Nisa area in Turkmenistan (primarily a Parthian site) shows sculptures made of unfired painted clay and some of them are dressed in nomadic Scythian costume.2 I The Art of The Scythians, p.247. 2 G.A.Koshelenko, A.M.Bader, V.A.Gaibov, 'Archaeological Studies in Turkmenistan', Ancient Civilizations From Scythia to Siberia, Vol. 1, p.273.

120 The Mongolian steppe excavations have brought to surface "deer stones" dated in the eighth century B.C. Although named from the figures of deer inscribed on them, such stones are in fact stylized portrayals of nomad warriors.¹ Many such stones have been found in Mongolia, the Tuva Autonomous Republic of the former U.S.S.R. beyond Lake Baikal and mountainous Altai and in a slightly different form in the Urals.2 During the eighth century B.C. similar cultures of Scytho-Siberian type emerged and developed simultaneously as there was the gradual emergence of an economy based on nomadic cattle-breeding. The Scytho-Siberian animal style despite all its variety, developed uniformly across the vast territory stretching from the Danube to the Great Wall of China and beyond, and as far as the basin of Minusinsk, the latter fostering a culture similar to that of the ancestors of the Scythians. In the age of the Cimmerians, the culture of the Karasuk (1200 - 700 B.C.) which had succeeded that of Andronovo (1700- 1200 B.C.) occupied roughly the regions of Kazakhstan and the Altai. Karasuk had as neighbours to the north an Uralic culture known as Shigir (2 nd millennium B.C. to 6 th century B.C.) and that of the Ob (16 th to 8 th century B.C.), to the south was the Tazabagyab culture (1500 to 1000 B.C.). Sculptured stone columns representing bears and rams discovered on the banks of the Yenisei have the same appearance as ornaments on 1 The Golden Deer of Eurasia, p.245. 2 Ibid., p.248.

121 knife handles of the Karasuk culture (1200 - 700 B.C.), like heads of stags, cows and horses in the round. Unlike the reclining deer that are a feature of Scythian art, the animals of the Karasuk stand solidly on all four hooves. Andronovo was more interested in geometric ornaments than in the animal art and transmitted prototypes of arms and implements by way of the centres of Seima, Shigir and Krasnoyarsk. 1 In the Tagar epoch (700-1000 B.C.) the Minusinsk region saw the development of an animal art that followed the same evolution as the Scythian art; monumentality gave way to a softer and more flexible rendering that strove to express movement and speed. Despite the undeniable relationships between the two cultures, the fact that they developed in an analogous and parallel way does not necessarily imply interdependence. The persistence of the Karasuk tradition may be seen in the figures of standing animals, even while a flourishing production of Scythian-derived rampant and galloping animals simultaneously developed. The animals are found in knives and small belts most frequently, but also in brooches and belt plaques, all covered with skillfully elaborated ornament. Certain clasps, or round fibulas, envelope the silhouette of the animals in concentric circles, others twist them in the form of an 'S', and in some we find the hooves transformed into circles. It

122 is noteworthy that, from the beginning of the Bronze Age, the Chinese artist liked to contort his animals into an 'S' shape. In the eighth century B.C., Ordos art had its origins in the confluence of the Chinese art with that of Tagar, and subsequently constituting with the latter and with the Scythian Art, the triad of the steppes. The art of the Ordos itself was a powerful evolutionary factor in the passage of the Scythian Art into ScythoSarmatian art. Pazyryk, Shibe, Noin-ula could be the possible centres of Scytho-Sarmatian art. Here again, spirals, palmettes, roundels and other floral shapes were the most popular of the purely non-representational patterns. The saddles, which are represented on Scythian metal-work, seem closely to follow the lines of the actual saddles found at Pazyryk. From kurgan 1 Tuekta, in the Altai Mountains, much bridle ornaments have been found. A cedar bridle ornament (Plate 89) in the form of two griffin's heads¹ is noteworthy. The head of a griffin with a long neck merges into a stylized body, ending in what appears to be a tail but is actually another head, smaller but identical. Depictions of serpents' or birds' heads at the end of the tail of a mythical beast were known in southern Mesopotamia and later In Assyria. The style in which the eyes, beak, and tufts are executed correspond to the traditional manner in which 1 Ibid., Pl.177.

