The Elements of the Kolkhida-Koban Art in the Scythian "Animal Style"

A C T A U N I V E R S I T A T I S L O D Z I E N S I S F U L U ARCHAEOLOGICA 13, 1990

Cią Avaliahvili

Т Н К ELEMENTS OF THE KÜLKH I D A - K O B A N ART IN THE SCYTHIAN "ANIMAL STYLE"

The p r o b l e m of interrelation between the two styles, such as the Scythian "animal style" and the C a u casian Art, especially, that of K o l k h i d a - K o b a n , had not been the subject of special e x -p l o ration up to the present times. But in spite of this s i tua-tion there were a number o f interesting consi d e r a t i o n s about these problems and all of them came up to two o pposite poi n t s of view. According to one of them, the S c ythian "animal style" is o rigin a t e d from the C a u casian Art, es p e c i a l l y from that of Kol- k hida-Xoban , and according to the others, this v ery style has nothing to d o w ith the south Ca u c a s i a n Art'.

As to us, the S c ythian "animal style" is not o r i g i n a t e d from the K o l k h i da-Koban bronze culture, but at the same time, in the p rocess of c ultivation of some of its def i n i t e features, there are felt the e l emente of the above me n t i o n e d art.

Fir s t of all in these forms there are included the feature? of di f f e r e n t animals and all of them are g i ven in one w h o l b full pla s t i c composition. In Scythian "animal style" there 1 a special manner of stylizing the animal shape w h i c h is s h o w m ai n l y in the bow-shaped, c i r c le-shaped and s-sbaped setting о

the animal figures. Analogical, but m o r e early facts had als

F. H A a с a s, Kaukueus-luviatan, ESA, IX, Helsinki 1934, p. 291. S, A s n i r a u a s b v 1 1 i, The History of Georgian Art, Tbilisi 1961

p. 2 . , 2

M. R c e t o v z e v , I r m u m e and Greeks in south Rueaie. Oxfor> 1922, u. 193-197.

taken place in Transcaucasia. These peculiarities are shown best of all in the Kolkhida-Koban bronze object.

Except the drawings made on Kolkhlda-Koban axes there also are sculptures. The axe butts have sculptured e n d s J , On some examples this element is shown by the figure of a catlike ani-mal ready to jump and maybe, it is a snow-leopard (panther or leopard?). This kind of axes are found in Tcagvery, in Fascaw cemetery near Galiat village, in Tly collection. All of t hem are dated back to VIII-VII centuries B . C . 4 These sculptured figures are very much alike of the sculptural features of so called scythian mirrors and especially of the features made on the curved bronze knives and detigars from the well-known lagar c u l -ture (Minusinsk hollow) which is d a ted by N. Chl e n o v a to the end of VXI - V centuries B . C . 5 so, in a case like this, the idea of the independent, and conyergate appearance of the decorations of tool and weapon details, seem hardly probable. At the same time they decorate the very details which are never used p r a c -tically.

It is matter of special interest that at the early stage (Vi cent. B.C.) of the Scythian "animal style" d e v e l o p m e n t there - a lion on different things and it changes by a w olf a litt-le bit later - in the fifth century B.C. m ust be poi n t e d here, that the wolf is a characteristic feature for the south-Russian steppe. At the early stage of the Scythian "animal style" d e v e -lopment, exept the lion, there appears another catlike animal - a snow-leopard (a panther or a leopard). A lion and a snow- -leopard seem to be conditional and quite strange animals for the Scythian Art. But everything becomes clear if w e look throuqh the art of ancient East and Transcaucasia. As we know, the lion native lands are Africa, A sia aad Caucasia but it is also a

^ D. K o r i d z e , Kolkhian Axes, "Sowiet Arts" 1960, No 10, p. 76-80.

4 L. P a n t k h a y a , For the history of Kolkheti-an and Koban Deco-rative jirt, Manuscript, Tbilisi 1975, p. 185.

5 j . C z l e n o w a , Proieokokdienije i rannaja istorija plemien tru- garekoj kultury, Moskwa 1967, s. 13, tab. 111-24-26, IV-11, XXVItI-13.

Ь W. I l i n s k a j a , Niekotoryje rnotiuy txmnieakif

akojo

wel l - k n o w fact, that there were two kinds of lions in Caucasus - C a u casian anci T r a n s c a u c a s i a n 7 .

At the same time in the Near East Art one seldom meets a snow-leopard (a panther o r a leopard) if not to take into

con-g

sideration a w e l l -known Sákkiz hoard, di s c o v e r e d near Zivie place in Kurdistan, and here the priority again belongs to a lion. So, it is q u i t e possible that the tradition of dra w i n g a c a t-like a- nimal such as a snow-leopard, is adopted from C aucasus and Trans- caucasus by the S cythian "animal style". The idea of i nterpre-tation of a cat-like animal itself is a point of special inter-est. As a rule, the weapons (axes, deggars) are dec o r a t e d with such motives w h i c h un d e r l i n e the purposes of their u s i ng.The fea-ture of a c at-like animal (a snow- l e o p a r d in this case) gives sharpness, force and firmness to the weapon. As we see, it was not enough to d e corate the weapons w i t h the di f f e r e n t animal figures only; m ost of it, each kind of w e a p o n was to be docorat- ed with the def i n i t e animal features. So, a certain kind of w e a -pon is connected to the de f i n i t e zoomorphic feature.

