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
18 (of 115)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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rhomboid pattern in raised bands".1 In Raskopana Mogila, of the
Dnepropetrovsk Region in the Ukrainian Steppe (early fourth century B.C.
), a cauldron of cast bronze with semi-spherical handles and applied
bucrania, circles and palmettes has been found. It has a narrower mouth
than the Kelermes type. A cast bronze cauldron with six squared caprids on
the rim and a relief lozenge-shaped pattern was found at Chertomlyk on
the right bank of River Dniepr (fourth century B.C.). The Chertomlyk
cauldron also bears comparison with a cauldron from the earlier burial of
Solokha. Solokha cauldron is characterized by typical geometrical patterns
such as zig-zags and semi-spherical loops, which had all along dominated
the nomadic atelier.
We come to rhytons. Fragments of a silver rhyton with engraved
images of griffins; large birds, fronds, palmettes and lotus-petal border
have been found from Kelermes. It belongs to the late seventh or early sixth
century B.C. Seven Brothers barrow has yielded three rhytons belonging to
the fifth century B.C. A silver rhyton with ridged horn terminating in the
protome of a winged goat is one of them. The other two are gold rhytons,
one with beaded ornamental bands terminating in a ram head and the
1 Ibid., p. 190.
