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The Ionic Capital from the Temple of the Oxus (Northern Bactria)1 Iranica Antiqua, vol. XXXIII, 1998 THE IONIC CAPITAL FROM THE TEMPLE OF THE OXUS (NORTHERN BACTRIA)1 BY LITVINSKY B.A., PICHIKIAN I.R. Excavations at the Oxus Temple (site Takht-e Sangin) have led to the dis- covery of what is for Central Asia a unique architectural complex (Figs. 1, 2, 3), where approximately 8 000 objects from the temple treasure have been found, only a small part of which has been published 2. 1 The article is published with financial support from the Russian Fund of Humani- tarian Scholarship, No. 96-01-00-201. 2 Surveys on the site of Takht-e Sangin were conducted by B.P. Denike in 1928 and A.M. Mandel’shtam in 1956. Regular excavations have been organized since 1976 under directorship of B.A. Litvinsky by the Takhi-Kubad division (I.R. Pichikyan) of the South- Tadzhikistan archaeological expedition (B.A. Litvinskij). See: B.A. Litvinskij, I.R. Pichikyan, The Temple of the Oxus. — JRAS. 1981, No 2. p. 133-167; idem., Baktrijsky gorod Takht- e Sangin. Drevnie vzaimosvyazi i kul’turnyj sintez,” UNESCO Curier 8 (1985), p. 28-31. idem., An Akinak Scabbard from Bactria. — Soviet Anthropology and Archeology/Recent Soviet Work on the Scythian and Related Ancient Civilizations. A Journal of Translations, vol. XXI, N 1-2, Sumer-Fall. 1982, p. 139-182; idem., Gold Plates from the Oxus Temple (Northern Bactria). — Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia, N 2, 2. Brill. Leiden. p. 196-220. Idem., A Panterae Antesetes. A Corinthian Motiv in Bactria. — EW (A Special Number Publised in Colaboration with Vestnik Drevney Istorii), IsMEO, vol. 42, N1, 1992, p. 69-84; idem., River — Deities of Greece Salute the God of the River Oxus/Vakhsh. Ach- elous and the Hippocampess. — In the Land of the Gryphons. Papers on Central Asian Archeology in Antiquity (Monographie di Mesopotamia, vol. V). Ed. by A. Invernizzi, Firenze. 1995, p. 129-149; idem., An Achaemenian Griffin Handle from the Temple of the Oxus. The Makhaira in Northern Bactria. — In the Land of the Gryphons. Papers on Central Asian Archeology in Antiquity (Monographie di Mesopotamia, vol. V). Ed. by A. Invernizzi, Firenze. 1995, p. 107-128, 1995; idem., A Rhyton from Takhti Sangin. — Ancient Civi- lizations from Scythia to Siberia. N 1,3. Leiden, 1994, p. 356-364; idem., The Hellenistic Architecture and Art of the Temple of the Oxus. — Bulletin of the Asia Institute. The Archaelogy and Art of Central Asia. Studies From the Former Soviet Union, 1994, N.S. Vol. 8, Michigan, 1996, p. 47-66; See also: I.R. Pichikyan, Kul’tura Baktrii. Akhemenidskij i ellinisticheskij periody. (Moscow: 1991); ibid., Oxos-Schatz und Oxos-Tempel. Achäe- menidische Kunst in Mittelasien. — Antike in der Moderne. B., Akademie Verlag GmbH., 1992, 155 S., 41 Abb; ibid., The Oxus Temple Composition in the Context of Architectural Comparison. — Informatinn Bulletin IAS CCA, Issue 12, M., 1987. p. 45-55. ibid., The Graeco-Bactrian Altars in the Temple of the Oxus (Northern Bactria). — Information Bulletin IAS CCA, Issue 12, M., 1987. p. 56-65; ibid., Die Entwicklung des baktrischen Palast- 234 B.A. LITVINSKY & I.R. PICHIKIAN Among the architectural details the Ionic capital from the Temple of the Oxus has the most precise dates (Figs. 4-7). The capital of the Asia Minor type is rather large: about 1 m (96 cm with the edges broken away). The lower diameter, that corresponds to its shaft’s upper diameter, is 58 cm; the overall height is 42.5 cm. A high scroll-shaped abacus crowns it. Along the perimeter it is decorated with a Lesbian cyma. On the face and at angles the abacus is decorated with five complete and two halves of the cyma’s segments. In the lower part each of them has deep-cutting semi- circular domes. The ornament-forming fasciae slightly taper towards the cyma’s lower ends. According to Weikert similar ornaments are dated to the 4th-3rd centuries B.C3. A thick fascia bordered with two fine fillets form the volutes’ scrolls. They are concave; there are protruding eyes in the volutes’ centre. The low cushion of the capital is slightly concave and has no pronounced central deflection. The greatly protruding echinus (conge) is made of five complete and two corner half eggs (egg-and-dart ornament). The eggs are of the shape typical of the capitals of the 5th to 3rd centuries B.C. Small angle palmettes between the volute scrolls and the eggs of the echinus consist of three curving leaves pressing on the angle echinus eggs. The capital’s vertical axis cuts in the centre the middle ovoid figure of the Lesbian cyma and the central egg of the Ionic echinus. Under it there is a fascia modelled into barrel-shaped ornament and a smooth fillet that tapers to