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
78 (of 115)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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is noteworthy that, from the beginning of the Bronze Age, the Chinese artist
liked to contort his animals into an 'S' shape. In the eighth century B.C.,
Ordos art had its origins in the confluence of the Chinese art with that of
Tagar, and subsequently constituting with the latter and with the Scythian
Art, the triad of the steppes. The art of the Ordos itself was a powerful
evolutionary factor in the passage of the Scythian Art into Scytho-
Sarmatian art. Pazyryk, Shibe, Noin-ula could be the possible centres of
Scytho-Sarmatian art. Here again, spirals, palmettes, roundels and other
floral shapes were the most popular of the purely non-representational
patterns. The saddles, which are represented on Scythian metal-work,
seem closely to follow the lines of the actual saddles found at Pazyryk.
From kurgan 1 Tuekta, in the Altai Mountains, much bridle
ornaments have been found. A cedar bridle ornament (Plate 89) in the form
of two griffin's heads鹿 is noteworthy. The head of a griffin with a long neck
merges into a stylized body, ending in what appears to be a tail but is
actually another head, smaller but identical. Depictions of serpents' or
birds' heads at the end of the tail of a mythical beast were known in
southern Mesopotamia and later In Assyria. The style in which the eyes,
beak, and tufts are executed correspond to the traditional manner in which
1 Ibid., Pl.177.
