Scythian Pectoral

in hive-185836 •  3 years ago 

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It was on this day 51 years ago that during excavations of burials in the mound of the Scythian period was found "the main archaeological treasure of Ukraine, a masterpiece of world art, the greatest find of the 20th century" - the Scythian pectoral.

What is a pectoral? It is a moon-shaped jewelry consisting of three tiers. The upper tier depicts several scenes, including the main one, where two men take part in a ritual. The jewelry contains extremely realized images of animals and people, cows and horses with calves, Scythian servants, one of whom milks a sheep and the other a cow. The lower tier displays a variety of scenes from the hunting of wild and fantastic animals.

Once, during a business trip to Kyiv, I visited a museum and saw the Scythian pectoral with my own eyes. It made an unforgettable impression on me. I can't imagine a master who, 400 years before our era, with such skill, such diligence, could make such a large piece of jewelry in such detail. You can't imagine, but if you look at the figures of animals, you can even see their tense muscles!

Unfortunately, there were no smartphones at that time, so I can't share my own photos with you.

This breastplate weighs 1150 g, its diameter is 30.6 cm. The wave is made of 958 gold. In order to make it you had to use different techniques: casting, stamping, engraving, filigree, soldering, inlaid with colored enamels. The Scythians were well-known lovers of gold. Therefore, scholars believe that this pectoral was made by the Greeks and gave the Scythian as a diplomatic gift. However, it is most likely that this jewelry did not belong to the king, but to the nobility, because the mound in which it was found did not correspond to the size of the royal mound. One can only imagine what jewelry the kings had!

Imagine this jewelry is over 2400 years old! Prior to the Revolution of Dignity, which took place in 2014, the museum exhibited the original. Then, for security reasons, it was replaced with a high-quality copy, and the original was placed in storage. Since I visited the museum in 2009, I probably saw the original jewelry.

Thank you for reading. I hope you found it interesting :-)

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Wow! I have heard of the Scythians - but I know absolutely nothing about their culture. This seems to have been very remarkable: the filigree elements of the jewellery would be amazingly lifelike even for a modern-day goldsmith! This was an artist at work who created something incredible with the tools of his time. Thank you for the presentation!

Wow! Ich habe von den Skythen gehört - aber ich weiß rein gar nichts über ihre Kultur. Diese scheint sehr beachtlich gewesen zu sein: die filigranen Elemente des Schmuckstücks wären selbst für einen heutigen Goldschmied erstaunlich lebensecht! Da war ein Künstler am Werk, der mit den Werkzeugen seiner Zeit etwas Unglaubliches geschaffen hat. Danke Dir für die Vorstellung!

I was once really impressed by this relic. So, when I accidentally read this morning that it was found on June 21, I had no doubt that I want to write a post about the Scythian pectoral :-)

Beautiful and luxurious jewelry

Precious and beautiful art objects, thanks for sharing

Боже, яка краса!!! Але таке важке - довго в ньому не походиш!)))

Це точно, мабуть лише на свята таке одягали.

Ах, Олеже! Велике дякую за таку цікаву розповідь про дивовижну прикрасу! Потрібно ж, які таланти були, є і будуть у нашої країни... Хоча є таке мистецтво, яке як подарунок неба окремій людині. Завжди із захопленням дивлюся і радію всьому прекрасному!

Дякую за ваш чудовий коментар :-) Пройшло 13 років, відколи я побачив цю прикрасу, а враження від побаченого і далі сильні наче це було вчора. Мені ніяк в голову не вкладається як можна було таке виготовити 2400 років тому назав. Якась фантастика.

Чого не бачила, того не бачила :)
Музей вулиця Лаврська, 9?

Тоді він називався Музей історичних коштовностей України. Так, це вулиця Лаврська, 9. На їхньому сайті пише, що тепер туди просто так піти не можна, лише у вигляді лекції.

Сподіваюся, виженуть московських попів, і знову можна буде :)

I can't imagine a master who, 400 years before our era, with such skill, such diligence, could make such a large piece of jewelry in such detail.

This is what I tend to call our (not only yours! don't let me be misunderstood on this!) Temporal Provincialism ("Temporalprovinzialismus" in German). We learn too little in school and in life about the achievements of earlier civilisations. This feeds the image that we are at the peak and that earlier ones are provisional.

I absolutely agree with you. Every civilization arises, develops, declines and disappears. Every civilization is making great progress, but because a lot of time has passed, we know nothing about it. I think the previous great civilizations were much more advanced than we think, and had much more advanced technology.

We mistakenly imagine that the ancient masters made jewelry with a digging stick :-)

I think the previous great civilizations were much more advanced than we think, and had much more advanced technology.

!

We mistakenly imagine that the ancient masters made jewelry with a digging stick

!!

I could remember two years ago, i read about the Scythians..., and most Chinese movies feature it. It tends to be a good adventure exploring the history of this Icon or artifact perse.

I enjoyed reading about this history, perhaps this could be another avenue to educate users with any found and meaningful artifact like this in our varrious countries.

Thank you for sharing Sir.

The Scythians were nomadic tribes. Apparently, before coming to the territory of modern Ukraine, they lived near China. If they visited China, they were not friendly visits.

Thank you for reading.

You are welcome Sir, that was a great publication with much Enlightenment.


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