THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS WITH OTHER EXAMPLES OF EARLY ORIENTAL METAL-WORK 0. M. Dalton THE BRITISH MUSEUM t I o| Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/treasureofoxuswi00brit_0 THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS SIR AUGUSTUS WOLLASTON FRANKS, K.C.B., Keeper of the Department of British and Mediaeval Antiquities, i 866 - i 896 From a bronze plaque by C. J. Praetorius THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS WITH OTHER EXAMPLES OF EARLY ORIENTAL METAL-WORK Bv O. M. DALTON, M. A. Keeper of the Department of British and Mediaeval Antiquities THIRD EDITION PUBLISHED BY THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM LONDON 1964 (c) 1964, THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM FIRST PRINTED IN ENGLAND AT THE OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS REPRINTED BY THE REPLIKA PROCESS IN GREAT BRITAIN BY LUND HUMPHRIES, LONDON AND BRADFORD PREFACE r I 'HE Introduction to this second edition is in great part A new, and the descriptions in the catalogue have been revised. The first edition, published in 1905, was confined to objects bequeathed to the British Museum in 1897 by Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks. In the present volume the examples of Sassanian and other metal-work, which in the first edition followed the catalogue of the Oxus Treasure, have been supple- mented by fresh pieces, mostly acquired by the Museum since 1905. Their inclusion does not alter the character of the catalogue as primarily descriptive of the Franks Bequest, and is justified by the service which it may render to comparative study in a field of research needing all the illustration which can be presented. The Trustees are indebted to the Society of Antiquaries of London for permission to use Plates XXIX-XXXI ; and to Dr. E. H. Minns, F.B.A., and the Syndics of the Cambridge University Press, for the use of fig. 34. O. M. DALTON. Department of British and Mediaeval Antiquities. March , 1926 . PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION HE splendid hoard of gold and silver ware called ‘The Treasure of the Oxus’ is one of the treasures of the British Museum and the British nation. It also forms a major item in any study of Achae- menid art. The circumstances of its original discovery are unfortunately surrounded by some obscurity, but the story of its capture by bandits and its recovery from them by a British Political Officer, Captain Burton, suggests more readily the atmosphere of romance rather than the sober world of archaeology. When O. M. Dalton published the first edition of his Catalogue of this remarkable collection in 1905, very few other examples of such works of art of this period were known, and but little more when his second edition appeared in 1926. Since then, not only has Persepolis been the subject of an important excavation, but many isolated examples of Achaemenid art have come to light, but as a single group, yet of varied character, the Oxus Treasure remains unique and unsurpassed. Not only Dalton’s Catalogue, but his masterly introductory survey (in the second edition) of its place in Achaemenid art and history were of outstanding merit. To this account he appended a valuable catalogue of other examples of Early Iranian, mostly Sassanian, metalwork in the Museum. Yet for some reason, the second and last edition of the book was printed in a small quantity, thereby placing it out of the reach of most of those for whom it was presumably intended. It has now been felt a duty to reprint this work. The text of the second edition is unaltered, except for a few printing errors which have been corrected, but the plates have been remade anew from fresh photographs throughout. In the case of some items, additional views have been given beyond those in the last edition, viz., items 22 (pi. IX), 101-107 and 114 (pi. XVI), 178 (pi. XXII) and 205, (pi. XXXV). Further, illustrations of some items not previously shown at all have now been inserted, viz., 2a (pi. XIII), 23 (pi. I), 41, 42 (pi. XII). It is also perhaps of value to note that since Dalton’s last edition, two fine pieces of miniature sculpture in gold which apparently formed part of the original treasure, have rejoined it in the British Museum. These are the chariot group illustrated in Dalton’s p. xl, fig. 21, which was acquired in 1953 from Lord Lvtton’s granddaughter, Lady Cobbold (see British Museum Quarterly, XXVI, 1963, p. 99, pi. XLIX) and from Lord Lytton himself in 1931, the figurine of a Persian (see British Museum Quarterly, VI, 19, p. 17 and plate 12a), once mounted on a horse (for these two pieces see plate supplement). The splendid companion armlet to No. 116, origi- nally acquired by Captain Burton, remains at the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington. R. D. BARNETT Keeper Department of Western Asiatic Antiquities British Museum January 1964 PRINCIPAL RECENT PUBLICATIONS DEALING WITH THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS QUIVER COVER (X o. 22) See R. D. Barnett, ‘Median Art’, Iranica Antiqua, Vol.'ll, 1962, pp. 76-95. BRACELETS (Xos. 131, 1 34-1 40) See P. Amandry ‘Orfevrerie achemenide’, Antike Kunst I (1958). SILVER BOWLS (No. 203) Tolstov, Drevnei Khorezm (1949), summarised by S. Fajans in Ars Orientalis II, PP- 7 I- 3 attributes this piece to Chorasmia. See also H. Field and E. Prostov, ‘Excavations at Khwaiazm', 1937-8, Ars Islamica VI, 1939, p. 104. (No. 21 1) E. Herzfeld, ‘Postsasanidische Inschrif- ten', Archaologische Mitteilungen aus Iran, IV, (1932), 148-149, reads the inscription on No. 21 1, pi. 39 as anoszad. COINS Daniel Schlumberger, ‘L’ Argent grec dans l’Empire achemenide’ in R. Curiel and D. Schlum- berger, Trdsors Monetaires d' Afghanistan, (Paris 1^53), p. 7, and app. II, p. 46 (Les monnaies d ‘argent prehellenistiques du tresor de l’Oxus). A. R. Bellinger, ‘The Coins from the Treasure of the Oxus' (in American Numismatic Society, Museum Notes, X, pp. 51-67). BRONZE GRIFFIN (No. 194) Josef Orbeli, in 'Sassanian and Early Islamic Metalwork’ in Survey of Persian Art, edited by Arthur U. Pope (Oxford 1938) I, p. 720 and fig. 250, identifies this piece as Sassanian. GENERAL (Anonymous) chapter 18 ‘Achaemenid Metal- work’ and D. Talbot Rice chapter 19, ‘Achae- menid Jewellery’, Survey of Persian Art, Vol. I ff. and Vol. IV, pis. m-122. M. M. Dyakonov, Materiali i I ssledovaniya po Arkheologii S.S.S.R., (15) 1946-7, p. 183: do., ( 37 ) 1948 - 50 . PP- 254-256, 264. M. M. Dyakonov, Po sledam drevnyhh kultur, Vol. Ill, 1954, pp. 316 ff. ‘Drevnyaya Baktrya’. M. M. Dyakonov, U istokov drevnei kultury Tadzhikistana, Stalinabad, 1956, pp. 42-45. Zeimal, T. J. and Zeimal, E. V., ‘Yeshcho raz o mestie nakhodki Amu-Daryinskogo klada’ in Izvyestia Akademii Nauk Tadzhikistan S.S.R., I (28) 1962. (Dushanbe) R. Ghirshman, Perse: Proto-ir aniens, Medes et Achemenides (Paris 1964) Chapter III; or English edition: Persia from the Origins to Alexander the Great (Arts of Mankind), London and New York 1964. Chapter III, p. 90 ff., figs. 118, 120, 121. CONTENTS Page LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS viii LIST OF PLATES ix, x LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT xi, xii INTRODUCTION xiii-Ixxvi A. THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS I. OBJECTS IN THE ROUND 1-7 II. VESSELS 8, 9 III. EMBOSSED OBJECTS 9-19 IV. GOLD PLAQUES WITH FIGURES PUNCHED IN OUTLINE . 19-26 V. RINGS AND ENGRAVED GEMS . . . 26-32 VI. ARMLETS AND TORQUES . . . . . . 32-39 VII. MISCELLANEOUS SMALL OBJECTS 39-41 B. OTHER EARLY METAL-WORK I. SILVER VESSELS FROM ARMENIA .... . 42-45 II. SILVER VESSELS AND OTHER OBJECTS FROM PERSIA, BACTRIA, SIBERIA, AND N. W. INDIA 45' 6 7 COMPARATIVE ENGLISH AND METRICAL SCALE ... 68 INDEX 69 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Compte rendu. Compte rendu de la Commission Impe'riale Arche'ologique. Leningrad, 1859, &c. (Published in French down to 1888, and after that date in Russian.) Cunningham \ Three articles by General Cunningham in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (Calcutta). Vol. 1 (1881), pp. 151 ff., pis. xi-xvii ; vol. lii (1883), pt. i, pp. 64 ff., pis. vi and vii, and pp. 258-60, pis. xxi and xxii. (General Cunningham has reproduced in his plates several of the counterfeit copies of real objects in the treasure alluded to on p. xvi. In this he has been followed by MM. Kondakov, Tolstoi, and Reinach.) Dieulafoy, Perse. M. Dieulafoy, L' Art antique de la Perse. Paris, 1884, &C. Dieulafoy, Suse. M. Dieulafoy, L' Acropole de Suse. Paris, 1890, &c. Flandin and Coste. E. Flandin and P. Coste, Voyage en Perse. Paris, 1851. (Although the reproductions in this book are less exact than such photographs as those of Stolze, various small figures have been copied from them on account of the clearness of their style : the points illustrated are, however, of so simple a nature that M. Flandin’s fine drawings are quite sufficient for the purpose in view. The references are to the large folio atlases.) Kondakov. N. Kondakov, J. Tolstoi, et S. Reinach, Antiqui/es de la Russie Me'ridionale. Paris, 1894. (The information as to the Oxus Treasure in this work is derived from General Cunningham’s articles mentioned above. But it is a most valuable introductory book to the study of the Graeco-Scythian and Siberian antiquities in the Museum of the Hermitage at Leningrad, and reproduces a large number of objects previously only to be seen in large and inaccessible albums.) Materials. Materials for the Archaeology of Russia. Published by the Imperial Archaeological Commission. Leningrad, 1888, &c. (In Russian.) LIST OF PLATES I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. XIII. XIV. XV. XVI. XVII. XVIII. XIX. XX. XXI. XXII. XXIII. XXIV. XXV. XXVI. XXVII. XXVIII. XXIX. Sir A. W. Franks Gold Armlet .... Figures in Gold and Silver Gold Head and Bowl Gold Chariot .... Silver Handle and Patera Gold Fish and Deer ; Silver Goose Gold Jug .... Shallow Gold Bowl . Gold Sheath .... Silver Disc .... Gold Plaques .... Gold Plaques .... Objects of Gold Gold Plaques .... Gold Plaques .... Subjects engraved on Cylinder and Gold Gold Armlets . Gold Armlets . Gold Armlets . Gold Armlets . Various Gold Objects 5 L 69 ^ings -7L J ». '7, 3 T > 34. 35. 37. 150-2, 156, 158, Silver Rhyton .... Silver Dish and Scoops Siberian Plaque and Bactrian Axe Bactrian Lion-Gryphon . Bronze Goat and Stone Relief Silver Dish from Badakshan Silver Reliefs .... Silver Bowl .... Numbers . Frontispiece 1 16 1. 3. 4. 6, 9, 14 5. 20 7 • 10, *9_ ii, i2, 15, 16 17 18 22 24 • 2 5. 99 26-8, 32-4, 40 2, 8, 38, 39, 44, 46, 47 45. 48, 49 74. 75. 84, 86, 89, 92-4 101-10, 114 118, 138 120, 122, 131, 134, 135 124, 133 . *40, 142 132, 136, 137, 144 100, 1 19, 127, 130, 147, 159, 160, 162, 164, 177 . . 178 180, 185, 186 I9L 193 194 195. 197 . . 196 198-200 201 X LIST OF PLATES Numuf.rs XXX. Details of PI. XXIX 201 XXXI. Details of PI. XXIX 201 XXXII. Silver Bowls * . . 202, 203 XXXIII. Silver Dish 204 XXXIV. Silver Bowl . 205 XXXV. Silver Bowl • -’os XXXVI. Sassanian Silver Dish 206 XXXVII. Sassanian Silver Dish 207 XXXVIII. Sassanian Silver Dish 208 XXXIX. Silver Dish and Vase 209, 2 1 I XL. Silver Dish 210 plate supplement Additions to the Treasure in the British Museum . I24098, I32256 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT Number 1. Inlaid Armlet from Susa .... 2. Gold Armlet in the Louvre .... 3. Gold Armlet at Karlsruhe .... 4. Monster from Frieze at Susa 5. Monster from a small relief .... 6. Lion-gryphon from a Capital 7. Cylinder of Darius ..... 8. Achaemenid Cylinder ..... 9. An Offering to Anai'tis, from a cylinder 10. Figures from a Relief at Persepolis 11. Coin of Evagoras II of Salamis 12. Satrap from Tomb of Payava 13. Head of Darius, from a Mosaic 14. Head of a Persian .... 15. Detail from a Relief, Persepolis 16. Hilt of short sword, S. Russia 17. Coins of Tiridates and an Unknown Ruler 18. Coins of Pharnabazus, Spithridates, and Mallos 19. Figures from Silver Box (no. 179) 20. Back View of a Chariot (no. 7) 21. Gold Model of a Chariot .... 22. Chariot and Figures from Persepolis 23. Figures on the Melgunov sheath 24. Detail from the Melgunov sheath . 25. Cheek piece of a Bit, British Museum 26. Mythological Combat, Persepolis . . - 27. Capital from Persepolis .... 28. Archer from Frieze at Susa .... 29. Inlaid Ivory Ornament from Nimrud 30. Gold Fish from Vettersfelde .... 31. Gold Sheath from Vettersfelde 32. Bronze plaque (stag) from the Kuban 33. Bronze plaque (lion) from the Kuban 34. Gold Collar from Siberia .... 35. Clasp of an inlaid belt from Bulgaria 36. Ornament with four horses’ heads, Bulgaria Page xiv xv xvii xviii xix xxi xxii xxiii xxiv xxvii xxix xxx xxxi xxxii xxxiii xxxv xxxvi xxxvii xxxviii xxxix xl xli xlii xlii xliii xliv xlv xlvi xlvii xlviii xlix li Hi liii lvi lvii xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT Number Page 37 - Inlaid Gold Ornament from Siberia lix 38 - Painting at Ajanta ....... lxiv 39 - King and Gods : relief at Tak-i-Bostan .... lxx 40. Detail from Crown of Darius ...... 1 41. Back of Silver Statuette (no. r) 2 42. Palmette on no. 10 5 43 - Gold Bowl (no. 18) 8 44. Outline of Gold Bowl (no. 21) 9 45 - Details from no. 22 10 46. Gold Aigrette (no. 23) ....... 1 1 47 - Shield from Persepolis ....... 13 48. Lotus Ornament from Susa ..... 14 49. Design on no. 36 . 15 5 °- Gold Button (no. 43) ....... 17 Si- Lotus Ornament from Susa ..... r8 52 - Gold Ring (no. ro3) ....... 26 53 - Gold Ring (no. 104) ....... 27 54 - Gold Ring (no. ro5) ....... 28 55 - Gold Ring (no. 106) ....... 29 56 . Gold Ring (no. ro7) ....... 29 57 - Gold Ring (no. 108) ....... 29 58 . Gold Ring (no. 109) ...•••• 29 59 - Gold Ring (no. iro) ...•••• 29 60. Gold Ring (no. in) . 30 61. Gold Ring (no. ri2) . 3 ° 62. Chalcedony Scaraboid (no. 113) 3 i 6 3 - Cylinder (no. 05) ....... 32 64. Detail from Armlet (no. ir6) ... 33 65 - End of Armlet (no. rr 7) 34 66. End of Gold Collar from Susa 34 67. End of Armlet (no. 133) ...... 37 68. Ornament from Armlet (no. 144) ..... 39 69. Gold Stud ......... 39 70. Detail from Silver Dish (no. 204) . 42 7 i- Cylindrical Silver Box (no. 179) . 43 72. Plain silver bowl (no. 182) ...... 45 73 - Gold Embossed Ornament (no. 190) 46 74 - Pierced Bronze Plaque (no. r92) ..... 48 75 - Triumph of Dionysos (Cameo in Naples Museum) 5 ° 76. Inscription on no. 20 r 54 77 - Figures from Cave at Ajanta 59 78 . Scroll Design from Ajanta ...... 59 79 - Coin of Bahram V ...... 6r 80. Silver Vase from Perm ....... 65 81. Inscription on no. 203 ....... 