Ðóñ Eng Cn Translate this page:
Nota Bene. Books, journals, publishing technologies.
Please select your language to translate the article


You can just close the window to don't translate ☒
Library
 Your profile
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Back to contents

History magazine - researches
Reference:

A. R. Kantorovich Syncretic figures in Eastern-European Scythian zoomorphic style art: statistics and general iconographic trends

Abstract: The Scythian-Siberian zoomorphic style from the VIIth – beginning of the IIIrd century B. C., being part of the “Scythian triad” along with armor and horse equipment, presents a particular artistic direction of applied zoomorphic art, characterized by a stable set of animal figures depicted in strictly defined poses and compositions, and using special detail modelling techniques. Some of the most important elements of this repertory are the syncretic figures: griffins and other zoomorphic creatures formed from different elements of real animals in fantastic combinations. This article is based on a study of a wide array of syncretic figures (201 objects in original, not including copies) made in Eastern European Scythian animal style, correlated with the region of Scythian archaeological culture and being one of the local variants of the Scythian-Siberian zoomorphic style. The author presents the main results of an image-figurative classification, subject-stylistic typology and statistical analysis of the mega-form of syncretic (fantastic) animals. The research shows that the figures of syncretic animals compose almost a tenth of the whole set of original figures of Eastern European Scythian animal style. Compared to the three other Scythian animal mega-forms – birds, hoofed and predatory animals – syncretic creatures had less morphological standardization and calibration for stylistic elaboration. The basis for the mega-form of syncretic creatures consists of figures of Early and Late Greek-type griffins and their local modifications. The theme of the griffin, which came into Scythian art through Ancient Greek and Near Eastern (Assyrian-Urartian, Hittite, and, later, Achaemenid) art, in its bare form was not enough popular in the Scythian culture and was often replaced with a similar, yet not identical syncretic figures, clearly, corresponding better to the local ideology.

Keywords:

archaeology, Scythian animal art style, Scythian archaeological culture, history of Scythian art, repertory, syncretic figures, griffin, figural statistics, iconographical classification.

This article can be downloaded freely in PDF format for reading. Download article