123 griffins were depicted in the Altai during the sixth century B.C.¹ This object, laterally pieced through the base, may have been a horse's bridle ornament. Similar carved wooden objects have been found by Polosmak in more recently (1991) excavated graves in the Altai Mountains.2 The pieces seem to be abbreviated variations of the monstrous stag figures that decorate the belt of a person buried in the Issyk kurgan in eastern Kazakhastan. From the same grave (Tuekta) a bridle ornament (Plate 90) in the form of a head combining the features of a predator, a camel, and a griffin has been found.3 The upper jaw is like a bird's beak. Similar composite creatures (Plate 91) are found from Filippovka. An unique bridle ornament consisting of the full-face head of a tiger (Plate 92) from Tuekta shows a new style in crafting the larch tiger.5 The vertical wood grain is slightly incised to create strips down the head and the body is made in the form of two addorsed profile heads of predatory bird's or griffins. The ferocity of the tiger and the bird's of prey may have served an apotropaic function for the rider. The technique of joining two bodies as found in the Scythian art of the western section (Kul-oba) is also in use in the eastern nomadic art. A similar plaque consisting of two elk-heads in relief is found 1 Ibid., p.254. 2 Ibid., p.254. ³ Ibid., Pl. 178. 4 Ibid., Pl.67. $ Ibid., Pl. 180.

124 at Tuekta. A common ear joins the two elks. This highly ornamental design (Plate 93) can be interpreted as one frontal animal's head or two in profile.¹ A cedar bridle ornament at Tuekta (Plate 94) depicts torsional, triskele composition.² Such triskele compositions represent perhaps circular movement and are common in the Saka/Scythian art. The tradition of fabricating psalias with references to different parts of the same animal was an established and creative tradition as found in the burials of Tuekta and Pazyryk. Similar psalias were found from Zhurovka and Axjutintsy. Applique work from Tuekta and Pazyryk represent a different visual perspective of the Scythian art. They are in most cases made of leather. The applique tiger work (Plate 95) from Tuekta³ has comparable representations on southern Siberian and Central Asian petroglyphs and on Tuva metal work from the eighth to the fifth century B.C. The applique of two roosters from Pazyryk (Plate 96) 4 reminds us of the leather silhouettes used in shadow puppetry in Orissa and Southeast Asia. Regarding the "frozen grave" barrows of the Scythian period, AkAlakh deserves special mention after Bashadar and Tuekte. The barrow's location is in the Kosh-Agach region of the Gorno-Altai autonomous 2 Ibid.,Pl. 183. Ibid., Pl.184 3 Ibid., Pl. 185. * Ibid., Pl. 187.

125 district, about 14 kms. from the present Chinese border. Ak-Alakh is the largest of a group consisting of six mounds which form an irregular chain stretching along a North-South axis (a feature characteristic of the Pazyryk culture burial monuments).¹ Several horses were buried at Ak-Alakh, and four of them were probably bridled. Among the finds were seven complete sets of wooden harness decorations (Plate 97).² Saddles made of felt were decorated with polychrome applique work and some pieces of a compound bow. Ak-Alakh was a burial of the "middle-level" nobility, standing somewhere between the common people burials (as found at Ulandryk, Justyd, Tashanty) and the elite burials (the great barrows of Pazyryk, Bashadar, Tuekte, Berel and Koltandyk).³ Elite burials had richly adorned horses. Decorations of horse harness (Plates 98 and 99) in the shape of griffins attest to the Scythian identity of the grave. The Ak-Alakh griffins considerably enriched the iconography of them and they were so popular among the Pazyryk people. Many of the objects of wood discovered in the barrow belong to well-known types which occur in royal as well as in common burials of the Pazyryk culture. It is interesting that the griffin decoration of a horse harness from Ak-Alakh is stylistically similar to the 'N.V.Polosmak, 'The Ak-Alakh Frozen Grave Barrow', Ancient Civilizations From Scythia to Siberia, Vol.1, p.347. 2 Ibid., p.348, Fig. 1. 3 Ibid., p.353. 4 Ibid., p.352, Figs.4,5.