67 INTRODUCTION 1. THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS The treasure of the Oxus was found in the year 1877, but the precise site of the discovery is variously given. According to the first published account, it was by the side of the river, almost half-way between Khulm (Tash Kurgan) on the south and Kabadian on the north, and two days journey from Kunduz. It was called by General Sir Alexander Cunningham Takht-i-Kawat or Kuad, and was described by him as near one of the most frequented ferries on the road to Samarkand. Here the objects composing the treasure were said to have been found scattered about in the sands, and not massed together, a fact which suggests that they may have been washed out of the place in which they had been buried by an exceptionally high summer flood, carried away by the stream, and deposited on ground which the falling waters left dry in winter. The second account identified Kuad with Kabadian, a town which lies not on the Oxus but on its tributary the Kafirnahan, a stage to the north of the greater river. This version in general agrees with that told by the Central Asian merchants to Captain Burton, which, however, adds the statement that the place was the site of a city, where the people of the vicinity were in the habit of digging for treasure. Whatever the precise facts may be, it is at any rate certain that in the year above mentioned a discovery of gold and silver objects did take place in this region, and that it was supplemented by additional discoveries a year or two later, both being described by General Cunningham in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal } It is much to be regretted that no qualified observer was present on either occasion, but fortunately we have satisfactory evidence that the treasure was actually brought out of the Oxus valley into Kabul, and thence taken to Peshawar, where it was sold : this is in itself a point of some importance in connexion with the doubts at one time cast upon the authenticity of some of the objects, for it proves that the majority, at any rate, had travelled a long distance before the goldsmiths of Rawalpindi first set eyes upon them. In May 1880, when Captain F. C. Burton was political officer in the Tezin valley and resident at Seh Baba three marches from Kabul, three Mohammedan merchants from Bokhara, who were known to have a quantity of gold upon their mules, were 1 1881, p. 151 • 1883, pp. 64 and 258. These three papers are throughout alluded to as Cunningham’, Cunningham 1 2 , and Cunningham 3 , and it is from them that the illustrations in Kondakov are derived. It is in the third paper that the site of discovery is definitely placed at Kabadian (p. 260), on the authority of a man who had several times visited the spot. On the whole, the second version seems to have the weight of evidence in its favour, though the apparent confusion between the Oxus and the Kafirnahan in the statement of the Bokhara merchants (p. 2) is perplexing. Its acceptance would remove the site from Bactria into Sogdiana, but would in no way affect the archaeological position of the treasure or detract from its importance. MV THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS robbed on their journey from Kabul to Peshawar by men of the Khurd Kabul (Barbakkar Khels and Hisarak Ghilzais) at a spot between Seh Baba and Jagdalak: they had foolishly gone on ahead of the convoy escort, and were thus themselves partially to blame for their misfortune. The robbers made off to the hills with the booty, carrying with them the three merchants and their attendant ; the)- crossed the Tcsinka Kotal and pushed on to a place named Karkachcha, where there were a number of caves in which they hoped to divide the spoil at leisure. Unfortunately for them, they allowed the merchants’ servant to escape; and this man, arriving in Captain Burton’s camp at nine o’clock at night, gave immediate information of the robbery. Captain Burton at once set out for Karkachcha with two orderlies, and towards midnight made an unexpected appearance among the bandits, who had already been quarrelling over their plunder. Four of them were lying wounded on the ground, and the treasure, which for the purpose of transport in saddle-bags had been sewn up in a number of small leather packets, was spread out over the floor of the cave. A parley ensued, as a result of which a considerable part of the spoil was surrendered, and Captain Burton then prepared to return without further delay, which might have been dangerous. A warning having, however, been conveyed to him that a plan was on foot to waylay him and recover the part of the treasure in his possession, he remained in hiding all night, and only reached his camp at six o’clock on the following morning. He at once threatened to lead a force against the robbers ; but when they heard of his intention they came in with another large part of the treasure, bringing the total amount recovered up to about three-quarters of the whole ; the rest was probably by this time melted down or concealed in some inaccessible place. The property was then returned to the three merchants ; and during the transfer Captain Burton saw, in one of the bags which had been cut open, the companion armlet to no. 116. He offered to purchase it, and his offer was accepted; this is the armlet subsequently acquired for the South Kensington (now Victoria and Albert) Museum, where it is exhibited. The merchants continued their journey to Peshawar without further adventure ; but while in Captain Burton s camp, one of them, named Wazi ad-Din, had made the following deposition, which is sufficiently interesting to be quoted almost at length. ‘ I am one of the merchants who were robbed, when the Ghilzais of Hisarak and Jagdalak attacked us and took all our property. The mules were not taken, but the mule-bags were cut and carried off. They contained gold and silver ornaments, some cups of gold, a silver idol and a gold one, also a large ornament resembling an anklet. Most of the things were found at Khandian (Kabadian), which is submerged in the Oxus; but at certain times in the year when the river is dry, the people dig, and among the old ruins of the city of Khandian find valuable gold things. My companions and myself Fig. i. Inlaid gold armlet of Achaemcnid date found at Susa. (After de Morgan, La Delegation cn Perse , Paris, 1902, P- 95 -) INTRODUCTION XV bought these things, being afraid to carry money, as Abderrahman 1 was at Kunduz, and was taking toll of all travellers and merchants for his army. We were told that the idol and anklet were of the time of Alexander the Great, and they were found at the same time as an ornament which 1 hear was sent to India to the Burra Lord Sahib . 2 The whole value of the treasure was eighty thousand rupees, and by your influence we have regained fifty-two thousand: I am willing that you should buy the gold anklet . 2 The silver idol has been burnt since it has been stolen, and some of the silver has been melted on it. I have not any further statement to make regarding the things which I hereby acknowledge to have received back from you.’ The three merchants, whose names were Wazi ad-Din, Ghulam Muhammad, and Slniker Ali, were in the habit of trading between Khiva, Samarkand, and India, some- times going as far as Amritsar; this is how they happened to be passing Kabadian at the time when the treasure was for sale. They started with a large sum of money to buy tea, silk, and other goods, but learning as they approached Balkh that Abderrahman was exacting toll in the manner already related, they thought it wise to convert their coin into specie which could be sewn up in leather packets and be regarded as merchan- dise. Many of these bags were still intact when the treasure passed through Captain Burton’s hands, but a number had been ripped open during the division which was going on in the cave when the robbers were inter- rupted. As is usual under such circumstances, the shares were being apportioned by weight, and were exactly balanced by cutting up into small pieces such objects as lent themselves most easily to such treatment; the mutilation of the gold sheath no. 22 may perhaps be explained in this way. The early adven- tures of the treasure were such as to endanger its existence ; and that any part of it was ever preserved we owe to the energy and resource of Captain Burton. Down to its arrival at the Indian frontier, the treasure had suffered nothing more than diminution, but after its sale by the Bokhara merchants to purchasers at Rawalpindi, it was exposed to more insidious dangers of addition and interpolation. It is impossible to say exactly what happened in the interval during which it remained in the hands of its new owners before it was ultimately sold to General Sir Alexander Cunningham and Sir A. W. Franks . 4 The dealers of North-Western India frequently receive antiquities of various periods discovered within and beyond the frontier, and they may at times be tempted to incorporate miscellaneous objects of various 1 Afterwards Amir of Afghanistan. 2 The Viceroy of India, then the Earl of Lytton. This was, perhaps, the gold chariot (fig. 21 ) since exhibited in the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh. 3 The companion armlet to no. 1 16. 4 Sir A. W. Franks became the purchaser of General Cunningham’s collection. B xvi THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS origins in some ‘ find ’ considerable enough to have attracted the attention of archaeo- logists. They have sometimes resorted to more questionable practices, and did so in the present case. Objects of an intrinsically less precious material— for instance, the cylinder (no. 114), the disc (no. 24), and the ibex (no. 10) — were reproduced in gold, and these counterfeits were first sent to certain collectors for disposal, the originals being temporarily retained. There was much about these objects which struck Sir A. W. Franks as suspicious, over and above the fact that some of them were of types which are never found in gold. But not wishing to divert a possibly important source of supply, he determined to purchase at a small percentage above the gold value, and then to await further developments. These were not long delayed, for when once the counterfeits had been sold, the originals were dispatched in their turn. A comparison of the originals with the gold copies at once revealed the difference in quality which had been expected ; the imitations had been made with some care, but their modern character was unmistakable. The obvious inferiority of these reproductions did nothing but confirm the genuineness of the originals and of the Treasure as a whole, which, with the passage of time, has obtained the recognition of archaeologists and scholars ; it was indeed manifest that to counterfeit so important a series of objects would have involved a knowledge of Iranian antiquities beyond the attainment of goldsmiths living in Rawalpindi. Moreover, the authenticity of the large group of collars and armlets (nos. 1 1 7 fT.) is proved by their identity in style with the Achaemenid jewellery from Susa, now in the Louvre (see p. 34). For as this jewellery was not discovered by the French Delegation until 1902, it would have been impossible to anticipate its details in the year 1880. And if some rough and crude work upon certain objects offend the eye, it should further be remembered that we are still too ignorant of Central Asiatic antiquities to condemn on the ground of unfamiliarity alone. The coins which reached Europe with the Treasure were about fifteen hundred in number, and included the following types : darics ; pieces of the satraps Tiribazus, Pharnabazus, Tiridates, and Pharnaspes ; tetrad rachms of Athens; coins of Acanthus in Macedonia, Aspendus, Byzantium, and Tarsus ; about two hundred pieces of Alexander the Great ; coins of Andragoras, Pixodarus of Caria, Lysimachus of Thrace, Seleucus Nikator, Antiochus I, II, III, Diodotus, and Euthydemus. The period represented by these coins ranges from the early fifth century to about 200 B.C. But there is no absolute certainty that they were all found with the treasure ; they may merely have come from a single large site, perhaps that of a town inhabited for centuries in ancient times but now wholly abandoned. The date cannot therefore be determined by the coins, as might have been the case had the treasure been discovered by a scientific excavator in one spot with all the coins, and in undisturbed soil. We are obliged to fall back upon a comparative study of the find as a whole, and this leads to the conclusion that the Oxus treasure is mainly Persian, of the Achaemenid period, and dates from the fifth and fourth centuries B.C. Most of the objects are Persian, though nos. 18 and 22 may have a Median origin. A few show Greek influence, as no. 1 1 3, but only the two rings (nos, 101, 102) appear to be of Greek workmanship. A small number of objects (nos. 23, 39, 43, m, 112, i 44 ~ 5 ) are Scythic ; a few others, which have no definable style, may be classed as barbaric (nos. 5, 6, 15, 41-3, 112). INTRODUCTION xvu The discovery of any remarkable treasure or hoard naturally rouses speculation as to the persons who may have concealed it, and the occasion on which the deposit was made. Archaeological curiosity in such cases is rarely satisfied, and when attempts are made to reconstruct the history, too great a strain is often placed upon the imagination. General Cunningham hazarded the guess that the treasure belonged to some old-established Bactrian family, the successive generations of which had each contributed additions. At some troubled time, the representative of this house was compelled to fly from his home, taking his most valued possessions with him, and through some sudden alarm hastily concealed them in a marked spot, intending to come back for them when tranquillity had been restored. Meeting with an untimely end, he never returned, and thus the treasure was left where it was found for about two thousand years. General Cunningham suggested that this last owner many have belonged to the army of Euthydemus which, in 209 B.C., marched to oppose Antiochus III. His conjecture is not unconnected with the fact that the latest coins associated with the treasure date from the reign of Euthydemus ; and were we quite certain that all the coins were actually found with the other objects, it would serve as well as any other. In the absence of such certainty it is easy to multiply or amplify conjectures. After the seizure of the royal treasures at Susa, Persepolis, and Pasargadae by Alexander, a number of valuable possessions must have been dispersed and passed from hand to hand. The accumulated wealth of these royal storehouses was immense: in 316 H.C. Antigonus still found great booty at Susa, among which mention is made of crowns and vessels of gold and silver. It is easy to imagine that various objects represented in this Catalogue might once have had their place in a royal palace, but at the time of dispersion have fallen to the lot of other owners, and have been removed to another part of the country, perhaps to the estate of such a Bactrian family as General Cunningham described. It is legitimate for a moment to dwell on possibilities of this kind ; but they can never have serious value, nor could their confirmation essentially affect the archaeological significance of the treasure. This depends upon the fact that, apart from the fine series in the Louvre, excavated by M. J. de Morgan at Susa, it is alone in presenting a comprehensive group of objects illustrating the minor art of ancient Persia. Such being the only information as to the discovery of the treasure, it will be well in the following pages to provide some short account of the influences, local and racial, which may be inferred from the nature of its constituent parts. A few words will be added, by way of preface, as to the country on the borders of which the discovery was made, Bactria, Persian satrapy and Greek kingdom, for it is possible that some of the objects described in the Catalogue may have first seen the light in this very region. Balkh, from ancient times a renowned city in the East, must have contained skilled workers in precious metal, the province of which FlG. 3. Gold armlet at Karlsruhe. (After K. Schumacher, Beschreibung derSamm - lung antiker Bronzen , pi. ii, Karlsruhe, 1890.) xviii THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS it was the capital lying nearer to the main sources whence gold was derived than more central parts of the Achaemenid Empire ; and we seem to discover, among figures represented upon certain gold plaques, the types identified as Bactrians in the sculptured reliefs of Persepolis. Bactria and Sogdiana, corresponding to the territory of modern Afghanistan north of the Hindu Kush, and to the southern part of Bokhara, were bounded on the cast and south by mountains, on the west and north by steppes, the whole region belonging geographically to the Aralo- Caspian basin . 