This article written in Russian. You can find original text of the article here .
References
1. The Treasures…, 1991 – The Treasures of Nomadic Tribes in Russia (Catalogue of Exhibition). Tokyo-Kyoto: The Ancient Orient Museum, 1991. 179 r
2. Piotrovsky B., Galanina L., Grach N. Scythian Art. Leningrad: Aurora. Oxford: Phaidon, 1987. 183 r.
3. L' or des Amazones, 2001 – L' or des Amazones. Peuples nomades entre Asie et Europe, VIe siècle av. J.-C.-IVe siècle apr. J.-C.: Musée Cernuschi, Musée des arts de l'Asie de la ville de Paris, 16 mars – 15 juillet / Ed. Shiltz V. Paris: Paris musées, 2001. 301 r.
4. L' or des Scythes, 1991-L’or dés Scythes. Trésors de l’Ermitage / Ed. Cahen-Delhaye A. Bruxelles: Musées royaux d'Art et d'Histoire, 1991. 263 p.
5. Robert C. Gryps // Paulys Real-Encyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenshaft. VII Band. Stuttgart, 1912.
6. Leskov A. M. The Maykop Treasure. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 2008. 304 p.
7. Ghirshman R. Protoiranier, Meder, Achämeniden. Universum der Kunst. Bd. 5. München, 1964.
8. Azarpay G. Some classical and Near Eastern motives in the art of Pazyryk // Artibus Asiae. Vol. XXII. ¹ 4. 1959. P. 313-339.
9. Frankfort H. Cylinder seals. L.: Macmillan, 1939. 328 p.
10. Furtwängler A. Gryps // Ausführliches Lexikon der Griechishen und Römischen Mythologie. Leipzig, 1886-1890.
11. Akurgal E. The Art of the Hittites. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1962. 315 p.
12. Yatsenko I. V. Iskusstvo skifskikh plemen Severnogo Prichernomor'ya // Istoriya iskusstva narodov SSSR: V 9 t. / Red. Veymarn B. V. M.: Izobrazitel'noe iskusstvo, 1971-1984. T. 1. 1971. S. 116-137.
13. Yatsenko I. V. Iskusstvo epokhi rannego zheleza // Proizvedeniya iskusstva v novykh nakhodkakh sovetskikh arkheologov. M.: Iskusstvo, 1977. S. 80-99.
14. Shkurko A. I. Fantasticheskie sushchestva v iskusstve Lesostepnoy Skifii // Arkheologicheskie issledovaniya na yuge Vostochnoy Evropy. Chast' vtoraya. Trudy GIM. Vyp. 54 / Red. Talis D. L. M.: GIM, 1982. S. 3-8.
15. Cheremisin D. V., Zaporozhchenko A. V. «Sakral'nye tsentry» Evrazii na Altae, na Enisee i legenda ob arimaspakh i grifakh v sovremennykh interpretatsiyakh // Itogi izucheniya skifskoy epokhi Altaya i sopredel'nykh territoriy. Materialy mezhdunarodnoy nauchnoy konferentsii. Barnaul: Izd-vo Alt. un-ta, 1999. S. 228-231.
16. Raevskiy D. S. Mir skifskoy kul'tury. M.: Yazyki slavyanskikh kul'tur, 2006. 600 s.
17. Skoriy S. A. Kurgan Perep’yatikha (do etnokul'turnoi istorii Dniprovs'kogo Lisostepovogo Pravoberezhzhya). Kiiv.: Naukova dumka, 1990. 124 s.
18. Chezhina E. F. Ranneskifskie zoomorfnye psalii iz Yuzhnogo Priural'ya i Nizhnego Povolzh'ya // SGE. LII. Leningrad, 1987. S. 25-28.
19. Pogrebova M. N., Raevskiy D. S. Rannie skify i drevniy Vostok. K istorii stanovleniya skifskoy kul'tury. M.: Nauka, 1992. 268 s.
20. Polos'mak N. V. Steregushchie zoloto grify (Ak-alakhinskie kurgany). Novosibirsk: Nauka, 1994. 124 s.
21. Puzikova A. I. Kurgannye mogil'niki skifskogo vremeni Srednego Podon'ya (publikatsiya kompleksov). Moskva: Indrik, 2001. 272 s.