126 eagle shaped larch bridle ornament (Plate 100),¹ dated in the sixth century B.C. and belonging to the Altai culture. The eagle like the griffin is depicted frontally with lowered spread wings (as at Ak-Alakh). Both the bridle ornaments have a minimum of detail on the head, and the elaboration of the body is limited to two gracefully bent parallel lines in relief, indicating the wing feathers, and a fanlike tail consisting of a three lobed palmette. The motif was also known in Central Asia and India² and appeared on the Eurasian steppes in the first millennium B.C. A similar eagle-shaped plaque (Plate 101) ³ as the Ak-Alakh griffin, is found from the Altai culture. It is dated in the sixth century B.C. and is made of gold. However, there are several objects, which have rare themes on them, like that of a wild boar attacked by panthers. The boar's proportions and its static figure remind us above all of the animal represented on the famous Kelermes mirror.4 Noteworthy is the number of fishes cut in felt to decorate horse harnesses at Pazyryk. Two wooden shields display a simplified decorative technique: rhombic figures set one into another (Plate 102).5 Ak- 3 1 The Golden Deer of Eurasia, Pl. 179. Ibid., p.256. Ibid., Pl.175. *N.V.Polosmak, op. cit., p.354. 5 Ibid., p.353, Fig.6.

127 Alakh, excavated in 1990, is also important for its high sharp-pointed hats of thick felt. From 1993 to 1997, fifty kurgans have been excavated near the town of Pokrovka in the Kazakhstan border. These kurgans reveal women buried with bronze daggers and arrowheads. The find from Pokrovka is very much similar to that found in the burial mounds on the steppes of southern Ukraine. Many of the Ukrainian graves had female burials containing swords, spears, daggers, arrowheads and armour. It is significant that Herodotus in his travels north of the Black Sea in and about 450 B.C. had reported hearing tales of warrior women who rode the steppes of southern Russia. Herodotus called them Amazons, but the neighbouring Scythians fearfully called them Oiorpata or killers of men. In time the Scythians and Amazons paired and together they left the northern Black Sea region, moving east to the steppes between the Don and Volga rivers. They also trekked south with their heads to winter in the milder climate of southern Kazakhstan or northern Uzbekistan.¹ Several artifacts at Pokrovka, which show definite Scythian influence, suggest that the winter homeland of these newcomers may have been located on one of the great east-west trade routes, perhaps somewhere in southern Kazakstan. ¹J.Davis-Kimball, op.cit., p.46.

128 These finds include a bronze belt buckle from northern China and a set of hammered and chased gold plaques probably depicting snow leopards, which inhabit the Tien-Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan and Western China.¹ Archaeological excavations at the Bulak-Bashi Koshrabad site yielded Kaunchi I-II culture artifacts, which are believed to be indicative of the massive waves of migrating tribes of the Saka and Kaunchi cultures from beyond the Syr Darya River. They fused with the sedentarised crop-farming population of the oases in southern Central Asia, which resulted in a syncretic culture.2 In a site 50 kms. east of Almaty, in Kazakhstan, was found a burial chamber of a tribal leader, comparable to the European Scythian burial sites. It is the first and only burial complex of such a high-ranking person to have been excavated in Central Asia. The burial (mid-first millennium B.C) was established by Saka tribes, and both the costumes and burial rites were similar to those used at Tillya-tepe in Northern Afghanistan in the first century A.D. Gold leaf objects were used to decorate the clothing of the buried. Weapons, a circular gilt bronze mirror with handles at the Ibid., p.46, PL 47. 2 LB.LA.S.C.C., Issue 5, p.51.

