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A Study on the Scythian Torque

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A Study on the Scythian Torque IJCC, Vol, 6, No. 2, 69〜82(2003) A Study on the Scythian Torque Moon-Ja Kim Professor, Dept, of Clothing & Textiles, Suwon University (Received May 2, 2003) Abstract The Scythians had a veritable passion for adornment, delighting in decorating themselves no less than their horses and belongings. Their love of jewellery was expressed at every turn. The most magnificent pieces naturally come from the royal tombs. In the area of the neck and chest the Scythian had a massive gold Torques, a symbol of power, made of gold, turquoise, cornelian coral and even amber. The entire surface of the torque, like that of many of the other artefacts, is decorated with depictions of animals. Scythian Torques are worn with the decorative terminals to the front. It was put a Torque on, grasped both terminals and placed the opening at the back of the neck. It is possible the Torque signified its wearer's religious leadership responsibilities. Scythian Torques were divided into several types according to the shape, Torque with Terminal style, Spiral style, Layers style, Crown style, Crescent-shaped pectoral style. Key words : Crescent-shaped pectoral style, Layers style, Scythian Torque, Spiral style, Terminal style role in the Scythian kingdom belonged to no­ I • Introduction mads and it conformed to nomadic life. A vivid description of the burial of the Scythian kings The Scythians originated in the central Asian and of ordinary members of the Scythian co­ steppes sometime in the early first millennium, mmunity is contained in Herodotus' History. The BC. After migrating into what is present-day basic characteristics of the Scythian funeral Ukraine, they flourished, from the seventh to the ritual (burials beneath Kurgans according to a third centuries, BC, over a vast expanse of the rite for lating body in its grave) remained un­ steppe that stretched from the Danube, east changed throughout the entire Scythian period.^ across what is modem Ukraine and east of the No less remarkable are the articles from the Black Sea into Russia. Invincible for nearly four burial mounds of Scythian chiefs (5th to 4th centuries, the Scythians were a people of great centuries BC), executed in the Greco-Scythian military skill and unrelenting ferocity. They style and decorated with scenes from a Scythian were also extremely influential patrons of the heroic epic. arts, and left behind an extraordinary legacy of All these objects were lavishly decorated, both ruthless conquest and lavish artifacts. though the finest ornamentation was carried out The culture of the Scythian period was on valuable metal vessels, articles of personal created and existed in an era when the leading adornment and the gold plaques intended as E-mail : [email protected] 1 Sinor Denis, The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia, (Cambridge University Press, 1990), 108-109. -69 2 A Study on the Scythian Torque IJCC dress trimming, as well as on weapons and they possess is the graves of the forefathers. horse trappings：〉 The royal b나 rials are situated, according to Many of the works of art are in the animal Herodotus, in an area called Gerri. Even though style associated with the central Asian steppes, it is in the uttermost north, it is not described as while others reflect influence from ancient Near particularly mysterious. The fact that we have Eastern c마 tures. Still other objects reveal a fu­ not been able to establish the location with any sion of the animal style with Near Eastern certainty is a problem without any bearing to motifs and Greek iconography and style. Rich the narrative of Herodotus itself. Nothing in the evidence of this sophisticated, artistic dialogue text allows the assumption that it is mere constitutes an intriguing new frontier in archae­ fairytale, and the rituals described do seem to ological research. agree accurately with the testimony of archae­ Since Scythians on the whole were not a ology and ethnography. The so-called Kurgan settled people they did not leave their art in graves are scattered all over the Scythian cul­ architecture or on monuments. Their art is pri­ tural sphere, and all these sites have probable marily ornamental. In a nomadic society where been considered the centre of the territory of the wealth must be easily portable the craftsman's local Scythian community.1 23) efforts were put into small items such as gold Much of what is known about the Scythians jewelry, bridle ornaments, horse gear, hand has been uncovered through archaeological ex­ mirrors, arrow cases, swords and battle axes. cavations of their burial mounds, known as kur- The purpose of this study is reviewing and hany. Ongoing explorations of kurhany continue researching the symbolic meaning and classify­ to recover an astonishing wealth of gold and ing the types of the art style of the Torque from silver objects, ranging