1 Bactria was a prosperous Fig. 4. Monster from the frieze of glazed bricks at Susa. (After Dieulafoy, L' Acropole de Suse, pi. xi.) country, traversed by the upper course of the great river Oxus ; the fertile valleys watered by the affluents of this river made it a rich agricultural and pastoral land. It produced the vine, and most of the profitable trees other than the olive, leading Strabo to quote with approval the eulogy, in a lost work of the Parthian, Apollodorus of Artemita, who calls it TrpS. C. is held by some to have been undertaken to cover his flank in the advance upon continental Greece,’ against which country he sent two expeditions, the second, that of 492, closing with 1 The period in which they established themselves to the east of Elam is not known, nor is it certain whether they are to be identified with the Parsua mentioned as living at a much earlier time in the Zagros region (H. R. Hall, Ancient History of the A ear East, 6th ed. (1924), p. 553). 2 As only one or two objects in the treasure appear to be older than the time of the Persians, it is unnecessary to say more than a few words on the history of the Medes. The first Median king, Deiokes (Daiukku), reigned about 710 B.C., but the Medes as a nation did not exert any great influence in history until the early sixth century. When they rose to power they did not attack the New Babylonian Empire ; but in 585 Kyaxares put an end to the Armenian kingdom of Urartu, and defeated the Lydians on the Halys. Astyages, his son and successor, consolidated Median power in Armenia. It was he who in 558 was deposed by Cyrus (Hall, as above, p. 555). 3 For Pasargadae see IC. 1 1 erzfelcl in K/io, viii, pp. 1 ff. 4 The sculpture and inscriptions on the rock of Behistun (Bisitun) on the main route from Mesopotamia into Persia through Mt. Zagros describes the campaigns of Darius and shows him with the defeated rebels in bonds before him. 6 This is the view maintained by Kawlinson, and adopted by later writers. But P. Sykes ( History of Persia (1921), i, p. 166) urges various reasons against it. F:g. 7. Cylinder of Darius in the British Museum. INTRODUCTION XXI 11 Fig. 8. Achaemenid cylinder. (After Furtwangler, Antike Gemmen, pi. i.) the defeat at Marathon. While preparing to avenge this disaster, Darius was interrupted by an Egyptian revolt, but before he could crush this, he died (4X5). His son Xerxes failed in his expedition against Greece in 480. But his defeat by no means resulted in the doom of the Persian Empire, which continued to dominate Asia for a century and a half, while Greece was divided into small and often mutually hostile states. Xerxes, assassinated at Susa in 466, was succeeded by Artaxerxes I, who crushed a rebellion of his brother Vishtasp (Hystaspes) in Bactria in 462. and. a few years later, a rebellion in Egypt. About 449 he concluded a peace with the Athenians, and the struggle between Greeks and Persians came to an end ; the strength of Greece, which might have greatly enhanced her material position, was now destined to be wasted in internal conflicts. Artaxerxes died in 425, and after the short reigns of two of his sons, a third son, Ochus, ruled as Darius II (424-404). In his reign Tissaphernes, satrap of Lydia, made an agreement with Sparta against Athens ; thus began a series of intrigues, by which no single Greek state was permitted to attain a power dangerous to Persian interests. Persia was now prosperous, but had lost her old warlike qualities, beginning to place her whole reliance upon Greek mercenaries both on land and sea. Darius II was followed by his son Arsaces, who succeeded as Artaxerxes II (Mnemon). This was the king against whom his brother, Cyrus the Younger, rebelled, marching on Babylon with an army including some ten thousand well- trained Greeks. Cyrus was slain at Cunaxa on the Pluphratcs (401), the Greeks finally carrying out their famous retreat across the highlands of Armenia to Trebizond on the Black Sea. The Persians now by lavish expenditure of money allied them- selves alternately with Sparta and Athens. By the peace of Antalcidas in 387, it was agreed that all the continent of Asia Minor should be recognized as Persian, a great success for Persian diplomacy. Artaxerxes died in 338, after a reign of forty-six years. He had revived the worship of Mithra and Anahita, the pre-Zoroastrian deities of his country, and, if a weak ruler, was of a generous and forgiving nature. He was succeeded by his son Ochus, who assumed the name of Artaxerxes III. This king recovered Egypt, which had rebelled against his father, and though cruel, proved a strong and capable monarch. He was murdered in 338 by his minister, the eunuch Bagoas, who finally placed on the throne a certain Codomannus, probably a member of the Achaemenid family. Codomannus adopted the title Darius III (336) ; he was a man of vigour and of some ability, but it was his fate to meet the invasion of the unconquerable Alexander. It is impossible to assign different objects in the Treasure to particular reigns, but the resemblance between bracelets of the type of no. 1 1 7 to the above-mentioned examples discovered at Susa would suggest that these belong to the time of monarchs who made that city their favourite place of residence. The organization of the Persian Empire was the work of Darius, lasting for more XXIV THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS than a century and a half, a masterpiece of administrative genius. Of the twenty satrapies, those which interest us most are the central and eastern ; Parsa (Persia), in which were the two early capitals, Pasargadae, that of Cyrus, and Persepolis, that of Darius and Xerxes ; the satrapy adjoining it on the west, in which was situated Susa, another capital of Darius, long the favourite residence of his successors; Mada (Media), lying to the north of these, with Armina (Armenia) beyond it ; finally, the satrapies further to the east, those of Parthava (Parthia), Haraiva, and Sugda ; Bakhtrish (Bactria) ; and Gandhara, the satrapy including the Kabul valley and the gate of India. Types from the peoples inhabiting these satrapies are illustrated in the reliefs at Naksh-i-Rustam 1 and at Persepolis ; 2 in the former place they are seen upon the rock-cut tomb of Darius. At Persepolis there are two series of figures. In one, on the doorway of the central building, the representatives of the provinces, as at Naksh-i-Rustam, support the royal throne from beneath ; in the other, on the retaining wall of the great platform, they appear as tributaries bearing gifts. While the list given by Herodotus 3 is of a military character, describing each with the weapons used in war, the sculptured reliefs are non-military, and represent the peoples only with such weapons as they habitually carried in daily life. As various objects in the Treasure illustrate religious cults, it will be well briefly to notice the most important of these. Zoroastrianism became the State religion with Darius, and it has already been noted that Zoroaster was closely associated with Bactria. The story of this religious leader is in part legendary, but all accounts agree that he passed several years of his prophetic career at Baktra. As to the country of his birth, there are two opinions ; one, that he was a native of Eastern Iran, the other, that he came from the west, perhaps from Aderbaijan, south-west of the Caspian . 4 In any case, the Zend Avcsta is believed to have originated either in Bactria itself or in the neighbouring provinces , 5 6 and the places mentioned in it are almost all in Eastern Iran . 0 Such facts are sufficient to show that Bactria was in a sense the holy land of Mazdaism in Achaemenian times. It maintained its reputation when the cult of new deities was introduced, and temples came into existence in addition to the simple structures originally erected round the sacred fire. 1 Outline sketches in Sarre-Herzfeld, lranische Felsreliefs, tigs. ^ and 8 and pp. 34 ff. The details are confirmed by comparing the figures with those on other representations. 2 Ibid., figs. 9-1 1. 3 vii. 61-100. The description given by Herodotus is based on information derived from a Greek eye-witness (O. Trautwein in Hermes , xxv, 1890, pp. 527-66 ; cf. also C. F. Lehmann-Haupt in Klio, ii, pp. 334 fif.). * A. Hovelacque, L'Avesta, Zoroastre et le Masdiisme (Paris, 1880), p. 140. 6 A. Hovelacque, as above, p. 1 31. 6 F. Spiegel, Eranische Alterthumskunde, vol. ii, p. 171. Fig. 9. An otTering to Anaitis; from a cylinder. (After J. Menant, Gly-p- tique orient ale, ii, pi. ix, fig. 2.) INTRODUCTION XXV In a country with such wide religious interests, the number of fire-altars and their attendant priests must have been very considerable. It is unnecessary to describe fire-worship in detail, for there is no representation of it upon any of the objects in the treasure ; it must suffice to say that the flame was protected by a surrounding chamber from wind and rain; 1 that once kindled it was never permitted to go out, and that it burned upon a low columnar altar which sometimes had a crenellated top, a point of some interest in connexion with the head-dress of the silver statuette (no. i). Animal sacrifice was a recognized usage, especially for purposes of purification ; camels, horses, and oxen were offered by rich people for this purpose, and smaller animals such as hares by the poor. The sacrifice of horses to the sun, which undoubtedly took place in the fourth century, is not mentioned in the sacred books, and was probably not a primitive usage : the Massagetae, who are said to have made such sacrifices, 2 may have adopted them as a result of intercourse with Persia. The conflict of Ormuzd, or Ahuramazda, with Ahriman, lord of the forces of evil, forms the ground idea of the Zoroastrian belief. He is held to be represented, as on the small gold disc (no. 35), by a half-figure issuing from a pair of wings — a motive which has been considered by Herder and others to represent the king’s f enter, or immaterial and independent counterpart. 2 Though the Persian layman might address his prayer directly to the deity, yet for sacrifices and purifications he was obliged to have recourse to an intermediary belonging to the class or caste of the Magi or Athravans. 4 The word caste is perhaps an accurate description of this body of men, for apparently only the son of a magus could be a magus, and the priesthood was an hereditary order. 5 They have been com- pared with the tribe of Levites, and are thought to have originated somewhere in Western Iran, possibly in Media, whence they spread over all countries where Iranian influence predominated. Probably they formed a hierarchy ranging from the chief priest 0 down to the acolyte; just as the modern Parsis, who have preserved so much of the ancient tradition, have their Zaotar or high-priest, their dcslurs or chief priests, their mobeds or officiating priests, and their herbeds who form the lowest grade. They were more or less nomadic, like the Mullahs of Islam at the present day, travelling from place to place as their services were required, but everywhere received with respect as claiming descent from Zoroaster, who was of the royal house. They acted as intermediaries between man and the deity, not only as celebrants of certain rites, but also as diviners and interpreters of dreams ; and 1 Dieulafoy, Suse, pp. 393 ff*. In these pages M. Dieulafoy has brought together much interesting information relating to the buildings and the utensils devoted to the worship of the sacred fire by the ancient Persians and the modern Parsis. 2 Herodotus, i. 216. ,f J. G. Rhode, Die heilige Sage mid das gesammte Religious-System der alien Baktrer , Meder , Perser, &c., pp. 485, 486 (Frankfort, 1820); Hovelacque, as above , p. 288; Spiegel, as above, ii. 92. 4 ‘ It is probable that there is no real distinction between the Athravans and the Magi.’ Spiegel, as above , iii, p. 595 . 5 Hovelacque, p. 449. 6 Probably called Zarathusirotema and residing in Ragha or Media with sovereign power ; Spiegel, iii. 562. XXVI THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS their social influence was doubtless increased by their additional functions as medical men and tutors of princes and noble youths. It is interesting to note that in spite of the triumphs of Islam, vestiges of the old Mazdaistic beliefs still seem to linger in this part of Asia. Khanikoff 1 observed among the Tajiks of Samarkand usages in connexion with fire which recalled those of Zoroastrianism, and Wood has recorded the reluctance of the people of Badakshan to blow out a light, probably due to the ancient belief that the breath of man is a defilement to the purest of the elements. Of the particular attributes of the priest mentioned in the sacred books— such as the //dvana or mortar, the paitidana or covering for the mouth, the urvara or staff, krafgtraghana or insect-killer, the Altra rnairi or knife for killing snakes — perhaps the most remarkable is the baregman or barsom, a small bundle of rods supposed to be composed of branches of the date, pomegranate, and tamarisk, the gathering of which Ormuzd describes to Zarathustra in the nineteenth chapter of the Vendidad.