Barry Cunlife - The Scythians

gallery of objects
Below the shoulder the body of the vessel is decorated with an energetic floral
design in relief incorporating pairs of birds. The particular interest of the piece, however,
lies in the decoration around the shoulder of the vessel, which shows Scythian
men attempting to control horses. The scene is composed of figures separately
cast in relief and soldered to the vessel. They are gilded to make them stand out. The
centre of the composition shows a spirited horse, lassoed
by three men, while another stands aside supervising
the activity. On either side of the central action
are bridled horses (one with a saddle) being attended by
the minders, one of whom is hobbling the animal, while
the other is encouraging his creature to kneel or to lie
down. Next, on either side, is a man bracing himself to
restrain a horse he has just lassoed, while beyond each is
a quietly grazing horse, the two completing the circular
arrangement back to back.
The men have long hair; some are bearded and some
clean shaven. They all wear baggy trousers and thighlength
belted coats. Two wear a gorytos on their lefthand
side. Some of the horses are shown with cropped
manes whilst others have long manes, possibly to distinguish
between trained and wild beasts.
The intention of the design seems to have been to
illustrate the training of horses rather than to tell a particular
narrative.
351