from horse trappings to the burial mounds of Scythian chiefs. armor, weaponry, jewelry and ceremonial adorn­ The method of this research is through the ment. Early finds of Scythian gold artifacts in antique records and tombs bequests hereby deals the 1700s were so stunning that Catherine the with the characteristics of Scythian Torque was Great ordered their systematic study, launching divided into the types according to the shapes. what became the field of Scythian archaeology. Some of the most extraordinary finds were un­ covered only in the last two decades, and ex­ H ・ Scythian Torque Culture cavations continue on an ongoing basis to ex­ plore some of the more than 40,000 kurhany 1. Buried Treasures of Scythian Torque still unexcavated in Ukraine. A race of warriors with no written language Of the jewelry from graves around the Nor­ of their own, the Scythians carried their trea­ thern Black Sea coast, most interest is to be sures from place to place, on horseback or in fb나 nd in polychrome articles of the time of the pulled wagons. Their history, carved in gold and great migration of peoples. Various adornments silver, was buried in the graves of their elite. fbr clothing have been found. Most have colored Idanthyrsus claims that the Scythians had no inlays of semiprecious stones, mainly in shades cities or cultivated, fbr the loss of which they of red, such as almandine, garnet and sard, and would fear and they have therefore no reason less frequently amber and glass, against a gold fbr involving in a fight, the only solid thing ground. These articles show a combination of 2 T. T Rice, ''Introduction'', M. I. Artamonov, Treasures from Scytian Tombs, trans. Kupriyanova, (London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 1966), 11. 3 George Hinge, Scythian nomadism in the narrative of Herodotus^ (Centre for Black Sea Studies: 1993), 4.534 70 Vol. 6, No. 2 The International Journal of Costume Culture 3 new forms unknown to jewelers of the Northern from the royal tombs, where the skeletons were Black Sea littoral, who tended to use the invariably bedecked with golden diadems, head­ jewelry techniques traditional around the Bospo­ dresses, necklaces, b이 ts, bracelets, ear and rus during the previous era, and they vary in finger-rings, torques, pendants, amulets, beads, style and technique. buttons, buckles and paste locket but even the The story of the Scythians and Scythian art is less important burials provide an abundance of also a story of interaction with the Greek world, jewellery and precious materials." which eagerly purchased grain, furs and amber Fertile soils and generous nature along the from the Scythians. Profits from this trade Black Sea coast and the Dnieper riverside brought Scythians the wealth to indulge their attracted Hellenes as long ago as in the Iron taste for elaborate objects ranging from torques Age. At the same time, Scythians, who had to horse decorations. come from Asia and replaced Cimmerians, When the Scythians at last abandoned their appeared on the territory, which lay farther to nomadic lifestyle for the prosperous, settled life the North. They resided here for a long time which trade had brought them, the door was and appeared to be suitable trade partners and opened for the invasion of a hardier nomadic rich customers for the Greeks. Many master­ tribe, the Sarmatians. The exhibition will close pieces created by Greek and Scythian gold­ with several superb Sarmatian gold objects, in­ smiths are widely known. For body, armament cluding a torque, a dolphin brooch and a pen­ and harness ornaments, they employed all of dant, as a reminder of how intriguing and how metalwork techniques common at the time. still little known are the cultures, objects, and These consisted of casting, coinage, engraving, artistic styles of this part of the world." gilding, inlaying, stone setting and others. In the forest steppe zone between Dnieper The Hermitage collection of Scythian anti­ and Don, archaeologists have excavated nume­ quities is renowned worldwide, its nucleus con­ rous fortifications and settlements, and they sisting of finds from burial complexes in the seem to have depended largely on crops. As Crimea, Kuban basin and in the valleys of the archaeology cannot of course determine ethni­ Dnieper and Don rivers. city, which is after all a matter of linguistically Across the flat grasslands of Ukraine, ancient framed construction, it is impossible to say if burial mounds stretch up to 100 feet high, pre­ those fortifications were in fact inhabited by serving the gold treasures of the nomadic Scy­ Scythians. Some researchers claim that only the thian warriors. grass steppe in the south was the home of The gold, bronze and clay items have been Iranian-speaking Scythians, and that another preserved in the Scythian tombs, called kurhans, population, perhaps Proto-Slavs, inhabited the which rest from 6 to 45 feet beneath the ground northern forest steppe.
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