Essay name: Scythian Elements in early Indian Art
Author:
Swati Ray
Affiliation: University of Calcutta / Department of Ancient Indian History and Culture
This essay studies Scythian Elements in early Indian Art鈥攁 topic that has not garnered extensive scholarly attention. Although much research has focused on various aspects of Saka/Scythian culture, such as politics and numismatics, their contribution to Indian art remains underexplored. This essay delves into archaeological evidence, historical texts, and art forms from Eurasian steppes to decipher the Scythian impact.
Chapter 4 - Scythian / Saka Art
10 (of 115)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
Download the PDF file of the original publication
54
Moreover, within the ancient world of the Near East, North Africa and the
Mediterranean cultures, where the purity and workability of gold were
exploited more thoroughly than in any other Western traditions, the gold of
the Scythians has an unusual, if not unique, position; it survived, at least
in part, where most of the gold work of the Greeks, much of that of the
Etruscans, and virtually all that of the Achaemenids have disappeared.
On the basis of archaeological excavations, it is deduced that the
Scythians settled around the northern shores of the Black Sea, and later
spread to neighbouring regions and beyond. But their place of origin is
controversial and it is difficult to ascertain whether they must be traced to
the near or far part of Central Asia, or even further, to South Siberia. As
the controversy continues, it is to be noted that nomads before the
Scythian age roamed over vast areas of the steppe from a still earlier
period, and those nomads who had settled around the northern shores of
the Black Sea were termed Scythians by Herodotus. Later archaeological
discoveries have linked many nomadic tribes with the Scythians. Even, the
identity of archeological finds have been frequently disputed, with some
scholars referring to the burials in the Kuban region, or in the area of the
lower Don river for example, as Scythian and others, as Meotian. Even
assuming the possibility of distinguishing a variety of traditions, it seems