129 sides and two concentric circles on the back and a headgear including a diadem attached to its base were found. The man's gold jewellery comprised an earring, a pendant and two rings. Metal plaques with a tiger's head en face were sewn on to the fabric of the tribal leader's clothing between fifty-nine horizontal and fifty-nine vertical slats. They included geometric patterns such as 2411 small triangles, 30 small rectangles, 488 rectangles, 162 squares, 30 circles, 108 crescents and 113 rhomboids. The belt was made of massive rectangular plates on to which were affixed smaller plates in the shape of reclining deer heads. An iron dagger, its upper side shaped like the head of two facing griffins and its handle and sheath decorated with gold plates depicting an elk and a horse, and a sword, the upper side and cross of which is encrusted with small gold plaques and gold thread twisted, around the handle, were hung from the belt. 31 vessels were found. Two silver bowls, a large one, the outside engraved with thirty-two rings and the inside decorated with two concentric circles, and a small one, the outside decorated with twenty-six signs resembling Aramaic letters but still undeciphered, a bronze bowl, two dishes, one large and one small, made from a single piece of birch, were also found. Ten ceramic ewers and six basins were found, together with

130 silver forks with the upper part of the handle in the shape of a bird's neck and head with a sharp beak.¹ "To the northeast were the Early Nomads or Pazyryk culture in the northern Altay mountains, and the people of the Tagar culture in the Minusinsk basin, and the stockbreeding culture of Mongolia referred to as the Chandman." There has been much controversy regarding the chronology of the Pazyryk burials. The bearers of the Pazyryk culture may have migrated to eastern Kazakhstan from the west Siberian steppes at the end of the first millennium B.C.3 Pazyryk headdresses included four statuettes of horses discovered at Katanda. All show reclining creatures with griffin's heads set upon the horse's bodies. Stamped gold plaques were also found at Katanda. The latter has also yielded a silk band decorated with carved wooden figures of horses, fabulous beasts, monsters, stags and bears in a row. The pieces of furniture recall examples from Pazyryk. Bukhtarna tombs reveal sixteen horses in four rows with heads pointing to the east. All fully caparisoned they had iron bits, leather bridles adorned with ornaments of carved wood and birch bark covered with thin sheets of The coffins of human burials were adorned with copper birds gold. ¹J.Turner ed., Dictionary of Art, Cambridge, 1994, Vol.16, p.577. ² The Art of The Scythians, p.30. 3 ³ Yu. S. Khudyakov, Problems of the Genesis of Culture of the Hunnic Period in the Altai Mountains', Ancient Civilizations From Scythia to Siberia, Vol.3,p.329.

131 resembling those in the Scythian tombs of the Volga and Ural regions. Weapons similar to that of the Scythian nomads were found. Further burials resembling Pazyryk were found at Bashadar where the wooden coffin sides were decorated with a carved row of four tigers advancing from left to right. The coffin lids had stags, wild boars, mountain goats, in a more flexible style than Pazyryk. Sixteen horses interned there must have belonged to a tribe similar to that of Pazyryk. Pazyryk horse representations display trimmed manes (there are a felt carpet and a bone saddle-inlay to illustrate this) which, according to V.B Kovalevskaya, is one of the characteristic features of a saddle horse. V.O. Vitt presumed that the practice of trimming equine mane had most probably developed among the Saka and Scythian tribesmen who were born archers.1 In 1991 excavation was made of the larger barrow of a complex at Kuturguntas in Pazyryk. Surviving grave goods included fragments of fur clothings, felt appliques, and metal and wooden objects which are parallel to those found in other Pazyryk graves. These medium sized barrows contained thoroughbred horses in them. The burial there of ten horses had not been disturbed although only the wooden bridle decorations of the principal (Master's horse) survive well. These again show the popularity of ¹V.O.Vitt, Loshadi, 'Pazyrykskikh Kurganov', Sovetskaya Arkheologiya, No.XVI, Leningrad, 1952, p.198.