the end and transforms into a non-fluted column shaft. The side balusters, that taper from the mouths to cylinders are belted with two fasciae with fillets that resemble the fasciae forming the volutes on the face side. The balusters are smooth and have no incisions. The echinus. The extended echinus is the most specific feature of the Takht-i Sangin capital. Instead of the traditional five it is formed by five different egg motifs; there are half the figures at the corners covered with Temples. — Basileia. Die Paläste der hellenistischen Könige. Internationales Symposion in Berlin vom 16.12.1992 bis 20.12.1992, B., 1996, S. 226-233; ibid., Süd-Tadschikistan um die Zeitenwende. — Kunst Mittelasiens. In der Zeit Alexander d. Gr. bis zum Islam. Staatliches Museum fur Völkerkunde. München, 1990, S. 29, 32-50; ibid., Oxus. Il Periodo persiano ed ellenistico ed i regni greco-battriani (VI-II secolo a.C.). — Tesori dell’Asia Centrale. Roma. 1993, p. 11-13, 30-37; B.A. Litvinsky, K genezisu architexturno-planirovochnych schem vos- tochnoiranskogo ellinizma. Vestnik drevnei istorii N. 4, Moscow, 1996, p. 3-16. 3 Weickert C., Das lesbische Kymation. Lpz., 1913, p. 21; Ganzert J. Zur Entwicklung lesbyscher Kymationformen. — Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archaeologischen Instituts, Bd. 98. Berlin, 1983, p. 153, Abb. 68-71. THE IONIC CAPITAL FROM THE TEMPLE OF THE OXUS 235 palmettes. An investigation of the Greek Ionic capitals in Asia Minor, Continental and Magna Graecia revealed over five Ionic egg motifs on archaic capitals. There are seven of them on the Naxos column in Delphi (570-560) and six on a column in the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus dated to c. 550 B.C. by Croesus’ dedicating inscription4. Our capital has another distinctive feature in the form of the echinus that protrudes far beyond the balusters’ face side (by 11 cm on each side). It was Gruben who first pointed out to a similar protrusion in Heraion on the Samos (500-480)5. In a developed form it can be seen in a large num- ber of monuments of the 4th-3rd centuries B.C.: in the Halicarnassus Mau- soleum, the Temple of Athena on the Samothrace6. It is interesting to note that similar capitals (including one on the Samos) were ornamented with Lesbian cyma. The volute scrolls. The fasciae that formed the scrolls of the capital in the Temple of the Oxus were bordered with fillets on two sides. The scrolls themselves were concave. The combination of convex fasciae and concave scrolls dates the capital to the 5th-2nd centuries B.C. The concave scrolls were typical of Ionic capitals only between the second half of the 6th and the early 5th centuries B.C. (according to Bingöl, up to the end of the 5th c. B.C.). In any case, this determining feature cannot date our cap- ital earlier than to the 4th century B.C. The fasciae of the volute scrolls with two fillets on both sides appeared in the 5th century B.C. On the majority of the 4th-2nd century capitals the fasciae are enclosed into rec- tangular fillets. The fascia scrolls with a double fillet were typical of the capitals in the Temples of Athena Nike (The Athenian Acropolis)7, the temple of Athena in Priene8. The same applies to the capitals of the Temple of Artemis in Magnesia-ad-Maeandrum of the early 3rd century B.C. How- ever, even on the capital of the Halicarnassus Mausoleum by architect Pythius the fascia has a fillet on one side9. The corner palmettes. Two corner palmettes on each side reach the cen- tres of the 2nd and 6th eggs and cover completely the 1st and 7th eggs that 4 Durm J., Die Baukunst der Griechen. Lpz., 1910, Figs. 275, 279 (2), 281. 5 Gruben G., Die Kapitelle des Heratempel auf Samos. – Diss. München, 1960, p. 6. 6 Puchstein O., Das ionische Kapitell. – Siebenundfierzigstes Programm zum Winckel- mannsfeste. B., 1887, Figs. 28, 34. 7 Noak F., Die Baukunst des Altertums. B., 1910, Plate 42a. 8 Noak, 1910, Plate 49a; Gruben, 1986, p. 38, Fig. 317. 9 Noak, 1910, Plate 47b. 236 B.A. LITVINSKY & I.R. PICHIKIAN have only one side. Poorly developed they are an important dating element. They testify more in favour of the 5th-4th centuries rather than in favour of the 4th-3rd centuries. In the Hellenistic and the Roman periods angle palmettes were either large or very large. This is, the element grew bigger and were made in bolder relief as the 5th century was left behind10. The capitals of the Halicarnassus Mausoleum and of Ptolemeion of Samothrace can be believed to be the closest where the palmette size is concerned. The capital of the Sanctuary of Artemis in Magnesia seems to be much younger because of the very large corner palmettes11 and the deep cut through the egg-and dart ornament of the echinus.
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