22. Pogrebova N. N. Grifon v iskusstve Severnogo Prichernomor'ya v epokhu arkhaiki // KSIIMK. KhKhII. 1948. S. 62-67.
23. Petrenko V. G., Maslov V. E., Kantorovich A. R. Pogrebenie znatnoy skifyanki iz mogil'nika Novozavedennoe-II (predvaritel'naya publikatsiya) // Arkheologicheskie pamyatniki rannego zheleznogo veka yuga Rossii. MIAR ¹ 6. M., 2004.
24. Petrenko V. G. Pravoberezh'e Srednego Pridneprov'ya v V-III vv. do n. e. SAI D1-4. M.: Nauka, 1967. 180 s.
25. Petrenko V. G., Maslov V. E., Kantorovich A. R. Khronologiya tsentral'noy gruppy kurganov mogil'nika Novozavedennoe-II // Skify i sarmaty v VII–III vv. do n. e.: paleoekologiya, antropologiya i arkheologiya / Red. Gulyaev V. I., Ol'khovskiy V. S. M.: IA RAN, 2000. S. 238–248.
26. Leskov O. M. Skarbi kurganiv Khersonshchini. Kiiv: Mistetstvo, 1974. 123 s.
27. Mantsevich A. P. Kurgan Solokha. Publikatsiya odnoy kollektsii. Leningrad: Iskusstvo, 1987. 143 s.
28. Marchenko i dr., 2001 – Marchenko I. I., Limberis N. Yu., Bochkovoy V. V. Novyy meotskiy mogil'nik u khut. Prikubanskiy // Mezhdunarodnaya tret'ya Kubanskaya arkheologicheskaya konferentsiya (tezisy dokladov). Anapa–Krasnodar, 2001. S. 91-99.
29. Mozolevskiy B. N. Skifskiy tsarskiy kurgan Zheltokamenka // Drevnosti stepnoy Skifii / Red. Terenozhkin A. I., Mozolevskiy B. N., Chernenko E. V. Kiev: Naukova dumka, 1982. S. 179-222.
30. Mozolevskiy B. N. Malyy Chertomlyk // Skify Severnogo Prichernomor'ya / Red. E. V. Chernenko. Kiev: Naukova dumka, 1987. S. 63-73.
31. Ostroverkhov A. S., Okhotnikov S. B. O nekotorykh motivakh skifskogo zverinogo stilya na pamyatnikakh iz sobraniya Odesskogo arkheologicheskogo muzeya // VDI. 1989. ¹ 2. S. 50-67.
32. Korol'kova E. F. Zverinyy stil' Evrazii. Iskusstvo plemen Nizhnego Povolzh'ya i Yuzhnogo Priural'ya v skifskuyu epokhu (VII-IV vv. do n. e.). SPb.: Peterburgskoe vostokovedenie, 2006. 272 s.
33. Kisel' V. A. Shedevry yuvelirov Drevnego Vostoka iz skifskikh kurganov. SPb.: Peterburgskoe vostokovedenie, 2003. 192 s.
34. Kantorovich A. R. Problema klassifikatsii izobrazheniy skifo-sibirskogo zverinogo stilya (istoriograficheskiy ocherk) // RA. 2014. ¹ 3. S. 156–164.
35. Kantorovich A. R., Erlikh V. R. Bronzoliteynoe iskusstvo iz kurganov Adygei VIII–III vv. do n. e. M.: Gosudarstvennyy muzey iskusstva narodov Vostoka, 2006. 212 s.
36. Kantorovich A. R. K voprosu ob istokakh i variatsiyakh obrazov grifona i grifonopodobnykh sushchestv v ranneskifskom zverinom stile VII-VI vv. do n. e. // Evraziya v skifo-sarmatskoe vremya. Pamyati Iriny Ivanovny Gushchinoy. Trudy GIM. Vyp. 191 / Red. Zhuravlev D. V., Firsov K. B. M.: GIM, 2012. S. 106-133.
37. Kantorovich A.R. Problema khronologii obraza baranoptitsy (grifobarana) v ranneskifskom zverinom stile // Kul'tury stepnoy Evrazii i ikh vzaimodeystvie s drevnimi tsivilizatsiyami. Materialy mezhdunarodnoy nauchnoy konferentsii, posvyashchennoy 110-letiyu so dnya rozhdeniya vydayushchegosya rossiyskogo arkheologa Mikhaila Petrovicha Gryaznova. Kniga 2. SPb.: IIMK RAN, «Periferiya», 2012. S. 362-370.