132 the griffin motif in Pazryk art.1 The lid of the main coffin at Kuturguntas was fixed with large copper nails reminiscent of the fish-representations so characteristic of the Pazyryk culture. Among the surviving grave goods were stamped bronze griffin heads (Plate 103), obviously used to decorate garments.2 Pieces of thin woolen cloth, leather applique works shaped like griffins, two rams' heads in wood, probably from a torque or a headdress, a small iron plaque covered with gold leaf which decorated a quiver, several beads, two schematized figurines representing fantastic birds carved from thick leather and a woolen cord woven of two thick threads were also found. Incidentally, carpet making in central Asia from the third century B.C. onwards, used such woolen cords woven of two thick threads. The Kuturguntas grave goods are similar to those discovered in the Ak-Alakh barrow and Tashanta-2 burial complex, all at Pazyryk. Fur garments found at Kuturguntas were made of numerous small pieces of fur sown together. Garments made of numerous pieces were believed to possess certain magic protective qualities.³ Similar beliefs are still widespread among the Tajik, Uzbek, Karakalpak, Kazakh, Kirghiz and some other peoples. 4 Horse harness decorations of the Kuturguntas barrow are very similar to the 1 Cf. N.V.Polosmak's paper cited above, (Note 154) p.92. 2 Ibid., p.96, Fig. 3. 3 Ibid., p.99. *N.L.Zhukovskaya, Kategorii I Synvolika Traditsionnoi Kulturi Mongolov, Moscow, 1988, p.93.

133 fantastic creatures decorating horse harness from the Ak-Alakh barrow and Tuekte barrows. Tuekte was an important centre of nomadic art in the eastern section. Bridle plaques from the Tuekte barrow had square cavities covered with pieces of red leather. This technique probably aimed to imitate metal objects inlaid with precious stones or some polychrome applique work. In Azerbaijan, the region of pre-Pazyryk Hanlar is important for the Scytho-Siberian connection. On excavation of three burials south-west of Hanlar, one burial has yielded a "sledge" drawn by two stags.1 It reminds one of the later Pazyryk burials of the Altai dating from the early Scythian period, where the horses supposed to draw the chariots had stag marks covering their heads. This tradition survived at Tillya-tepe in Northern Afghanistan. The design of many objects such as pots from Saka burials in the Pamir Mountains and brazier altars showing winged lions from Semirechye (the Northwest foothills of the Tien Shan Range) can be seen as representational. During the last twenty-five years, several new items have been added to the collection of bronze lamps due to chance finds in 'Ya.I.Gummel, 'Excavations to the south-west of Hanlar in 1941', Ancient Civilizations From Scythia to Siberia, Vol.2, p.225.

134 Semirechye,¹ near Almaty. An interesting lamp (Plate 104) from Alatau² had as its attachments two camels (Plate 105),³ with typical Saka/Scythian style of big eyes, round pupils, plump cheeks, and oblong holes as ear cavities. Among the cult bronzes, a tiger-griffin (Plates 106 and 107) 4 representation has also been found. Another lamp from Samal in the Semirechye area has fifteen animal figurines set clockwise along the rim. With ears bulging out, they have S-shaped horns, almond-like eyes and twisted tails. The lamp has a vertically set hollow tube for a wick with two figurines of mounted archers set symmetrically by the sides of the tube. The rider holds a composite Scythian bow.5 A graceful figurine of a bronze winged panther represents a fantastic animal with its twisted forepart. It (Plates 106 and 107) has narrow almond-shaped eyes and between its shoulder-blades, it has a convex circle formed by two 'commas'.6 At present it is possible to distinguish two principal areas where Saka bronzes were widespread. They are Sinkiang and Semirechye. Two finds made beyond the Semirechye area include a fragment of an incense-burner 'F.P.Grigorev, R.Ismagil, 'The Cult Bronzes of Semirechye of the Saka Period', Ancient Civilizations From Scythia to Siberia, Vol.3, p.241. ² Ibid., p.242, Fig.1. 3 Ibid., p.243, Fig.2. 4 Ibid., p.243, Figs.5,6. 6 Ibid., p.243, Figs.5,6. "Ibid., p.246.

