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
80 (of 115)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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at Tuekta. A common ear joins the two elks. This highly ornamental design
(Plate 93) can be interpreted as one frontal animal's head or two in profile.鹿
A cedar bridle ornament at Tuekta (Plate 94) depicts torsional, triskele
composition.虏 Such triskele compositions represent perhaps circular
movement and are common in the Saka/Scythian art. The tradition of
fabricating psalias with references to different parts of the same animal was
an established and creative tradition as found in the burials of Tuekta and
Pazyryk. Similar psalias were found from Zhurovka and Axjutintsy.
Appliqu茅 work from Tuekta and Pazyryk represent a different visual
perspective of the Scythian art. They are in most cases made of leather. The
appliqu茅 tiger work (Plate 95) from Tuekta鲁 has comparable representations
on southern Siberian and Central Asian petroglyphs and on Tuva metal
work from the eighth to the fifth century B.C. The appliqu茅 of two roosters
from Pazyryk (Plate 96) 4 reminds us of the leather silhouettes used in
shadow puppetry in Orissa and Southeast Asia.
Regarding the "frozen grave" barrows of the Scythian period, Ak-
Alakh deserves special mention after Bashadar and Tuekte. The barrow's
location is in the Kosh-Agach region of the Gorno-Altai autonomous
2 Ibid.,Pl. 183.
Ibid., Pl.184
3 Ibid., Pl. 185.
* Ibid., Pl. 187.