- It was the constant accompaniment of almost every ritual act, and in his daily prayers before the sacred fire, as Strabo noted of the Magi in Cappadocia, the priest always held it in his hand. :i The texts do not seem to imply that the rods were used for purposes of divination, but there is some authority for believing that this was at one time the case. The habit of divining with rods would appear to be of Median or Scythian origin, 4 and Herodotus (iv. 67) describes Scythian diviners as laying a bundle of willow wands on the ground, untying it, and consulting the rods individually. Perhaps the peculiar virtue of the barsom was derived from some ancient custom of this kind, and owing to their supposed supernatural qualities the rods became a natural priestly attribute ; perhaps, too, even after their adoption as ritual instruments, they continued to be used for their original purpose. Divination by means of rods would appear to have been practised in Mesopotamia as well as in the countries to the north-east, though here arrows were sometimes employed. Ezekiel seems to allude to this when he says that the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the ways to use divination: ‘he shook the arrows to and fro, he consulted the tcraphim, he looked in the liver.’ 5 The bundle of rods seems to be shown in the hands of the two statuettes nos. 1 and 2, the second of which may well represent a magus of high rank ; a number of the figures upon the gold plaque (see plates xiii and xiv) also hold it, and attention may be called to the fact that the object held by the deity in the Sassanian rock sculpture, fig. 39, has some resemblance to a bundle of rods. It would be rash to affirm that the vessels held in the hand by several figures have any connexion with the havan used for 1 Mimoire sur F ethnographic de la Perse (Paris, 1866), Ch. de Ujfalvy, Lcs Aryens au Nord et an Slid de F Hindott-Kouch, pp. 329 ff. 5 Hovelacque, as above , p. 425 ; M. Dieulafoy, Suse, p. 393 ; see also note to no. 4S. 3 , Pd/ 38 a)t' fivptKivbw \( 7 rTci>r Sco-firji/ KnTf'xot/Ter, Strabo, xv. 733 ! Rhode, as above , p. 5 ° 9 - * Spiegel, as above, iii. 593, 571. The historian Dinon, quoted by a scholiast to Nicander, says : Mayoi 8 c k at Sicvdat pvpixlvto pavreiovrai £i’Xa>, *ai yap iv noWols ronois pitf 38 ois pavrcvovrai (Frag))!, historic. Grace., vol. ii, p. 91, ed. Didot ; G. Rawlinson, Five Great Monarchies, vol. iii, Media pp. 130, 131). 5 xxi. 21 ; cf. Hosea iv. 12 : ‘ My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them.’ INTRODUCTION XXVll the sacred haoma , 4 nor is it certain that the birds and flowers which others hold are of the nature of offerings. We learn that in later times at least the chief celestial beings each had their colour represented by a flower: thus Ormuzd had red jasmin, and Bahman a white lily, 1 2 but it may be remembered that on the monuments of Persepolis officers of the court and sometimes the king himself are represented as carrying a lotus-like blossom, or an ornament of the same form. Before the time of Zoroaster, the Iranians had worshipped Mithra the sun-god, and a great goddess Anahita, known to the Greeks as Anaitis. 3 4 The worship of the Fig. io. From a relief at Persepolis. (After Flandin and Coste, ii, pi. 95 ) latter was rather obscured in Persia by the official adoption of Zoroastrianism from the time of Darius to that of Artaxerxes Mnemon (404-362 B. C.) ; the latter king brought her cult again into honour, causing her altars and statues to be erected in the principal cities : Babylon, Susa, Ecbatana, Persepolis, Sardis, and Baktra. The inscriptions confirm the statement, for this king is the first to make mention of Mithras and Anahita by the side of Ahuramazda. Her worship would seem to have been derived from that of Ishtar, the great goddess of the Assyrians and Baby- lonians ; 4 and the description of her in the Avesta, as a beautiful young woman 1 Hovelacque, p. 424. - Rhode, as above , p. 477. :i Ed. Meyer, in \V. H. Roscher’s Ausjithrliches Lexikon der griechischen und rbnnschen Mythologie (Leipzig, 1884-1886), article Anaitis , vol. i, cols. 330, 331 ; Herodotus (i. 131) and Berosus compare Anaitis to Aphrodite. The Greeks also assimilated her to the Artemis of the Ephesians, and an ancient description connects her, as goddess of fertilizing waters, with the river Oxus (Meyer, as above , col. 330). 4 For this relationcf. H. Gressmann, Archiv fib' Religions'll isstiischaft, xx ( 1 920), pp 35 fif.and 323ft. xxviii THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS crowned with a diadem ornamented with a hundred stars, is of a stereotyped Babylonian character. She was adored in Asia Minor and Armenia, where a district on the upper Euphrates was called after her, 1 but she never attained the popularity of Mithras in the Graeco- Roman world. We have references to her worship at Ecbatana in Plutarch ( Artaxerxes , 27) and Polybius (x. 27. 12), and at Susa in Pliny (vi. 135); but there appears to be some uncertainty as to the extent to which she can be identified with the Nanaia of Indo-Scythian coins. P'urther remarks on this goddess will be found in the note to no. 103. She is thought to be the subject of a cylinder in the de Clercq collection 1 3 (fig- 9), where she is seen seated on a throne, holding a flower in her hand, and receiving from a worshipper an offering in the form of a dove ; and she may perhaps be represented on the chalcedony cylinder in the Hermitage at Leningrad, where a goddess rising above a lion receives the adoration of a priest or king/ 1 The connexion of Anaitis both with Bactria and Armenia is of interest in connexion with more than one object in the present volume ; some of the gold plaques, which may be of local manufacture, have subjects which could well be connected with her worship (no. 93), and the same is the case with the cylindrical silver box from Armenia (no. 179). Anahita was also a great goddess among the Scythians, representations of her occurring on objects found in the south of Russia. 4 5 The Ardochsho of the Kushan (cf. no. 198), if not the same deity, must also be nearly related. Costume and equipment ; driving and riding. Most of the Iranians on the reliefs at Naksh-i-Rustam and Persepolis wear a similar costume: a long-sleeved skirted coat or tunic fastened by a girdle, long trousers, and boots into which the trousers are often tucked. 6 Each has a hood or cap ( kyrbasia , modern bashlik) with three lappets or flaps ; those on the sides cover the ears, while their ends could be tied under, or across, the chin. 0 This hood was not worn by natives of Armenia and Cappadocia, whose head-dress is of a different form ; the Saka (Scythians) wear pointed caps, sometimes rising very high, though in general their costume is like that worn by Persians. The locus classicus for the Persian hood is in Strabo’s description of 1 Meyer, as above , 332. References to Strabo, Dio Cassius, Pliny, and Procopius. 2 Menant, Glyptique orientate , vol. ii, pi. ix, no. 2 ; Furtwangler, Antike Gemmen. 3 Comptes rendus, 1888, pi. v, fig. 3. * Rostovtzeff, Iranians and Greeks in South Russia, p. 104, and pi. xxiii, fig. 1. 5 The representative Bactrian in one of the throne-supporting groups at Persepolis wears high boots with upturned toes; the Harauvatish and Thatagush have similar footgear (Sarre-Herzfeld Iranische Fclsreliefs , fig. 6 on p. 35). We may compare no. 48 in the present Catalogue (pi. xiv). The costume of Persians in the reliefs of Persepolis is practically identical with that of the Scythians as represented on metal-work made by Greeks in South Russia for Scythian use (Minns, in Cambr. Ancient Hist., ii, p. 197). 0 The bashlik is worn by the king’s attendants (Sarre-Herzfeld, fig. 63 on p. 139; F. Sarre, Die Kunst des alien Persien, pi. 28). It is difficult to discover exactly how it was fastened, for it is hardly ever possible to see any traces of a knot, and in many monuments, especially those produced by Greek artists, such as the Lycian sculptures (British Museum, Cat. of Sculptures, ii, 1900) or the sarcophagi from Sidon (Hamdy Bey and Th. Reinach, Une necropole royale c\ Sidon, pis. xxxii and xxxiii), the band which crosses the chin seems to be -independent of the rest. Cf. figs. 11-14 in the text. INTRODUCTION XXIX the Magi of Cappadocia, 1 and it suffices to prove that the head-dress of a magus was practically identical with that worn by laymen, a fact which emphasizes the common difficulty of distinguishing between the secular and priestly garb among the ancient Persians. Diogenes Laertius says that the garments of the Magi were white, as are those of the Parsi priest to-day, but apart from this difference of colour there does not appear to have been any very conspicuous distinction ; and the higher priests seem to have dressed very like the king. The kyrbasia is seen upon the sculptures of Persepolis 2 and Lycia (fig. 12), upon Graeco-Persian gems, 3 on coins (figs. ] 7, 18), and silversmith’s work (nos. 28, 48, &c., and fig. 16), and almost invariably appears in the numerous Greek representations of Persians. Even if we had not Strabo’s description, the monuments would suffice to convince us that, whatever its origin may have been, as early as the fifth century it was regarded as characteristically Persian. Early accounts describe the Scythian cap as pointed: 4 the Scythian on the Behistun sculptures wears a cap with a very long tapering point ; while the well-known cylinder representing Scythians engaged in combat, 5 and the fine vase from Kul-Oba in South Russia, 6 suggest that the typical Scythian head-dress, if not so high as that seen at Behistun, was at any rate brought to some kind of point and had not the three charac- teristic lappets. A similar hood is seen at Persepolis, worn by a man carrying the bow-case or gorytus , though other figures armed in the same way appear with more upright caps, rather like that of the statuette no. 4, and without either the lappets or the drooping top of the later Persian type. 7 On Greek sculptures and vases, as well as on the satrapal coins, the type with lappets is clearly depicted as worn by noble Persians. Thus in the sculptures of the Nereid monument from Xanthos in Lycia, now in the British Museum, no. 879 shows a satrap wearing it, 8 as does the seated Persian on slab no. 7 of the Tomb of Payava 9 (fig. 12) which bears an inscription of the fourth century referring to Autophradates, satrap of Lydia, who may have governed Xanthos between 375 B.C. and 362 B. c. There are other examples in sculpture and on vases which show how inseparably this head-dress was associated in the 1 Quoted in the note to no. 48. 2 Flandin and Coste, vol. iii, pis. 120 and 136 ; vol. ii, pi. 109, &c. 3 Furtwangler, Antike Getnmen ; examples in the British Museum (Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities), and in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. 4 Herodotus, vii. 64. 6 Furtwangler, as above ; Cunningham 3 , pi. xxi, D ; Kondakov, p. 137, &c. 6 Rostovtzeff, Iranians and Greeks , pi. xxii. 7 Flandin and Coste, vol. ii, pi. 109. 8 British Museum : Catalogue of Sculpture in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, vol. ii (1900), p. 24. 9 British Museum: Catalogue of Sculpttire, as above, pi. xi, and p. 51. A bust (no. 1057 in the same catalogue) in the Mausoleum room, representing a satrap of the princely family of Mausolus, shows the same cap with tied lappets and chin-covering as fig. 14. Fig. ii. Coin of Evagoras II of Salamis in Cyprus. (After Babelon, Perses Achlme- nides, pi. xvii.) XXX THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS Greek mind with Persia in the fifth and fourth centuries, 1 though it must be remembered that, especially in later times, the Greeks represent Persian and Scythian as clothed alike. If we may judge from various coins and monuments, the cap with lappets continued to be used in Persia and Asia Minor through Parthian into Sassanian times, though it differed in various details from the earlier examples. The Parthian variety (fig. 17 b) rises to a stiff point at the top and never covers the chin.- In the Sassanian variety the side-pieces are broader and could not be tied. 11 A passage in Juvenal seems to confirm the survival of the head-dress with lappets through Roman times. 4 He ascribes it to the hierophants of oriental cults, who encouraged female superstition ; and his use of the word Phrygian reminds us of the fact that high caps of soft material have been widely disseminated throughout Asia from the earliest times down to our own. The Phrygian cap, which was to develop so strangely into an emblem of liberty, is but a species of a very large genus: it was employed in Early Christian art to indicate persons like the Magi, the Three Children of Babylon, or Daniel, whom the sacred legend associated with Mesopotamia or the East, and was ac- companied by the tunic and close trousers with which it had always been worn. Sir Alexander Cunningham, in comparing the head-dress of no. 4 with that of a Rajah of Ladak,"’ has merely given an instance of this persistence of types in Asia, which is further exemplified by many caps known to ethnography, especially by those of the various monastic orders in Tibet. Caps or hoods coming well down over the ears and neck have probably been always a necessity in countries of extreme climate, where in summer the heat of the sun is excessive, and icy winds blow constantly in winter. Thus modern travellers have remarked the occurrence of hoods very like the Persian among the Khirgiz-Kazaks in the Russian government of Syr Daria.' 1 There was naturally a difference in the quality and ornamentation of the garments worn by different classes in Persia. The tunics and trousers of the wealthy were brightly striped or embroidered. One reads of noiKiXai avagvpiSes and noXvrtXeis and a w'hole series of Greek works of art illustrate this variegated Persian 1 Lowy, in Jahrbuch des A'. Deutschen Arch. Inst., vol. iii (1SS8), PP- 1 39 ff- ; Studniczka, ibid., vol. vi (1891), pp. 231 ff. 2 British Museum: Catalogue of Parthian Coins, by \V. Wroth, 1903; plates , passim. 3 e.g. Sculptures of Xaksh-i-Rejeb, Flandin and Coste, vol. iv, pi. 1 9 1 . The head-dresses of the earliest Sassanian kings upon the coins have lappets; cf. A. de Longpcrier, Essai sur les m /dailies Acs rois perses de la dynastic Sassanide (Paris, 1840). * Satire vi. 516 Phrygia vestitur bucca tiara. Cunningham 1 , p. 155 and pi. xiii, figs. 5 and 6. G Ch. de Ujfalvy, Expedition scicntijique franpiise on Aussie, t/i Sib// ie el dans le Lauease, vol. ii, p. 28. Fig. 12. A satrap from the tomb of Payava in Lycia. (British Museum, Cata- logue of Sculpt me, ii, pi. xi.) INTRODUCTION XXXI raiment. 1 The great sarcophagi from the necropolis at Sidon may be cited as especially important in this regard, 2 while a fragment from an Attic painted vase 3 dating from the time of Euphronios and Douris, found at Susa, represents a warrior fallen on one knee and wearing striped and spotted gar- ments : probably thegaily-coloured materials were worn b ,r the wealthy, and the common people contented themselves with coarse stuffs or leather. 4 The legs of the trousers on no. 70 are embroidered with a row of birds, which probably indicate that the wearer was a person of consideration, and recall the mention by Quintus Curtins (iii. 3. 8) of hawks upon a royal garment. The Persian noble further wore a sleeved mantle or candy s, which had the peculiarity that the long narrow sleeves were not used but hung loose on either side like the sleeve of a hussar’s jacket (cf. no. 2 and figs. 10, 19, and 12). This also was of bright colour, and Xenophon, who speaks of 7 Top(f>vpovs xavSvs, 5 informs us that the Persian cavalry only put their arms into the sleeves on days of inspection. 