135 and a figurine of a warrior found near Dzhambul in South Kazakhstan. They, along with a lamp excavated from a barrow by the village of Bukon near Zaysan in East Kazakhstan, 1 are definitely closer to the northern Semirechye Saka style. There are already over 20 Saka cult bronzes from Kazakhstan and Kirgizia, and probably even more from Chinese Turkestan. Excavations at the lli river sites have yielded bronze ornaments and jewels with early indications of the animal style. Many objects have been found, the majority of which can be attributed to the Sakas, Wu-sun and Turks. Bes-Shatyr, on the right bank of the Ili river is a major Saka site. In Kirgizya, covering the basins of the Issyk-kul and Balkhash Lake, a number of kurgans have yielded objects, the majority belonging to the nomadic tribes from the seventh century B.C. to fourth century A.D. The Sakas inhabited the Tyan-Shan, Talas, and Alay mountains as well as the Issyk-kul region. Figures of animals in an early "Scythian style" were found in the Semirechye, near Lake Issyk-Kul and near the Chu and Talas rivers and at Sokuluk, west of Frunze.2 It is not always possible, however, to draw a sharp line between the Saka period and the following period of the Wu-sun. Ritual bronze utensils, discovered on the northern shores of I ¹ M.I.Artamonov, Sokrovischa Sakov, Moscow, 1973 p.40,Fig.47. 2 G.Frumkin, 'Archaeology in Soviet Central Asia. III-Kirghiziya and the Fergana Valley', Central Asian Review, Vol. 12, p. 18.

136 Lake Issyk-Kul, included sacrificial tables, lamps, a cauldron, and a bronze figure of a recumbent yak. In Central Tyan-Shan, Saka tombs were found, and some belonged to the Wu-Sun. Kara-Nulak in Alay valley in Kirghiziya yielded iron knives, arms, various kinds of potteries, bronze articles such as mirrors, bracelets, inlaid ear-rings, jewels and other ornaments belonging to a female skeleton, all showing Saka/Scythian affiliations. From the ninth to third century B.C. in Uzbekistan, a typical agricultural culture called the Burgulyuk culture developed in the oasis of Shash (Tashkent region), situated to the north near the nomadic steppezone. The material culture has a clear similarity with the culture of the Saka/Scythians.1 A process of urbanization started, and this was directly connected with a strengthening of state power. They permitted the irrigation of fertile river valleys (as archaeology has shown) of Amudarya, Kashkadarya, Zeravshan, Chirchik and Syr-Darya. A coiled feline motif from Uigarak ¹ G.A.Pugachenkova, 'The Antiquities of Transoxiana in the light of Investigations in Uzbekistan (1985-1990)', Ancient Civilizations From Scythia to Siberia, Vol.2, p.8.

137 cemetery in the lower Syr Darya region is inevitably a Saka variation bridle plaque (Plate 108)¹ from Kulakovsky dated in the early fifth century B.C. We come to the excavation of a rural settlement of Kundzhulitepa, 1.5 kms. east of the site of Erkurgan (in the district of Kashkadarya). The remains of the settlement are visible as a small circular mound and is dated in the second half of the sixth century B.C.2 An oval intaglio found there shows a triumphal procession. The man in the centre is shown in full detail. He has a moustache, and is clad in a long sleeved shirt, tight trousers and soft leather boots, undoubtedly the attire of the Saka/Scythian nomads or Saka/Parthian nomads. The gem has a Sogdian inscription. A very close parallel can be found on a relief kept in the Toronto Museum, representing Saka warriors.³ Not only their garments but their hairstyles have much in common with those depicted on the Kashkadarya gem. The same hairstyle often appears on Parthian coins bearing portraits of Arsacid rulers.4 At the same time there is one more feature often seen on the Indo-Scythian coins which offers another parallel with the gem, namely the equestrian representations of kings holding 1 Scythian Art,Pl.61. 2 K.Abdullaev, S.Raimkulov, 'A Triumph Scene on an engraved gem from Kundzhulitepe (Kashkadarya)', Ancient Civilizations From Scythia to Siberia, Vol.2, p.221. 3 The Dynastic Arts of the Kushanas, Fig.59. *D.Sellwood, An Introduction to the Coinage of Parthia, London, 1980, Pl.3(1).

