Essay name: Scythian Elements in early Indian Art
Author:
Swati Ray
Affiliation: University of Calcutta / Department of Ancient Indian History and Culture
This essay studies Scythian Elements in early Indian Art—a topic that has not garnered extensive scholarly attention. Although much research has focused on various aspects of Saka/Scythian culture, such as politics and numismatics, their contribution to Indian art remains underexplored. This essay delves into archaeological evidence, historical texts, and art forms from Eurasian steppes to decipher the Scythian impact.
Chapter 4 - Scythian / Saka Art
110 (of 115)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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154
the area of seams and joins, are seen as indicators of a non-Greek
1 craftsmanship, i.e. of a barbarian' source". Embedding in gold of coloured
substances, usually turquoises, first became popular in those parts of
Scytho-Siberian areas adjoining the Persian frontier and then passed into
west Siberia and South Russia. Earlier the Scythians did not use this
technique to a great extent. The Sarmatians, however, made extensive use,
in not only embedding the stones, but also setting them in cloisons.
The great development of orfevrerie cloisonee took place in
Achaemenid Persia. The Scytho-Siberian objects in the Oxus Treasure form
a link between the gold-smith's craft of Achaemenid Persia and that of
western Siberia. The relations between the makers of the Oxus ornaments,
both with Persian and Sarmatian culture and those between the
Sarmatians and the early Teutonic tribes in Europe, expresses the
impressive extent and unity of the ancient Scythic art. Among the
Scythians, the bracelets were usually formed from a twisted or smooth gold.
rope terminating in a modelled element. In the western section the
'Art. Scy., p.71.