0 It may have been originally a Median garment adopted by the Persians and other Iranians ; Justin (xli. 2) remarks that the Parthians wore it. It is represented on the sarcophagus of the satrap at Constantinople, and on the reliefs at Persepolis, 7 and in one case the mode of fastening by cords or lappets over the breast is clearly visible : sometimes it would appear to have been bordered with fur, perhaps that of the beaver (cf. no. 2). It is known that the Persians were especially fond of beaver; the Avesta speaks of beaver-skin garments, 8 and a Graeco-Persian gem is engraved with the slaying of a beaver in the presence of a noble. 9 Low boots laced in front (cf. fig. 13) completed the Persian’s dress. The royal costume 10 1 Xenophon, Anab. i. 5. 8. 2 Hamdy Bey and Th. Reinach, Une necrof olc royale a Sidon ; plates, passim, and pp. 289, 290 ; cf. also the Naples Mosaic representing the battle of Issus (J. Overbeck, Pompeii in seinen Gebauden, Alterthiimern , &c., 4th ed., 1884, pp. 613 ff. ; A. Niccolini, Case di Pompeii, vol. i) ; the Vase of Xenophantos in the Hermitage, Leningrad, Comptes rendus , 1897, pi. iv, and Minns, Scythians and Greeks, p. 343 ; also the examples quoted by Lowy and Studniczka in Jahrbuch des K. Deutsch. Arch. Inst., vol. iii (1888), pp. 139 ff., and vol. vi (1891), pp. 231 ft. 3 E. Pottier, in Gazette des Beaux- Arts, 1902, pp. 29, 31. 4 Spiegel, as above, iii. 659. 5 Anabasis, i. 5. 8. 0 Cyropaedia , viii. 3. 10, 13. 7 e.g. Flandin and Coste, vol. ii, pi. 95 ; Ker Porter, Travels , vol. i, pi. 37. Rawlinson, The Five Great Monarchies, vol. iv (1867), p. 152, describes the fuller sleeved dress worn by the kings as the candys, but this view does not seem to agree with the statements of Xenophon quoted above. Cf. also E. Babelon, Les Perses Acheminides, p. vii. 8 Spiegel, as above, iii. 659. a Furtwangler, Antike Gemmen, iii. 123. 10 Rawlinson, as above, vol. iv (1867), p. 152. c Fig. 13. Head of Darius, from the mosaic at Naples representing the battle of Issus. (After Niccolini, Qjtadro in musaico, pi, v.) XXX11 THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS consisted in great part of the same elements as those composing the dress of ordinary subjects, but the materials were more magnificent. We hear of a purple tunic striped or mixed with white, crimson trousers, and yellow or saffron shoes. The royal mantle had wide sleeves and fell to the ankles; it was of purple often richly embroidered with gold, and that of Darius Codomannus is said to have had on it hawks in combat . 1 On the great Achaemenid monuments the kings are seen not in the Persian but in the Median costume, which is essentially different. The head was covered by the kidaris , either of a plain cylindrical form with flat top, or with sides ridged or fluted and the line of the top dentated . 2 Instead o( tunic and trousers, the Mede wore a great cloak- like garment covering the whole body. The head was passed through a hole cut in the middle, the garment falling on both sides round the feet and ankles . 3 It was then gathered up and girded at the middle, the whole lower part from the waist downwards showing numerous folds, while that above the waist remained smooth. According to Herodotus (i, ch. 135), the Persians adopted the Median costume, because they found it more beautiful than their own, and in the reliefs of Persepolis we find the Parthava similarly clad . 4 The long garment could be gathered up to the knees, and was so treated when the wearer was en- gaged in violent exercise . 5 As we see on the Frieze of Archers from Susa, the stuff might be patterned with rosettes or other motives . 0 The silver statuette, no. 1, represents a king wearing the Median type of costume ; 7 here the tiara is lower than that usually assigned to the king, and the band of gold with incised crenellation is interesting as showing that this form is older in Persia than Sassanian times (see note to no. 1). The crowns of Sassanian kings were symbolical in their design, and that of Sapor I is crenellated in the style of an altar ; but this form of crown goes back beyond the Sassanian period, being seen upon Parthian coins, while the crenellated altar is represented on a relief from Khorsabad. Whether or not this symbolism of the royal tiara existed in Achaemenid times, crenellation of this type certainly did, as the close ’ Cyrus appears to have worn an ordinary candys, but he was only a prince (Xenophon, Cyrofi. viii. 3 and 13). '* On cylinders, the king sometimes wears a low serrated crown; cf. fig. 7. For the royal head- dress see Sarre and Herzfeld, Iranische Felsreliefs, pp. 194-6. 3 Sarre-Herzfeld, as above , p. 51. 4 Ibid., fig. 6 on p. 35. 8 The king, represented in combat with monsters, at Persepolis (fig. 26), wears his garment high, leaving the legs bare. Cf. no. 114 (cylinder). 6 This frieze, decorating the palace of Artaxerxes Mnemon, was excavated by Dieulafoy. 7 Cf. also nos. 22, 38, and 114. Fig. 14. From a sarcophagus at Con- stantinople. (After Hamdy Bey and T. Reinach, pi. xxxii, no. 12.) INTRODUCTION xxxiii examination of the Behistun sculptures has shown (see note to no. i and fig. 40). These crenellated crowns should also be compared with that worn by the female figure, perhaps Anai'tis, on the gold ring (no. 103), which is of the fifth or early fourth century B. c. The costume of the Persian magus seems to have closely resembled that of the layman, so that it is difficult to distinguish the priest from other persons. Both king and nobles habitually wore jewellery, as both the monuments (e. g. figs. 10, 13, and 28) and the literary evidence testify. We hear of ear-rings, collars, and armlets ; and on Achaemenian works of art these details may all be distinguished. Hero- dotus 1 mentions the gold collars and bracelets worn by the Immortals and other Persian soldiers, which formed part of the Greek booty after Plataea. 2 Xenophon frequently notices these ornaments ; in one instance 3 as worn by the Median king Astyages, in another as wedding gifts offered by Cyaxares to his daughter on the occasion of her marriage with Cyrus. 4 The same author ( Oeconomicus , iv. 23) describes the astonish- ment of Lysander when Cyrus, in the royal ^ n , ... .. , „ . c v J J ^ FlG. 15. Detail from relief, Palace of Xerxes, park at Sardis, told him that he had arranged Persepolis. (From a photo by E. Herzfeld.) the whole and planted trees with his own hands : for the Greek envoy could not associate manual labour with the rich attire which he saw before him, or with the splendour of the ornaments on the neck and wrists of the Persian prince (rcor arpenrcoy koll toow rfsfXi'coi' to KaWos). Xenophon further relates that the younger Cyrus presented to Syennesis, king of Tarsus in Cilicia, a golden collar and bracelets with a golden sword and a Persian costume. 5 The same prince, when the baggage-wagons stuck fast in the mud, called upon his nobles to put their shoulders to the wheel, whereupon they threw off their mantles ( candys ) and set to work with a will, some of them resplendent with their collars and bracelets: 0 possibly nos. 117 to 142 may be not dissimilar from the ornaments revealed to the eyes of the Greek upon that day. Of female costume we have a glimpse in the intaglios of two gold rings (nos. 103 and 104), on the box (no. 179, 1 viii. 1 13. 2 ix. 80. 3 Cyropaedia , i. 3. 4 Cyrop. viii. 5. Many of these passages are quoted at length by Odobesco ( Le Tresor de Pelrossa, vol. i, pp. 222 ff.), who also reproduces the Mosaic at Pompeii representing Alexander and Darius at Issus (cf. n. 2 on p. xxxi above), in which the Persian king is seen wearing a penannular collar (see fig. 13) with ends in form of serpents’ heads. 6 Xen. Anab. i. 2. 27. 6 Ibid. i. 5. 8. Were worn by male Scythians in South Russia, see Kondakov, pp. 61, 62 ; Compte rendu , 1883-4, pi. v, fig. 3. The fine gold collars among the gold ornaments from Siberia in the Hermitage at Leningrad show that the ‘ Scythians’ of Asia had the same fashion. XXXIV THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS fig. 19), and some of the gold plaques (e. g. nos. 89 and 93, pi. xv), in all of which it resembles that seen on Graeco- Persian gems. The upper garment with wide seams, at any rate in court circles, seems to have been common to both sexes ; but elsewhere only the women wore it. The fashion of wearing the hair in a long plait down the back must have been general : it may be well seen in the figure of a goddess (perhaps AnaYtis) on a cylinder found in a tumulus ten versts north of Anapa in South Russia. 1 When we consider such personal ornaments as those which form so large a part of the Oxus Treasure, or those which the French have found at Susa, we realize more vividly than by the perusal of written statements how fully justified was the ancient reputation for luxury and magnificence which Persia has maintained throughout the ages. Archaeology has confirmed the tradition to which philosophers and poets have again and again returned, and shown that Persia and her princes were justly famed as the accepted types of worldly splendour. 2 The principal weapons of the Persian, the spear, the sword, and the bow, are all represented upon objects in the collection. Another weapon of offence, the battle-axe, does not occur, and is not mentioned by Herodotus in his description of the Persian equipment ; 3 but the frequency of its appearance in Greek representations of Persian warriors,'* which arc generally marked by accurate observation, makes its existence practically certain. The spear had a socketed head of lozenge or leaf-shape, and those of the king or the royal guard had a globular knob at the butt (no. 114; fig. 28). The sword or acinaces , which was worn on the right side (see nos. 48, pi. xiv, and 70 ; figs. io, 12, and 13), is remarkable for its shortness : Xenophon indeed describes it as a fia^aipa or kottis. It was straight, and the hilt at the end next the blade usually has a heart-shaped termination. 5 The wooden sheath, which in the case of princes or nobles was often covered with plates of embossed gold, 0 had at the upper end a broad lateral extension perforated at the outer extremity ; a projecting loop on the same side lower down ; and at the lower end a chape, also perforated. A cord or thong attaching it to the girdle passed through the first of these perforations and 1 Compte rendu, 1888, Atlas, pi. v, fig. 3. 2 Aeschylus, Persae, 250; I'lato, Atcibiades, 1. 112; Horace, Odes, ii. 12. 21 dives Achaemenes; Spenser, Faery Quecne, Canto iv. 7, ‘ Persia . . . nourse of pompous pride ’. 5 Bk. vii. 61. In ch. 64 of the same book Herodotus mentions the safaris, or battle-axe, as a Scythian weapon. It is curious that this weapon is rare in the Scythian tombs of Southern Russia (Minns, Scythians and Greeks, p. 72). The finest example was found at Kelermes on the Kuban (Rostovtzefif, Iranians and Greeks, pi. viii). 4 For example, on the Sidon sarcophagi (see Hamdy Bey and Th. Reinach, as aberve, Atlas). 5 This peculiarity is shared by the daggers of the Siberian Bronze Age ; cf. Minns, as above, p. 242. It would be interesting to know whether the perished sheaths of these weapons were also of the type above discussed. • Herodotus, ix. 80 ; Xenophon, Anabasis, i. 8. 29. Graeco-Scythian sheaths from Europe were also covered with gold. In the Hermitage are fine examples, one from Kul-Oba (Antiquiles du Bosphore Cimmerien, pi. xxvi, fig. 2), others (fig. 16) from Chertomlyk, north-west of Xicopol ( Compte rendu, 1864, pi. v, fig. 1 ; Recueil d'antiq. scyth., pi. xxxv, fig. 1), and from Kelermes, in the Kuban. For these swords see also Minns, as above, pp. 163 and 202, and M. Rostovtzefif, Iranians and Greeks, pi. viii: Scythian and Persian swords are frequently mentioned by Rostovtzeff and by Minns: see Index in each case. INTRODUCTION XXXV through the loop ; a second cord through the hole in the chape encircled the leg, the object probably being to prevent the sword from dangling, and keep it in an accessible position on the thigh whether the wearer was walking or riding. The episode of the death of Cambyses shows that the unfortunate king was probably wearing a dagger attached in this manner when he met his end in Egypt. ‘ But as he was leaping upon his horse, the chape fell off the scabbard of his sword, and the blade, being exposed, pierced his thigh.’ 1 Such a wound could not have been in- flicted by any long sword, and the passage is of interest as a literary confirmation of archaeological evidence. It may be noted that the mention of a chape which was liable to become detached, again proves the accuracy of the historian, for the short swords of this type seen on the monuments all have chapes, and so have the actual sheaths found in the south of Russia : no. 22 also once had a chape, as the holes at its lower end conclusively show. On the monu- ments, the acinaces is worn by soldiers variously dressed, so that we obtain no definite information as to the probable origin of its peculiar sheath. Some have maintained that it was a Mesopotamian form and transmitted by Persia to the North ; others that it is of northern invention and carried into southern Iran by the Scythians. The former argue that their view is confirmed by the discovery not far from Elizavetgrad of a sheath of this type dating from the early sixth century b.C., and ornamented with monsters and figures of Mesopotamian character. 2 The latter point to the example found at Vettersfelde 3 in Prussia (fig. 31), probably made by a Greek for a Scythian prince in the fifth century. The treasure F,G - l6 - sllort sword from , , , , , , , the tumulus of Chertomlvk, South contains a single acinaccs-sX\ea\.h, the gold example Russia. (After Compte rendu , (no. 22), the genuineness of which was once doubted, >864, v. 12.) 1 Herodotus, iii, c. 64. Attention was first drawn to the archaeological interest in this passage by Dr. E. H. Minns. 2 This sheath, from which figs. 23 and 24 are taken, was discovered in 1763 by General Melgunov, and is now in the Hermitage. It is reproduced by E. H. Minns, Scythians and Greeks , fig. 65 on p. 171 ; there is an electrotype reproduction in the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington. Another sheath with the same kind of ornamentation was found in a kurgan in the Maikop district of the Kuban; it was first described by 15 . Pharmakovsky in the A rchdologischer A nzeiger of the Jahrbuch des K. Deutschen Arch. Inst., 1904, pp. 100, 101, where it is connected with Babylonian-Assyrian art of the seventh-sixth century B. c. 3 A. Furtwangler, Der Gold/und von Vettersfelde (Berlin, 1883). Cf. also Minns, as above , p. 239. 1 -) CM XXXVI THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS but is no longer seriously questioned. For this case the Assyrian reminiscences are even more obvious than those of the Melgunov sheath. The Median short sword or dagger differed in form from the acinaces (cf. fig. io). 