38. Kantorovich A. R. Istoki i variatsii obraza baranoptitsy (grifobarana) v ranneskifskom zverinom stile // Severnyy Kavkaz i mir kochevnikov v rannem zheleznom veke. Pamyati M. P. Abramovoy (1931-2003) / MIAR ¹ 8 / Red. Kozenkova V. I., Malashev V. Yu. M.: IA RAN, 2007. S. 235-257.
39. Kantorovich A. R. Meoto-skifskoe iskusstvo Prikuban'ya (VII – nachalo III v. do n. e.) // Antichnoe nasledie Kubani: V 3 t. Tom 1 / Red. Bongard-Levin G. M., Kuznetsov V. D. M.: Nauka, 2010. S. 286-314.
40. Kantorovich A. R. «Petushki»-odin iz obrazov zverinogo stilya stepnoy Skifii // Grakovskie chteniya na kafedre arkheologii MGU 1989-1990 gg. / Red. Shchapova Yu. L., Yatsenko I. V. M.: Izd-vo Moskovskogo un-ta, 1992. S. 30-39.
41. Kantorovich A. R. Klassifikatsiya i tipologiya elementov «zoomorfnykh prevrashcheniy» v zverinom stile stepnoy Skifii // Strukturno-semioticheskie issledovaniya v arkheologii. T. 1. / Red. A. V. Evglevskiy. Donetsk: DonNU, 2002. S. 77-130.
42. Il'inskaya V. A. Skify Dneprovskogo Lesostepnogo Levoberezh'ya. Kiev: Naukova dumka, 1968. 203 s.
43. Grakov B. N. Skify. M.: Izd-vo Moskovskogo universiteta, 1971. 200 s.
44. Gulyaev V. I. Na vostochnykh rubezhakh Skifii (drevnosti donskikh skifov). M.: IA RAN, 2010. 346 s.
45. Zhizn' zhivotnykh v 6 tomakh. T. 5: Ptitsy / Red. Gladkov N. A., Mikheev A. V. M.: Prosveshchenie, 1970. 675 s.
46. Il'inskaya V. A. Nekotorye motivy ranneskifskogo zverinogo stilya // SA. 1965. ¹ 1. S. 86-107.
47. Illins'ka V. O. Skifs'ka vuzda VI st. do n. e. // Arkheologiya. XIII. 1961. S. 38-61.
48. Galanina L. K. Kubanskoe uzdechnoe snaryazhenie IV v. do n. e. (po materialam Elizavetinskogo kurgana, raskopannogo N. I. Veselovskim v 1913 g.) // ASGE. Vyp. 37. SPb., 2005. S. 97-108.
49. Vinogradov V. B. Tsentral'nyy i Severo-Vostochnyy Kavkaz v skifskoe vremya (VII-IV veka do n. e.). Groznyy: Checheno-ingushskoe knizhnoe izdatel'stvo, 1972. 386 s.
50. Galanina L. K. Kelermesskie kurgany (Stepnye narody Evrazii, 1). M.: Paleograf, 1997. 316 s.
51. Bongard-Levin G. M., Grantovskiy E. A. Ot Skifii do Indii. Drevnie arii: mify i istoriya. SPb.: Aleteyya, 2001. 223 s.
52. Artamonov M. I. Proiskhozhdenie skifskogo iskusstva // SA. 1968. ¹ 4. S. 27-45.
53. Bidzilya i dr., 1977 – Bidzilya V. I., Boltrik Yu. V., Mozolevskiy B. N., Savovskiy I. P. Kurgannyy mogil'nik v urochishche Nosaki // Kurgannye mogil'niki Ryasnye mogily i Nosaki / Red. Bidzilya V. I. Kiev: Naukova dumka, 1977. S. 61-158.
54. Bidzilya V. I., Polin S. V. Skifskiy tsarskiy kurgan Gaymanova Mogila. Kiev: Izdatel'skiy dom «Skif», 2012. 752 s., 780 ill.
55. Bobrinskiy A. A. Kurgany i sluchaynye arkheologicheskie nakhodki bliz mestechka Smely. T. 2: Dnevniki raskopok 1887–1889 gg. SPb.: Tipografiya V. S. Balasheva i Ko, 1894. 232 s., 24 tabl.
56. Artamonov M. I. Sokrovishcha skifskikh kurganov v sobranii Gosudarstvennogo Ermitazha. Praga: Artiya. Leningrad: Sovetskiy khudozhnik, 1966. 270 s.
Nota Bene
 
For authors
 
Other
 
Our sites
© 1998 – 2024 Nota Bene. Publishing Technologies. NB-Media Ltd.