By far the greatest collection of Scythian gold is preserved at the Hermitage Museum. It includes one of the most famous of all Scythian finds: the golden comb, featuring a battle scene, from the 4th century Solokha royal burial mound.

Scythian art is art, primarily decorative objects, such as jewelry produced by the nomadic tribes in the area ranging from inner Mongolia to European Russia known classically as Scythia. This art is also known as steppes art and was produced in a period from 7th-3rd century BC to the period when the Scythians were gradually displaced by the Sarmatians in a lengthy process lasting from 4th century BC to 2nd century BC. As the Scythians came in contact with the Greeks, their artwork became influenced by Hellenic civilisation but their artwork primarily reflects their nomadic culture. Scythian art especially Scythian gold jewelry is highly valued by museums and many of the most valuable artefacts are in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. In recent years, archaeologists have made valuable finds in Pazyryk north of Novosobirsk, Siberia, Ukraine and as far west as Hungary. 5th-century B.C. Scythian golden comb from the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg. ... 5th-century B.C. Scythian golden comb from the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg. ... The Hermitage Museum (Эрмитаж) in St. ... Jewelry (the American spelling; spelled jewellery in Commonwealth English) consists of ornamental devices worn by persons, typically made with gems and precious metals. ... Communities of nomadic people move from place to place, rather than settling down in one location. ... Scythian warriors, drawn after figures on an electrum cup from the KulOba kurgan burial near Kerch. ... The steppe of Western Kazakhstan in early spring In physical geography, steppe (from Slavic step) is a plain without trees (apart from those near rivers and lakes); it is similar to a prairie, although a prairie is generally reckoned as being dominated by tall grasses, while short grasses are said... Sarmatian Cataphract from Tanais: compare Pausanias description of armor (text below) Sarmatians, Sarmatae or Sauromatae (the second form is mostly used by the earlier Greek writers, the other by the later Greeks and the Romans) were a people whom Herodotus (4. ... Jump to: navigation, search General Name, Symbol, Number gold, Au, 79 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 6, d Appearance metallic yellow Atomic mass 196. ... The Hermitage Museum (Эрмитаж) in St. ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924), is a city located in Northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of Finland... Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... Horseman, Pazyryk felt artifact, c. ... Jump to: navigation, search Siberia Siberia (Russian: , common English transliterations: Sibir’, Sibir; from the Tatar for “sleeping land”) is a vast region of Russia and northern Kazakhstan constituting almost all of northern Asia. ...

Artworks

The Scythians worked in a wide variety of materials such as gold, wood, leather, bone, bronze, iron, silver and electrum. As nomads, the Scythians worked in decorative materials for use on their horses, tents and wagons and many of the pieces are small so as to be portable. Jump to: navigation, search A tree trunk as found at the Veluwe, The Netherlands Wood is the xylem tissue of woody plants, notably trees but also shrubs. ... Jump to: navigation, search Modern leather-working tools Leather is a material created through the tanning of hides, pelts and skins of animals, primarily cows. ... Jump to: navigation, search Grays illustration of a human femur, a typically recognized bone. ... Bronze figurine, found at Öland Bronze is the traditional name for a broad range of alloys of copper. ... Jump to: navigation, search General Name, Symbol, Number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 8, 4, d Appearance lustrous metallic with a grayish tinge Atomic mass 55. ... Jump to: navigation, search General Name, Symbol, Number silver, Ag, 47 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 5, d Appearance lustrous white metal Atomic mass 107. ... Electrum coin of the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus. ...

As the Scythians prospered through trade with the Greeks, they settled down and started farming. They also established permanent settlements such as a site in Belsk, Ukraine believed to the Scythian capital Gelonus with craft workshops and Greek pottery prominent in the ruins. Felt appliqué wall hangings have been found at the tombs at Pazryzk displaying the Great Goddess or anthromorphic beasts. Other of these decorations show geometric or animal motifs. Archaeologists have also uncovered felt rugs as well as well crafted tools and domestic utensils. Clothing uncovered by archaelogists has also been well made many trimmed by embroidery and appliqué designs. Wealthy people wore clothes covered by gold embossed plaques. Belz (Ukrainian Белз, Polish Bełz, Yiddish בעלז) is a small town in western Ukraine, near the border with Poland. ... Gelonus, (also transliterated Helonus), was the capital of Scythia (now in Ukraine) named for its inhabitants, the Geloni. ... A man shapes pottery as it turns on a wheel. ... A Mother Goddess is a goddess portrayed as the Earth Mother who serves as a general fertility deity, the bountiful embodiment of the earth. ...

Scythian art became well known to the west through the Scythian gold exhibition from Ukrainian museums which toured North America in 2000. This exhibition highlighted the impressive gold jewellery made by Scythian craftsman. Scythian jewellery features animals featuring stags, cats, birds, horses, bears, wolves and mythical beasts. Jump to: navigation, search This article is about the year 2000. ...

The gold figures of stags in a semirecumbent position are particularly impressive approximately 30.5 centimetres long. These were often the central ornaments for shields carried by fighters. In the most notable of these figures, stags are displayed with legs tucked beneath its body, head upright and muscles tight to give the impression of speed. The most notable of these figures include:

• an example from the burial site of Kostromskaya Stanitsa in the Kuban dating from the 6th century BC;
• an example from Tápiószentmárton in Hungary dating from the 5th century BC; and
• an example from Kul Oba in the Crimea dating from the 4th century BC.

Kuban (Russian: ) is a region of Russia surrounding the Kuban River, on the Black Sea between Ukraine and the Caucasus. ... The Crimea (officially Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Russian transliteration: Avtonomnaya Respublika Krym, Russian: Автономная Республика Крым, Ukrainian: Автономна Республіка Крим, , pronounced cry-MEE-ah in English) is a peninsula and an autonomous republic of Ukraine on the northern coast of the Black Sea. ...