1 The bows of the royal body-guard (fig. 28) seen upon the sculptured reliefs at Persepolis and Susa seem rather too large to be anything but of the long-bow type. 2 Herodotus attributes to the Persian archers ro£a pgyaXa ; the Bactrian bows he calls KaXafiiva, by which he may be supposed to mean cane rather than reed, and pre- sumably these would be plain bows. :! Persian archers fighting on foot evidently a Fig. 17. b a. Coin of an unknown ruler b. Coin of Tiridates II of Parthia (see no. 105). (248-210 b.c.). carry long-bows ; Diodorus Siculus describes them as dropping upon one knee to shoot (xvii. 1 15), and Xenophon also (Anab. iii. 4. 17) states that the Persian bows were large. The king on the cylinder (no. 114) carries a bow like those of the archer guard, and his quiver is long and straight, like theirs. But probably mounted archers or huntsmen used the short composite bow, carried in the gorytus , 4 a case holding the bow and its arrows together. The composite bow is strengthened with sinews and plates of horn, and used over all Northern Asia from Anatolia to Japan from ancient to modern times. 6 This variety of bow, which is light, convenient, and extremely powerful, is eminently adapted for use by horsemen, and was invented through the ingenuity of peoples inhabiting countries where suitable wood for the plain long-bow is difficult to obtain. Composite bows have been found in two tombs in Egypt, one of the Nineteenth and the other of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty, and their type in both cases points to a foreign and probably an Assyrian origin. They differ somewhat in shape from the more recent Asiatic type, the changed form of which may have been due to Scythian influence; the Median King Cyaxares sent youths of his 1 See also Sarre-Herzfeld, Iranische Felsreliefs , p. 35. 2 F. Sarre, Die Kunst ties alien Persien , pis. 27 and 3S. The bows, however, are not as long as the English long-bow ; their ends are curled, which suggests that they may represent ‘composite’ bows of unusual size ; but the quivers are not generally associated with bows of composite type. 3 Herodotus, vii. 73. Cf. Sarre-Herzfeld, Iranische Felsreliefs , p. 40. 4 For the gorytus see Minns, Scythians and Greeks, and Rostovtzefif, Iranians and Greeks, Index, s.v. 6 Composite bows are mostly shorter than plain bows (cf. nos. 24, 114, 771) ; for these bows see F. von Luschan, Verhandlungen der Berliner Anthropologischen Gesellschaft, May, 1893 ; H. Balfour, Journal of the Anthropological Institute, xix (1890) and xxvi (1897), pp. 2ioff. ; C. J. Longman, in the same Journal, xxiv (1895), pp. 49 AT., and in Archery (Badminton Library), 1894, pp. 63 ff. The com- posite bow and gorytus are well seen on the electrum vase found at Kul-Oba, near Kerch, and now in the Hermitage (Minns, as above, figs. 93, 94 ; Rostovtzefif, as above, pi. xxii). INTRODUCTION XXX VI 1 nation to the Scythians to be trained in the use of the bow, and in any case the Medes and Persians were familiar with Scythian weapons. The bow used by one of the riders on no. 24 (pi. x) appears to be of the composite type. The Persian soldier protected his body by scale-armour, 1 and with a shield. The latter was oblong, with slightly incurved sides, made of wicker, 2 3 and strengthened by a metal boss. Pausanias in two passages notes its similarity to that of the Celts ; the oblong Scythian shield, well seen on the Greek vase from Kul-Oba, may have been an intermediate link between the two."’ Pig. 18. a. Coin of Pharnabazus, b. Coin of Spithridates, satrap e. Coin of Mallos in N. W. Asia Minor in Ionia (early fourth Cilicia. (about 400 B.C.). century). One of the most interesting objects in the Treasure is the gold model of one of the chariots in which Persian kings or nobles were wont to ride (pi. iv and fig. 20). In Persia, as in Egypt and the great monarchies of Western Asia, the two-wheeled chariot was commonly employed both in war and in the chase; the type with scythes attached to the axles for mowing down the enemy being also used in battle. Xenophon 4 has left descriptions which supplement the knowledge derived from the monuments, though his account of Persian chariots loses by his apparent ignorance of their relation to those long employed in Assyria, of which Jeremiah 5 * speaks: 1 Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind : his horses are swifter than eagles.’ The Persian chariot was formerly best known from the cylinder of Darius in the Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities in the British Museum 0 (fig. 7), from a relief at Persepolis 7 (fig. 22), and from the above-mentioned mosaic representing the battle of Issus from Pompeii. 8 The Oxus Treasure contained two 9 models which supply 1 Herodotus, iii. 61. For examples of scale-armour used by Scythians see Minns, as above, and Rostovtzeff, as above, Index, s.v. armour. 2 Herodotus, iii. 61. 3 Bk. viii, c. 50 ; x, c. 19. Rostovtzeff, as above, pi. xxii ; Minns, as above, fig. 93. The shields seen on the gold comb from the tumulus of Solokha may also be compared (Rostovtzeff, pi. xix). 4 Cyropacdia, vi. I. 27. 5 iv. 13: cf. also Nahum iii. 2. r ’ No. 89,132. 7 F. Sane, Die Kunst des alien 1'ersicn, pi. 26 ; Flandin and Coste, vol. ii, pi. 105; Peirot and Chipiez, vol. v. So;, 40S. “ Cf. the references in n. 2 on p xxxi above, and others in O. X uoffer, Der Re n mo age n ini Altertum, p. 61 (Leipzig, 1904). 9 One, no. 7 of the present volume, the other in the possession of the Earl of Lytton, reproduced by General Cunningham, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. 1 (1S81), pi. xii ; and Kondakov, xxxviii THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS valuable additional information in several matters of detail ; for though technical exigencies have caused slight alterations in the treatment of individual parts, the fact that everything is executed in the round is a great advantage for the purpose of accurate study. The Persian chariot is the direct descendant of the later Assyrian form, and that seen on the cylinder of Darius (fig. 7) approaches very closely to the Assyrian type, a fact which seems to justify its attribution to Darius son of Hystaspes rather than to a later king. The later Assyrian type is marked by its greater capacity, enabling it to carry as many as four persons, and by its generally massive character. This is shown in the increased size of the wheels, now almost the height of a man, and in a corresponding increase in the height of the car offering a greater protection to the occupant. The form upon the cylinder is rectangular, like that of the Elamite chariot on a relief from Kouyunjik in the British Museum, and the tires are studded with nails as are those of Ashurbanipal in the same relief, though these nails are here placed at wider intervals than in the Oxus model. The Persian chariot under the later Achaemenian princes had simpler harness and trappings than those in use in Mesopotamia, and dispensed with the vertical support connecting the front of the car with the yoke in order to give greater stability when passing over rough ground. The Tolstoi, and Reinach, p. 337, fig. 29S. Fig. 21 is a truer representation of Lord Lytton’s chariot in its actual state, for in General Cunningham’s illustration, and in Kondakov’s which follows it, a wheel has been added from the evidence of a coin ; while the horse which is shown belonged to the General him- self, not to the Earl of Lytton, and is now in the present collection (no. 8). INTRODUCTION xxxtx use of four horses driven abreast had now come into fashion, and the literary evidence which we derive from the description of chariots of more than two 1 is confirmed both by the Naples mosaic, where Darius Codomannus is seen flying from the field in a quadriga, and by our own gold model: the sacred chariots used in ceremonial pro- cessions at this time were drawn by as many as eight horses . 2 There was also a tendency to an increase in the number of spokes, the chariot on the Persepolitan relief having twelve, like the Elamite exam- ple at Kouyunjik, that of the Naples mosaic ten or twelve, and our gold model nine; on the other hand, the chariot of the cylinder retains the eight spokes which were the rule in Assyria. More than one of the Persian developments point westward to Syria and Ionia: thus the employment of four horses instead of a pair seems to have been intro- duced from Syria, or the regions under Syrian influence ; and the four-horsed chariots on Assyrian monuments belong not to Assyrians but to Canaanites . 3 The hand- hole cut out of the side at the back of Lord Lytton’s model (fig. 20), and intended to assist the charioteer in mounting, is a Syrian or Ionian substitute for the handle projecting vertically from the edge, which is usual in Assyria . 4 The small size of the horses in the Persian chariots, so unexpected in the land of the great Nisaean steeds , 5 is also a feature of certain chariot models from Cyprus which belong to the Syrian cultural province . 0 And finally, the expanding of the spokes midway into bulbs or knobs in the chariot of the Persepolitan relief and the Naples mosaic, seems also to be characteristic of Western Asia, being found upon Phoenician coins of the fourth century. The costume of the men on the relief who are bringing this chariot as a part of their tribute is almost in the Greek style, and also suggests that they come from a country where Greek influence was strong . 7 The general conclusion is that, though the Persian chariot derives in the main from that of late- Assyrian times, it received various modifications introduced principally from the Syrian area and possibly to a less degree from Ionia . 8 If we turn now to a more particular examination of the Oxus chariot, we may notice one or two points which call for special remark. The yoke is straight and rather clumsy, neither hollowed nor bent for the reception of the horses’ necks : the long continuous form would appear to be exceptional, as in four- horsed chariots the horses seem as a rule 1 Nuoffer, p. 70. 2 Herodotus, vii. 40. 3 Nuoffer, p. 50. 4 Ibid., p. 67. 6 Herodotus, as above ; Strabo, xi. 527. 6 Nuoffer, pp. 75, 21, and 47. 7 Ibid. , p. 60. 8 Ibid., p. 84. Fig. 20. Back view of no. 7. THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS to have been harnessed in pairs with two smaller yokes. 1 The vertical projecting orna- ments terminating in reversed crescents which rise from the yoke betwcecn the horses’ necks is an interesting survival from the Assyrian harness. 2 Attention may also be drawn to the top-knots between the horses’ ears, which in their various forms replace the Assyrian plumes ; and to the termination of their tails in single wires, possibly suggesting the knots of ribbon with which, again in imitation of the Assyrian fashion, Fig. 21. Gold model chariot belonging to the Earl of Lytton (two views). the Persian horse was bedecked. In the chariot itself may be noted the projecting studs upon the tires, not placed contiguously, as in Assyria, but spaced out as on the cylinder of Darius ; and also the ornament of two bands in saltire engraved on the front. These may be a reminiscence of the crossed quiver-like cases for weapons which in the earlier Assyrian and Egyptian chariots served a practical purpose in war : the saltire bands on the side of the chariot on the cylinder may have the same origin. 2 The hatched ornament engraved on the bottom of the car may be intended to represent the groundwork of crossed thongs on which, as we learn from the chariot preserved at Florence, the Egyptian charioteer actually stood. 4 Another special point of interest about the two models is the division of the interior by a long seat, bisecting the car longitudinally, on which the principal occupant is seated facing sideways. It is probable that chariots so arranged, and, like both of these, open at the back, were only used for peaceful excursions and not for battle or the pursuit of wild beasts. The war chariot and the hunting chariot were naturally closed at the back : Xenophon (Cyrop.x i. 4. 9) speaks of a door ; and Darius upon the cylinder seems to be supporting himself against the back as he stands to shoot the lion. 5 Finally, we may note that of the two occupants the prince or satrap is represented as very much bigger than his driver, according to the primitive device which seeks to render distinctions of rank by representing the important persons on a larger scale than the rest. It has been suggested by Studniczka that when Xenophon, in his account of a ceremonial pro- cession of Cyrus the Great ( Cyrop . viii. 3. 14), remarks the manner in which the king towered above his tall driver, he is basing his description upon some work of art in which this characteristic convention has been employed. 0 1 Nuofler, p. 92. ' l Ibid., p. 70. 3 Ibid ., p. 69. * /bid., p. 65. 5 Ibid., p. 67. 6 /bid., p. 57. INTRODUCTION xli It will be gathered from what has preceded that this gold model is not merely a trinket, but a work of sufficient importance to justify a rather long digression. With its companion in Lord Lytton’s possession, it is the only contemporary representa- tion of a Persian chariot executed in the round, and can therefore throw light upon certain details of construction which reliefs and pictorial representations do not make quite clear. Doubtless it deviates from the accepted type in certain particulars. such as the over-narrow felloes of the wheels, and the manner in which the shafts are attached to the axle : but these are unimportant aberrations to be explained by the use of slender gold wire, and they in no way detract from the fidelity with which the whole object has been produced. Bearing upon it legible marks of its descent and its place in the evolution of oriental chariot-building, the model affords corroborative evidence of the Achaemenid date assigned to other objects in the treasure. In riding, the Persians, like the contemporary Greeks, used neither saddles nor stirrups, and as a rule mounted by giving each other a ‘ leg up Among the Greeks, who usually leaped upon their horses, the less arduous method was known as ‘ the Persian fashion’ j 1 and if through age or illness a man required a permanent ‘mounter’, he recognized that he was following the custom of the country where satraps considered it a privilege to lift the Great King upon his steed . 2 The 1 For mention of the Persian fashion see Xenophon, Anabasis iv. 4. 4, Hipparch. i. 17, Cyropaeiiia vii. I. 38 ; Arrian, i. 15 ; 8, iv. 13. 1. 2 Xenophon’s Treatise on Horsemanship (Ilfpi InmKris) is the best source of information on these points, and from chaps. 6 and 7 the absence of saddles and stirrups may be inferred with certainty. Several interesting facts with regard to the subject will be found in H. C. Dakyns’ edition of Xenophon, vol. iii, notes to the Treatise. xlii THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS only substitute for a saddle was a saddle-cloth, often ornamented with embroidery 1 and fringes (cf. no. 24), while stirrups did not come in until Parthian or perhaps Sassanian times (see below, p. Ixviii). 