In the Scythian "animal style" Art exe p t lions the deers were very popular too and it was one of the m o s t favourite animal in Kolkh i d a - K o b a n Art also. As to some scientirts, def i n i t e c o m m u -nications are o b served among these facts. The e a rliest p i ctures of deers w i t h the S cythian stylising ele m e n t s (the end of the seventh and the b e g inning of the sixth cen t u r y B.C.) are c o n -nected w ith N o rth C a ucasus and they are q u ite n e a r to the e n o r -mous Early- K o b a n sculptural and e n g r a v e d pic t u r e s of the deers. It is Interesting that M. Ar t a m o n o v too c onnects the deer fea-ture made on a broze crook, d i s c o v e r e d in s t anitca M a k h o s h e v s - kaya, w i t h the sculptural bronze features from the Ca u c a s i a n Ko-

9

ban Art . An a l o g i c a l features w i t h the sculptural deers are found in Vo l k o v i t c y village and they are d a ted to the V - I V century B . C . 10 it is notable what I. A n f i m o v writes about Meot "animal

7 BSE, »953, 24, s. 583-584. 8

B. C i r s h m a n n ,

Peree,

W. W i n o g r a d o w , CentraInyj i вгеыгею-ио a toczny j Kaukaz и ekifeküje uriemia, Groznyj 1972, s. 170.

1<JK. A r t a m a n o w , Proieohokdienije ekifekogo iakuatua, "Sowiet- skaja Archieołogia" 1968, nr 4, s. 32.

style": "Exopt tne p a n t h e r - 1 eopard which is characteristic for the £>cythiari »animal s t y l e « , the features of deer-goat in Prl- kubanye arc met perhaps earlier than in P r i d n e p r o v y e , and these an i m a l s are widely spread in south-west C a u casian fauna".

Lately some scientists Ltated their points of view(but they made it very carefu l l y ) about the interrelation of Caucasian, especially, K o b a n Art, and the Scythian "animal style" in d i f -ferent p a rts of the scythian culture diffusion. As to K. S m i r -nov, in the animal style of Povolzhie group, there are motives and peculiarities of treatment connected with N o rth C a u c a s i a 1 *. A, Smirnov poin t s to the influence of Koban Art on the Early Iron Age of Prikamya. He connects a gold table d i s c overed in Ufa

i 2 site with a horse feature on it with the Koban Art

M. A r t amanov sees the influence of the Koban heraldis figur-i 3 es on the heraldic features of two beasts from Tcukurlimann It is Interesting that a beast feature on a bronze thing from "Starshaya Mogila", w h ich was treated as if adopted from Near E ast Art w ith its ways of fulfilment (engraved) is typical for

14 Caucasus and is quite unusual for the Early Scythian times

N. C h lenova points out m ore distant units. She says that a Koban pin with the features of three sheep Is analogical with the Tagar awls, w h ich are d e c orated with goats, and sheeps she compares also spiral-shaped horns of so called "minusink style" with the features of Kolkhida-Koban s h e e p ' 5 .

The very culture of Europe and Asia w h i c h is known as S c y -thian, was forraed not earlier than end of the seventh and the beg i n n i n g of the sixth centuries B.C. Before this there were spread the forms w h ich had almost nothing to do with the

Scy-" K. S ш i r n o w, Баитяпаto-earmatekij "swieritmyj" etil, [w:] Tetsiey 111 Waeeojuznoj konfieremsji po в кг fo-oomookoj arshieologii, Moskwa

1972, s. 12.

A, S m i r n o w, 0 kultuxmyah euiaziaoh Kcaokisa я Pouułżat., [ w: J Kaukaz i Uaatoaznaja leuropa u driewnoeti, Moskwa 1973, s. 132.

13

A r t a m a n o w , Pvciaahozdienije skifekogo..., s. 32. 14

M. P i r t k h a l a v a , Anvient Monumente . / the Soythiin Culture, in Georgia (VII-VT cent, B.C.), the thesis for a Candidate's Degree, Manu-skript, Tbilisi 1975, p. 128.

C z 1 e n o w a, ProiachvAdieiiije г mrovija., s. 129, tab. 29-JX, 28-20,21.

thian A r t ’0 . The forming of the Scythian "animal style" Art had to take place after the return of the Scythians to the N e a r East and Transcaucasia, was again through the T r a n s c a u c a s u s . A p p a r -ently, d u r i n g this per i o d had to happen the insertion o f some of the e lements of K o l k h i d a - K o b a n Art in the S c ythian "animal s t y l e " .

Instytut Archeologii Uniwersytetu w Tbilisi, ZSRR

йгл A v a lta h v i li

ELEMENTY SZTUKI KOI. CH I DA-КО BAN W SCYTYJSKIM STYLU "ZWIERZfCYM"

Kultury Europy i Azji znane jako scytyjskie uformowały się nie wcześniej niż w końcu VII i na początku VI w. p.n.e. Powstanie scytyjskiego stylu zwie-rzęcego miało miejsce po przybyciu Scytów w rejon Kaukazu, Wtedy również w tym stylu pojawiły się elementy sztuki Kolchida-Koban, głównie w zakresie pla-styki figuralnej.

!b M. A r t a m a n o w, :k>kľoui8Zaaa okifnkiok kury at ton, Praga 1965, s. 13.