Barry Cunlife - The Scythians

9 Tolstaya mogila pectoral
gallery of objects
(Kiev Museum of Historical Treasures)
From the kurgan of Tolstaya mogila near Ordzhonikidze, Dnipropetrovs’ka Oblast.
Excavated in 1971 by B. N. Mozolevski. Second half of the fourth century bc.
The gold pectoral is 306 mm at its widest. It is formed of three concentric registers
framed by four hollow, twisted tubes of gold of increasing thickness, the outermost
being the thickest. At each end the tubes are brought together by a collar attached by
hinges to terminal plates, each ending in a lion’s head.
The lower register is composed of animals worked in the round. In the centre
are three similar groups each showing a horse being brought down by two griffins.
Beyond, to the viewer’s left, a leopard and lion attack a boar. This is matched on the
right by a leopard and a lion attacking a stag. Following these scenes of predation, on
both sides in the narrowing spaces available a hound chases a hare, while beyond two
grasshoppers confront each other.
The middle register is backed by a gold plate to which is attached stylized vegetation,
worked in the round or in high relief, presenting a central acanthus plant from
which emerge coiled tendrils sprouting flowers, some of which retain their original
blue enamel inlay. Five birds enjoy the luxurious growth.
The third (top) register presents a scene of pastoral tranquillity with men and
domestic animals living in harmony. The figures are all worked in the round. The
centre piece is of two bearded men examining a fleece; both have laid aside their
gorytoi. On either side are a horse and its foal and a cow and its calf. On the viewer’s
left the scene is followed by a boy milking a ewe. This is matched on the other side
with a boy holding a vessel guarding his sheep. Then follow, on either side, a goat with
its young and finally a bird.
Although evidently of Greek workmanship, the piece was created for a Scythian
patron incorporating scenes of Scythian rural life and images of predation which
inhabit the Scythian nether world. The simplest interpretation is that the animated
compositions represent two worlds, the harmonious world of life and the chaotic
world of death, the two separated by the Tree of Life.
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