2 The Art of the Treasure. i. Persian. Achaemenid art on the monumental scale, like that of the older monarchies, was created for the glory of the Great King, regarded almost as a divine being. When the Persian empire was established on political principles similar to theirs, its art of necessity borrowed from earlier sources. We know too little of Median art to trace the whole indebtedness of Persia in this quarter. The Medes had themselves borrowed from their predecessors in power, and when Cyrus took over their political institutions he probably succeeded at the same time to their artistic heritage. Mede and Persian alike drew their chief inspiration from Assyria, and thus from the older Mesopotamian civilizations by which that monarchy was itself inspired. Other elements they derived from Hittite culture, from Ionia, from Egypt, and perhaps from the Vannic kingdom of Urartu. 3 Greek example may 1 On one of the Sidon sarcophagi a Persian hunter’s saddle-cloth shows affronted lion-gryphons on a red ground (Hamdy Bey and Reinach, Une NIcropole royale a Sidon, p. 303). 2 In the south of Russia stirrups have been found in Sarmatian graves, but not in the earlier tumuli of Scythian origin (Rostovtzeff, as above , p. 121). 3 For Urartu see Cambridge Ancient History, iii (1925), ch. viii by A. H. Sayce, and ch. i by Sidney Smith, pp. 19, 20; C. F. Lehmann-Haupt, Armenien Einst und Jetzt, and articles in Mittheilungen der Vorderasiatischen Gesellschaft, 1916, pp. 1 19-51, and in Klio, xv, pp. 439, 440; E. Herzfeld in Janus, I : Festschrift zuin sechzigsten Geburtstag von C. F. Lehmann-Haupt (on bronze objects from Van), and in Der Islam, xi, pp. 133-4. While most authorities regard the art of Urartu as chiefly derived from that of Assyria, Herzfeld would assign it a more original status, especially as regards the working of metals : he draws attention to the great booty in objects of precious metal taken by Sargon at Musasir in 715 E.c. ; the royal inscriptions mention statues and vessels of gold, silver, and Fig. 23. Figures on the Melgunov sheath, from S. Russia. (Cf. Minns, Scythians and Greeks, pp. 17 1-3.) Fig. 24. Detail from the Melgunov sheath. (Cf. fig. 23.) INTRODUCTION xliii have contributed to the treatment of the drapery in Persian art, which is freer than that seen in Assyrian reliefs, but its influence was superficial ; it did not affect the fundamental character of the art. Created thus as the result of an immediate political need, instead of developing slowly by a natural process of growth, the monumental art of the new Empire was a compendium, or abstract, of older and more organic arts; it -was from the first an official creation, with much of the coldness and formality which the word suggests ; it had no youth, and as a whole it came to an end with the politi- cal system which it served. Imposed from above, not rising from the ground of natural creative impulse, it lacked the most essential conditions of greatness ; yet in its own way it was great. In power it was inferior to the art of Assyria, which not even the exacting service of a Court could rob of its stern vitality . 1 It knew nothing of the intimate and human quality which informed a national art like that of the Greeks. But a feeling for order, majesty, and splendour cannot be denied to the men who built and decorated Persepolis and Susa ; in palatial architecture this art reached its culminating point. The Persian objects in the Oxus treasure are under the immediate influence of this imperial system. Though they represent a minor art, they have none of the familiar or lively characteristics apt to mark lesser work in countries where a feeling for art is widely diffused. A popular art may have existed in ancient Persia, but if so, as in the case of Assyria, it has left few traces, and is ill represented here . 2 The goldsmiths who made these objects worked under the same shadow as the sculptors of Naksh-i-Rustam and Persepolis. We see, upon the diminutive scale, forms no less Fig. 25. Cheek-piece of a bit in the British Museum. {Man, 1917, no. 1.) bronze, objects encrusted with gold and gems, objects of ivory and ebony. The influence of Assyria and perhaps also of Urartu spread northwards to the Caucasus ; metal objects not Assyrian, but with reminiscences of Assyrian art, seem to belong to this area; fig. 25 reproduces a cheek-piece ( psalion ) of a horse’s bit, now in the British Museum (cf. C. H. Read, Man, 1917, no. 1). North of the Caucasus this influence is shown by grave-finds in the Kuban and South Russia, notably those from Kelermes (p. lviii) and from the barrow, not far from Elizavetgrad, excavated by Melgunov (cf. figs. 23, 24, and see Minns, Scythians and Greeks, p. 1 71). 1 Persian imitative methods produced no such masterpieces as the hunting-scenes from the palace of Ashurbanipal, now in the British Museum. 2 In Assyria there is a like absence of the intimate and human element, perhaps in this case explained by the presence of a Semitic population generally unresponsive to art. In Iranian Persia, a country often distinguished in the arts, it is more surprising ; and Elam, the neighbouring land on the west possessed, before its conquest by Assyria, an ancient art in which the human element occasionally appears (L. Legrain in vol. xvi of the Mem. de la Mission arch, en Perse : Mission e n Susiane. Cf. pis. xii and xvi). xliv THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS grave and remote from lesser human interests than those of the reliefs upon the royal tomb and palace. There are divinities, or divine emblems, kings, priests, and the monstrous creations of Mesopotamian fancy; action is royal and ceremonial ; certain sub- jects at once suggest their religious or cere- monial character: e. g. pi. ii, nos. I and 4; pi. xii, nos. 33, 34 ; pi. xiii, nos. 2 and 38 ; pis. xiv and xv ; pi. xvi, nos. 104. 105 ; pi. xxi, nos. 34, 35. Mesopotamian mytholo- gical fancy appears in the gryphons of no. 116 on pi. i, those of the armlet, no. 131 on pi. xviii, and that of the Scythic ornament, no. 23 ; we find it also in the winged lion and sphinxes of pi. xii, in the winged bull, no. 105, and the lion, no. 109 on pi. xvi. Royal prowess in war and peace is illustrated by no. 22 on pi. ix and no. 114 on pi. xvi ; it is suggested by no. 18 on pi. viii, and by the heads of lions and wild goats on the various armlets of pis. xvii-xx. The ring (no. 106) recalls capitals in the royal palace of Persepolis. Fig. 26. Relief at Persepolis ; combat between All these things point to aspects of life far king and monster. (After l landin and from the pleasures and occupations of the plain man in his home or during his private hours. The general character may perhaps be explained if we suppose some objects to have been votive, others made for royal persons to whom their style may have been considered appropriate. Here and there, indeed, we find traces of simplicity and freedom from re- straint. Animals are sometimes naturally treated, as in pis. vi, xi, xiii, xxi ; the human figure, no. 3 on pi. ii, appears to be engaged in some action of ordinary life ; the model chariot, no. 7 on pi. iv, for all its suggestion of war, has a certain lightness of touch. Yet, when all is said, this art as a whole is lacking in the genial and intimate associa- tions which we find, for example, in the minor art of the Greeks. 1 The ring, no. 101 on pi. xvi, in which Greek influence is paramount, alone suffices to mark the distance by which the two are separated. Various technical methods are exemplified in the treasure ; some objects are cast, others beaten or embossed, others, again, punched or engraved. But the most in- teresting process employed is that of inlaying gold with flat stones, usually those of a blue colour, like turquoise, the stones being either confined by applied cloisons, or embedded in cavities cut in the metal base. There is reason to believe that this kind of work, commonly described as orfevrerie cloisonnde , originated in the nearer East, and that its greatest development in Asia took place in Achaemenid Persia. It is noted in the Catalogue that the penannular armlet (no. 1 1 7), the ends of which 1 And, at a later time, in the earliest Indian sculpture. INTRODUCTION xlv were once enriched with inlaid stones, is of the same kind as those discovered at Susa by the French delegation. The assumption is that the fashion came into Persia from the Euphrates valley, in the same way as the employment of brightly glazed bricks. 1 In both cases the aesthetic principle is the same ; the effect, both on the large scale and on the small, is produced by strongly contrasted flat colours sharply distinguished. 2 From Assyria and Persia orfevrerie cloisonnde entered the Scythic countries, across the Caucasus in the West, and the Oxus in the East. Greek influence upon the minor arts of the earlier Achaemenid period was hardly more pronounced than in the case of greater sculpture. 3 It is seen in the improvement of gem-engraving, which was more finely executed, and often in a freer style, than under the earlier monarchies: the scaraboid gem, no. 113, if not by a Greek, owes its character to Hellenic influence. 4 We know that Greek artists worked at the Persian Court, and among the Greeks deported to Persia there may have been craftsmen who left successors in the country of their exile. 5 As a rule, the Greeks who Fig. 27. Capital, Persepolis. (After Flandin and Coste.) 1 The Ishtar gate at Babylon was decorated in the time of Nebuchadnezzar (604-561) in coloured glazed brick, the technique being the same as that of the famous frieze of royal archers discovered at Susa (R. Koldewey, Excavations at Babylon, 1914). 2 In the first edition of this Catalogue (pp. 24 ff.), and in an article in Archaeologia (lviii, 1902, pp. 237 ff.), the present writer, following the lines suggested by de Linas, argued that inlaid jewellery must have come into Persia through Assyria, the original home of the method having been Egypt. Egyptian invention is still a possibility, and the use of the method in Assyria is proved by certain Nimrud ivories in which Egyptian influence appears (fig. 29) ; but perhaps Babylonian or Sumerian claims deserve further consideration. The practice of inlaying flat coloured stones in gold was so widespread and so continuous in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Persia, and the influence of these countries on the North Iranian and Scythic areas became so well established, that it seems an inversion of proba- bility to ascribe it to a Central Asian origin. Inlaying was practised in the Vannic kingdom of Urartu ; figures of man-headed bulls from Van in the British Museum have inlaid wings ; but it seems more likely that Urartu should have borrowed the practice from Assyria than vice versa. 3 There is little evidence in the treasure of any effective influence from such early Ionian jewellery as that found during the excavation of the Artemision at Ephesus (D. G. Hogarth and others, Excavations at Ephesus ; the archaic Artemisia, British Museum, 1908). Small ivory carvings found with the jewellery show more affinity to Scythic than to Persian art ; e.g. the couchant ibex and the boar (Hogarth, p. 163, no. 23 ; and pis. xxi. 5 and xxiii. 2. Cf. Minns, Scythians and Greeks, p. 260). But the Ephesus jewellery contained small repousse gold plaques for sewing on garments, thus illustrating a fashion common to Crete, Ionian Greece, and Asia (cf. the present Catalogue, nos. 26 ff.). The Ephesus finds are ascribed to a period father before 700. 4 It should be remembered, however, that some of the Assyrian cylinders are of fine workmanship. 6 The Community of the Branchidae, placed by Xerxes in Sogdiana, consisted both of men and xlvi THE TREASURE OE THE OXUS FlG. 28. Archer of the guard, on the glazed brick frieze from Susa in the Louvre. (After Dieulafoy, Suse, pi. vii.) were in contact with barbarians sought to attract them by making objects of the forms affected by barbaric taste and reproducing upon them the subjects familiar to the purchasers. * 1 Thus they did not impose their will, but conformed to the customer’s desire ; and as long as they preserved this attitude their influence could not be directive. A few ornamental motives, however, penetrating Hither Asia from the Ionian littoral were adopted by Iranians, and appear upon objects oriental both in form and subject ; the border of the sheath (no. 22) is an example of such percolation. Greek art did not obtain any commanding position in the interior of Asia until after the expedition of Alexander (cf. p. lx below). Smaller objects of Persian character travelled far beyond the borders of the Empire. They found their way to the north of the Caspian ; graves in the Orenburg region dating from the sixth century and later have yielded Persian antiquities. 2 3 They penetrated even further to the north ; it is noted on another page (p. liii) that gold ornaments of Achaemenid style wefe discovered in barrows in Western Siberia (p. 1 ). ii. Scythic. Among the objects of Achaemenid Persian origin forming the bulk of the treasure are a few ornaments representing the art most conveniently described as Scythic or Scytho- Siberian. 1 It is not necessary for our present purpose to multiply facts with regard to the tribes styled by the Persians and Indians Saka (Qaka), by the Greeks Scyths (ZkvOcu) ; but some of the more essential must be mentioned, in order to explain the intrusion of ornaments created by this northern art among antiquities from Southern Iran. women, and was flourishing at the time of Alexander (Ouintus Curtius, vii. 5. 28-35). Darius had established Barcaeans in Bactria (W. W. Tarn, Journ. of Hell. Studies, x\ii, p. 269). 1 Cf. Furtwiingler, Antike Gernmen , iii, p. 117, and the Graeco- Persian cylinders and scaraboid gems from South Russia (Minns, Scythians and Greeks , p. 410). 2 Rostovtzeff, Iranians and Greeks, pp. 122-4. 3 Electrotypes of Scythic gold ornaments from South Russia may be seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington. A few small gold plaques from Kul-Oba are in the British Museum, Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities (Catalogue of feivellery , by F. H. Marshall, 1911, nos. 2104-7, pi. xl). INTRODUCTION xlvii The general terms Scyth, Saka, and (Jaka were used to denote the great groups of nomadic tribes holding the steppes of Central Asia and Southern Russia from the borders of China to the Carpathians. The Greeks knew them best through the Ionian and Milesian colonies on the shores of the Black Sea, the Persians through their northern satrapies of Bactria and Sogdiana. Both Greeks and Persians could distinguish a certain number of Scythic tribes ; Herodotus has recorded names Fig. 29. Ivory inlaid with lapis lazuli from Nimrud, in the British Museum. ( A}-chaeologia , lviii, p. 246.) learned by adventurous Greek traders ; the cuneiform inscriptions of Darius at Naksh-i-Rustam and Persepolis name for us certain groups which were brought into allegiance to the Persian Empire . 