Abstract ▼ AI-Helper

The background of single animal figures was originated from those northern mounted nomadic groups, which was Scythe style Culture. The art of the nomads working in the Scythian idiom was small in size and essentially decorative in intention, yet practically every object which can be associated with ...

The background of single animal figures was originated from those northern mounted nomadic groups, which was Scythe style Culture. The art of the nomads working in the Scythian idiom was small in size and essentially decorative in intention, yet practically every object which can be associated with any unit in this group of people possesses many of the attributes essential to a real work of art. Clarity of conception, purity of form, co-ordination of rhythm and balance, and not least, an understanding and respect for the material employed were triumphantly blended by the Eurasian nomads to produce a distinctive style. In Scythian art the multitude of animal representations well illustrates the reoccupation of this nomadic people with animals in their environment. Usually only wild animals are represented. Commonly depicted are: stags and deer, lions or other large cats, eagles, birds heads (perhaps of ravens), griffins, snakes, hares, fish, goats, rams, boars, moose (elk), yak, sheep and bears. The occasional exception to the wild animal rule is domesticated horses-important because the Scythians were horse bleeders and their whole culture revolved around their dependence on the horse. The nomads had little reason to create object in honour of gods or men, but they had an instinct for beauty and the wish to surround themselves with the animal forms in which they had come to delight The Scytians tried to combine in a single rendering all the salient points of the animal they were delineating. They archived considerable success in the difficult task of showing in a single image the various and often incompatible poses assumed by a single animal in the course of its life. Zoomorphic motifs were used not simple for decorative effect, but to trim the object into amulets, with magical power to assist in hunting, and to protect the owner from harm.