Archaeology

Russian explorers first brought Scythian artworks recovered from Scythian burial mounds to Peter the Great in the early 18th century. These works formed the basis of the collection held by the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. Catherine the Great was so impressed from the material recovered from the kurgans or burial mounds that she ordered a systematic study be made of the works. However, this was well before the development of modern archaeological techniques. Peter I Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia Peter I (Pyotr Alekseyvich) (9 June 1672–8 February 1725 [30 May 1672–28 January 1725 O.S.1]) ruled Russia from 7 May (27 April O.S.) 1682 until his death. ... Catherine II (Екатерина II Алексеевна: Yekaterína II Alekséyevna, April 21, 1729 - November 6, 1796), born Sophie Augusta Fredericka, known as Catherine the Great, reigned as empress of Russia from June 28, 1762, to her death on November 6, 1796. ... This article is about Bronze Age burial mounds and the Kurgan culture. ...

One of the first sites discovered by modern archaeologists were the kurgans Pazyryk, Ulagan district of the Gorno-Altai Republic, south of Novosibirsk. The name Pazyryk culture was attached to the finds, five large burial mounds and several smaller ones between 1925 and 1949 opened in 1947 by a Russian archeologist, Sergei Rudenko; Pazyryk is in the Altai Mountains of southern Siberia. The kurgans contained items for use in the afterlife. The famous Pazyryk carpet discovered is the oldest surviving wool pile oriental rug. Horseman, Pazyryk felt artifact, c. ... Novosibirsk (Russian Новосиби́рск, pop. ... The Pazyryk culture (ca. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1925 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1949 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1947 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... For the republic in Russia, see Altai Republic. ...

Recent digs in Belsk, Ukraine uncovered a vast city believed to be the Scythian capital Gelonus described by Herodotus. Numerous craft workshops and works of pottery have been found. A kurgan or burial mound near the village of Ryzhanovka in Ukraine, 75 miles south of Kyiv, found in the 1990's has revealed one of the only unlooted tombs of a Scythian chieftain, who was ruling in the forest-steppe area of the western fringe of Scythian lands. There at a late date in Scythian culture (ca. 250 - 225 BC), a recently nomadic aristocratic class was gradually adopting the agricultural life-style of their subjects. Many items of jewellery were also found in the kurgan. Jump to: navigation, search Bust of Herodotus Herodotus of Halicarnassus (Greek: ΗΡΟΔΟΤΟΣ, Herodotos) was an ancient historian who lived in the 5th century BC (484 BC-ca. ... Kiev (Київ, Kyiv, in Ukrainian; Киев, Kiev, in Russian) is the capital and largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper river. ... Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC 260s BC - 250s BC - 240s BC 230s BC 220s BC 210s BC 200s BC Years: 255 BC 254 BC 253 BC 252 BC 251 BC - 250 BC - 249 BC 248 BC... Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 270s BC 260s BC 250s BC 240s BC 230s BC - 220s BC - 210s BC 200s BC 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC Years: 230 BC 229 BC 228 BC 227 BC 226 BC - 225 BC - 224 BC 223 BC...

A discovery made by Russian and German archaologists in 2001 near Kyzyl, the capital of the Russian republic of Tuva in Siberia is the earliest of its kind and predates the influence of Greek civilisation. Archaeologists discovered almost 5,000 decorative gold pieces including earrings, pendants and beads. The pieces contain representations of many local animals from the period including panthers, lions, bears and deer. Kyzyl (Tyvan and Russian: Кызы́л) is a city in Russia, capital of Tyva Republic. ... The Tuva Republic (Tuvan: Тыва Республика; Russian: ) is a federal subject of the Russian Federation (a republic). ...

Museums

The Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg has the longest standing and the best collection of Scythian art. A museum in Miskolc, Hungary also has a notable collection. The Scythian Gold exhibition came from a number of Ukrainian exhibitions including the Museum of Historical Treasures of Ukraine, the Institute of Archaeology in Kyiv and the State Historical Archaeological Preserve at Pereiaslav-Khmel'nyts'kyi. Miskolc   listen? (IPA: , approximate pronunciaton: Mishkolts; in Slovak MiÅ¡kovec, in Polish Miszkolc) is a city in North-East Hungary, mainly with heavy industrial background. ... Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi (Ukrainian: Переяслав-Хмельницький, also spelled Pereyaslav-Khmelnytskyy) is a town in Ukraines Kyivska oblast by the Trubezh River, south from the capital city of Kyiv. ...

Further Reading

• Reeder E. D. (ed.) Scythian Gold: Treasures from Ancient Ukraine Abrams Inc, New York 1999
• Piotrovsky, B., L. Galanina, and N. Grach Scythian Art Phaidon, Oxford, and Aurora, Leningrad 1987
• Stoddert, K. (ed.) From the Lands of the Scythians The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 1985
• Charrière G. Scythian Art: Crafts of the Early Eurasian Nomads Alpine Fine Arts Collections Ltd, New York 1979.
• Borovka G. Scythian Art Paragon New York 1967
• Lehtinen I. (ed.) Traces of the Central Asian Culture in the North Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura Helsinki 1986
• Rice, T. T. The Scythians Frederick A. Praeger, Inc. New York 1957

Boris B. Piotrovsky (1908-1990) was a Russian academician and archaeologist. ...

Further Reference

• Summary of links on Scythian archaeology and art
• New York Times article on 2001 Siberian discovery
• Article on Persian Scythian discoveries
• Article on Scythian culture and art
• Article on the role of the horse in Scythian culture
• University of Texas student page on Scythian art
• Article on Scythian art
• Encyclopædia Brittanica article on Scythian art