Scythians was the name used by ancient
Greek
writers to describe the various nomadic
tribes of
southeastern Europe and Asia who dwelled
north
of the Black Sea, between the Carpathian
Mountains and the Don River, in what is
now
Moldova, Ukraine, and western Russia.
The name
was also more generally applied to all
the nomad
tribes who inhabited the steppes
eastward from
what is now Hungary to the mountains of
Turkistan. Scythians kept herds of
horses, cattle,
and sheep, lived in tent-covered wagons,
and
fought with bows and arrows on
horseback. They
developed a rich culture characterized
by opulent
tombs, fine metalwork, and a brilliant
art style.
The excavations of royal burial sites
have provided
the most complete record of the jewelry
of the
Scythians. Typical art objects were in
the form of
stags or other animals, hammered or
stamped out
of gold and often inlaid with colored
stones or
glass. Through their trading contacts
with settled
peoples to the south, they obtained a
great deal of
gold that was elaborately worked into
small and
large ornaments and personal objects
such as
drinking bowls and daggers. This gold
bracelet is
one such example that attests to the
Scythians
mastery of metalworking. The sloping
curve of the
bracelet ends with two finely crafted
leopard
heads. Snarling and growling, mouth
agape and
ferocious fangs exposed, these cats are
clearly not
pets but wild beasts. The heads are
joined to the
bracelet by bands decorated by a series
of leaves.
The sheer elegance of this gold bracelet
would
most likely have been reserved
specifically for a
king or noble.
- (FJ.6596)
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