138 various symbols of power. Similar representations occur on coins of Azilises, Azes, Gondophares and Soter Megas.1 The equestrian figure on Gondophares' coins is crowned by a Nike who is flying behind him and is holding a wreath above the rider's head in a manner very similar to the composition of the gem.2 The gem, thus, supplements our notions about the art of the Sakas, Parthians or Saka-Parthian tribes on their route to India. In the eastern section, finally, we come to a territory near the Indian borderlands; Pamirs. The Saka graves in the Pamirs, very near the Afghan border, have yielded several objects in the animal style. Archaeological evidence from the Pamirs and its comparison with other materials confirm the evidence of written sources that in migrating to India the Sakas passed through this mountain region.A small bronze cauldron (Plate 109) with two circular handles and an additional handle in the form of a horse head, 3 was found from Imit in Ishkoman, Punyal (second century B.C. to first century B.C.) south of the Hindukush range. A bronze cauldron from Alicur II, kurgan 3, on the left bank of the Gunt river, Southern Pamirs, with two ¹A.K.Srivastava, Catalogue of Saka-Pahlava Coins of North India, Lucknow, 1972, Pl.IV. 1-5,7,9,11; V.4; V.6-8; VII. 1-4. 2 B.N.Mukherjee, Kushana Silver Coinage, Calcutta, 1982, p.22, PL.V.25. ³ K.Jettmar, 'The Art of the Northern Nomads in the Upper Indus valley', South Asian Studies, No.7, London 1991, p.2, Fig. 1.

139 circular handles was similar to the Imit cauldron. The knob (Plate 110) at Alicur II, kurgan 3, has an eagle-griffin.¹ A rhyton (Plate 111) from limit is an artifact rooted in the artistic heritage of the nomads.² Bronze plaques acquired in the Kandia valley dated in the first to second centuries A.D. include an ibex (Plate 112) to whose horns the head of a bird is attached.³ The body of the animal is worked out as an S-spiral in relief with two circular cells in it. The piece is now in the National Museum, Karachi. A petroglyph made with a metal implement from the site of Thalpan Bridge, on the so-called Altar Rock, 4 shows a stag followed by a beast of prey with two tails. The peculiarity of the two tails also occurs in the decor of narrative bronzes in China. A pommel (Plate 113) topping the hilt of an akinakes 5 (the hilt is of bronze with an iron blade) was found from Akbeit, kurgan 3 in the easternmost Pamirs, very near to the Afghan and the Chinese borders. A plaque (Plate 114) depicting a stag has been found from Termansy, near Akbeit, with the typical spiralled Scythian antlers.6 The S-spiral decorating the body of the Kandia plaque is used as an 'Ibid., p.3,Fig.2. 2 Ibid., p. 10,Fig. 14. Ibid., Pl.3. * Ibid., Pl.6. S Ibid., p.6, Fig.5. 6 Ibid. p.6, Fig.7.

140 'abstract' design covering a clasp. A similar bronze was found in Pamirskaja (Plate 115).1 The enormous amount of gold as found from the Pattan hoard in Kohistan district is remarkable. The gold ring (Plates 116 117 and 118) of Pattan² dated in the second to late first century B.C. has a series of engraved animals, most of them in a crouching pose, in a remarkable composition. The tigers depicted frequently are reminiscent of the Ordos bronzes. Saka tombs in the Eastern Pamirs have yielded various utility objects. There were bronze objects, ornaments, bronze jewellery with semiprecious stones and bronze figures of animals, similar to Scythian animal art style of the sixth to second centuries B.C. Objects from Vakhsh have yielded a collection of seals, clay vessels with human and animal heads on the sides and handles, as well as a steatite tray of the Taxila type with a person riding a hippocampus dragon. The treasure of the Oxus contains a similar relief.3 1. Ibid., p.6, Fig.6. 2 Ibid.,pp.14,15,Figs. 20,21,22. 3 B.A.Litvinsky, Igor R.Pichikjan, 'Gold Plaques from the Oxus Temple', Ancient Civilizations From Scythia to Siberia, Vol.2, p.219.

141 In the next section we have discussed the differences in style, technique and character between the eastern and western sections of the Saka/Scythian art.