1 But the great body of nomadic tribes ranging the steppes between the Altai and the Ural mountains was really unknown to the civilized nations of antiquity. The ethnological position of the Scythians is difficult to determine. Whatever the parent stock, by the time they first appeared in history they must have been a mixed race, to the making of which Uralo-Altaic and Iranian elements contributed their respective shares. They spoke an Iranian dialect, but there was probably a non-Iranian strain in their blood ; the description of Hippocrates , 2 who studied their physical characteristics, certainly suggests Mongolian affinities. It is impossible to localize with precision the tribes mentioned 1 Sarre and Herzfeld, Iranische Felsreliefs , pp. 18 ff. 2 Ilfpi depa>i>, 24-30. D xlviii THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS by Herodotus upon the evidence of Aristeas. Those of ‘ Scythia ’ itself (the name given to the south of Russia) were naturally best known, through their neighbourhood to the Greek colonies on the Euxine. As to the tribes of the steppes east of the Urals and the Caspian a conjectural arrangement is possible, though the record cd names are probably Greek versions of very different native originals ; the reader may consult the maps inside the covers of Minns, Scythians and Greeks , which suggest the approximate positions (cf. also his chapters iii-v). The names which appear in FlG. 30. Cold fish from Vettersfelde. (After F urtwangler, Der Gold/und von Vet/ersfeldc.) the inscriptions of Darius must represent large groups of tribes ; of these the nearest to the Bactrian frontier were the Saka tigrakhauda (Scyths wearing pointed caps), whose range should in part coincide with that of the Massagetae of Herodotus . 1 Early in the seventh century B. C. Scythians had passed south of the Caucasus, and pressed westward into Russia. But their historic invasion of Asia Minor took place in the later part of this century, when, according to Herodotus, they dominated 1 The history and antiquities of the Scythians can best be studied in the following books, in which references to other works will be found : full bibliographies are given in the first three mentioned : E. H. Minns, Scythians and Greeks (Cambridge, 1913) ; M. RostovtzefiT, Iranians and Greeks in South Russia (Oxford, 1 92 1 ), and Scythia and the Bosphorus (Leningrad, 1925) ; M. Ebert, Siidruss/and im Altertum (Bonn and Leipzig, 1921) ; G. Borovka, Scythian Art (London, Benn Brothers, 1926) ; Kondakov, Tolstoi, and Reinach, Antiquitcs de la Russie meridionale (Paris, 1891). The chapter by E. H. Minns in Cambridge Ancient History (iii, ch. ix) provides an excellent summary. All the passages relating to the Scythians in Greek and Roman writers were collected and published by V. V. Latyshev in the Zapiski (Transactions) of the Russian Archaeological Society, St. Petersburg, 1890-1904. The Chinese references are translated by E. H. Parker in The China Review , vols. xxi-xxv. The Persian inscriptions at Behistun will be found in L. W. King and R. C. Thompson, The Sculptures and Inscriptions of Darius the Great , 1907. The most important passages in Herodotus and Strabo are as follows: Herodotus i. 6, 15, 16, 103-6, 153,201-16; ii. 103; iii. 93, 1 1 6 ; iv. 1-144; vi. 40; vii. 64. Strabo i. 1-3; ii. 5, 7 ; vii. 1-4; xi. 1, 2, 6-8; xiii. 4, 8; xiv. 1, 40. Diodorus Siculus treats of the Scythians in his Second Book. These authors are not original sources, Herodotus drawing his information from Aristeas of Proconnesos, whom he places about 680 B. c., Strabo depending upon Herodotus, Ephorus, Eratosthenes, and later authors. (Cf. Minns in Cambr. Ancient Hist, iii, p. 718.) INTRODUCTION xlix this region for twenty-eight years . 1 In the sixth century, when the great tide of invasion had ceased to flow, a vast Scythic zone extended from East to West to the north of the lands and seas of the Greeks and Persians who were now in permanent contact with the nomadic tribes. We find the commercially-minded Greeks assiduously trading with the Scyths of the rich plains in Southern Russia , 2 and the great kings including in the Persian armies those of the regions east of the Caspian . 3 Fig. 31. Gold sheath found at Vettersfelde. (After Furtwangler.) 1 H. R. Hall, Ancient History of the Near East , 6th ed., p. 512. The Scyths overran the Assyrian Empire and even pushed as far as Egypt. In the sixth century they were politically subjected by the Medes and Persians; in parts of Armenia and Eastern Anatolia they represented an important element in the population down to much later times. 2 Rostovtzeff, in Iranians and Greeks, describes the establishment by the Scythians of South Russia of a state rich in corn and live stock, and able to expend large sums of money on foreign goods. 3 Cyrus and Darius alike failed to win a decisive victory when they invaded Scythic territory, the former perhaps attacking to the east of the Caspian, his successor in South Russia. Some of the Scyths from the region of the Syr Daria were regarded as Persian vassals from the time of Darius, and fought in the armies next to their Bactrian neighbours (Herodotus vii. 64, and cf. Sarre-Herzfeld, as above ) ; the Scyths of South Russia were never conquered by the great kings. They are described by Darius as Saba Taradaraya (dwellers beyond the sea, i.e. the Caspian and Euxine). For the Saka as known to India see E. J. Rapson, in Cambridge History of India, i, p. 564. THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS Relations with the tribes occupying different parts of this zone remained for centuries a source, now of preoccupation, now of profit, to Persian, Greek, and Roman. Those with the Scythians of Russia, at the western end of the zone, were of longest duration ; they were not interrupted when the first invaders were overcome in the fourth and third centuries 1 !. C. by fresh tribes from the Asiatic steppes. The new-comers, known as Sarmatians , 1 were probably set in motion by Mongolian pressure from the east. They reached the Don, and perhaps occupied the Kuban valley, in the latter part of the fourth century, making a further advance, and taking the country between the Don and Dnieper, in the century following ; they seem to have belonged to the same great ethnical division as the Scythians whom they displaced ; they certainly practised a kindred art. The Sarmatians dominated the south of Russia for about four hundred years, when the arrival of the more powerful Goths from the Baltic area placed them in a position of inferiority. The part of the Scythic zone to the north of the Oxus was disturbed by foreign invasion at an earlier date. In the second century B. C. the Saka about the Jaxartes were in great part 2 thrust south into Bactria by the Yiieh Chi from the East, afterwards known, from their principal tribe, as the Kushan (p. lxii). In a few decades they were driven still further south into Seistan, whence they finally advanced into the Indus valley (p. lxii). Intruders must now have controlled the steppes north of the Oxus, and the continuity of the o'd relations with Persia may have been interrupted . 3 From the Persian cuneiform inscriptions, and the recorded statements of Greek travellers, we learn that the Scythic tribes were formidable in war and possessed of much gold, largely employed in the adornment of their persons and their horses ; the description of Scythic manners and customs in Herodotus is of high interest. But the Greeks are silent as to the manner in which these objects were fashioned and adorned ; doubtless to them Scythic ornament was the work of simple barbarism. All the greater was the surprise when archaeology, substituting scientific research for the tomb-plundering of the eighteenth century, gradually made known in our own times the existence of a most remarkable art, an art which in the eyes of modern criticism possesses an originality, a power of interpreting impression, and a decorative sense, in which Hellenistic art itself was often inferior. The long-continued investiga- tions of Russian scholars, chiefly in the south of their country, but also in regions 1 The name Sarmatian may originally have belonged to a loose confederation. Sarmatian tribes known to us included the Alans, Roxalans, Iazyges, Aorsi, and Siraci (Rostovtzefif, Iranians and Creeks , p. 1 14). Polybius mentions the Sarmatians as the enemies of the Scythians occupying the Crimea in 179. The long survival of the latter in this region was due to the fact that when the Sarmatians reached the Danube they came into contact with the Roman Empire, which now diverted their attention from their former adversaries. When the Goths moved westward at the time of the great migrations many Sarmatians joined them, accompanying them in their movement across Europe. ! A residue may well have fled to the north and joined other Saka in West Siberia, with which region, as archaeology shows, they must have long maintained relations (p. lii). These Siberian Saka may well have belonged to the Sarmatian group, having themselves diverged northwards under the earlier Mongolian thrust which caused the main body to invade Russia. 3 If the breach of continuity was complete, we have a further reason for assigning a relatively early date to the Scythic objects in the treasure (cf. p. lix). INTRODUCTION n further to the north and east, have enriched the Hermitage Museum with Scythic collections the splendour and arresting quality of which astonish every visitor seeing them for the first time. Their excavations and published Reports provide a noteworthy example of the manner in which archaeology is able to fill gaps in knowledge which history has left untouched . 1 The light shed by the comparative study of this abundant material has revealed a homogeneous Scythic culture diffused over the whole vast area from the Dobruja and the Carpathians to the Yenisei and beyond. The recognition of this uniformity soon discredited the old belief that the steppes of Siberia were a barrier or obstacle defended by nature and wild men, and impermeable to the passage of civilized influences; in quite recent times the discoveries of expeditions attached to that of Kozlov in northern Mongolia 2 have proved that, thanks to the coherence of the Scythic tribes, Greek motives from the colonies on the South Russian coast were still transmitted to these far regions about the beginning of our era, and were even imitated by local craftsmen in other materials by different technical methods. But these discoveries do more than reveal the accessibility of Siberia to Western influence from the Black Sea to North Mongolia. The presence of numerous Chinese objects, notably figured silk textiles, proves their site to have been upon, or near, a northerly trade-route to China, the existence of which has been inferred by various scholars from previous archaeo- logical evidence . 3 This evidence was abundant for the time of the Han dynasty, within the duration of which these new Mongolian dis- coveries fall. During this period Sarmatian culture widely affected Chinese life in various directions, notably in military matters . 4 The Chinese now equipped their cavalry after the Sarmatian manner, and adopted the long Sarmatian sword with jade guard and pommel . 3 In the ornament of this equipment they were also imitative, making 1 The early publications of the Imperial Archaeological Commission were of the greatest value in making the nature of Scythic art known to the world, and the Russian Archaeological Society has produced work of equal quality. Minns, in the bibliography prefixed to his Scythians and Greeks , gives a list of the publications, and in reproducing illustrations from their pages gives in each case a reference to the volumes from which they are severally derived. 2 Comptes rendus des expeditions pour F exploration dn Nord de la Mongolie rattachdes a F expedi- tion Mongolo-Tibitaine de P. A'. Kozlov , Leningrad, 1925. In this publication the article of greatest interest to the student of art-history is that of G. Borovka (pp. 23-40), accompanied by seventeen photographic illustrations, with seven added plates at the end of the book. 3 This route was complementary to the southern route through Chinese Turkestan, as to which so much has been learned from the well-known discoveries of Sir Aurel Stein, and of German and French explorers. 4 See M. Rostovtzeff, Iranians and Greeks , pp. 203 ff., and his article entitled South Russia and China in Arethuse, April 1924. He gives a bibliography, containing the titles of works by B. Laufer and others, dealing with the question. s Rostovtzeff, Iranians and Greeks, p. 204. Fig. 32. Bronze plaque from the Kuban. ( Compte rendu, 1879, p. 136.) lii THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS for their own use plaques for belts and horse-trappings which reproduce Sarmatian forms. Two such plaques found in a Han grave, near the Great Wall in northern China, are now in the Metropolitan Museum at New York j 1 one has a slain horse, re- miniscent of the Siberian plaques described immediately below, the other a horse attacked by two beasts of prey. Ornaments imported from Siberia were treasured in China; no. 191 in the present volume appears to be the original of an illustration in an old Chinese archaeological work (see under no. 19 1). These loans on the part of China from her western neighbours in no way affected the individuality of her national art. Like earlier loans from Scythic peoples under the Chou dynasty their effect was but incidental, introducing motives only, and not changing the essential character of Chinese art as a whole. 2 They serve, however, to complete the evidence as to the immense range of the northern Scythic art, the influence of which at the time of Sarmatian supremacy may be almost said to have made itself felt as far as the Pacific on one side and the Atlantic on the other. The great Scythic zone was not traversed only from west to east ; it was also crossed by influences passing from south to north. Proof of this is derived from the discovery, at great distances apart, of objects bearing identical designs treated in the same way, and by the excavation in the north of objects charac- teristically southern in type, some of which must have themselves been made in the south, or by craftsmen who had travelled northward. An instance of the first kind is afforded by two ornaments, both now in the Hermitage Museum, 3 but discovered, the one in Siberia, the other at Maikop in the Kuban valley on the Russian side of the Caucasus. That found in Siberia is a gold plaque in openwork with turquoise inlay, that from the Kuban a silver-gilt girdle, with a plaque at the clasp bearing exactly the same subject, the slaying of a horse by a gryphon. The treatment of this complex motive in the two cases is so alike that they must surely have been produced in the same locality. An instance of a southern type appearing in the north occurs in the case of the magnificent gold collar, or necklet, with open ends terminating in lion-gryphons (fig. 34), found in West Siberia. The type of the Fig. 33. Bronze plaque with coiled lion from the Kuban (Compte rendu, 1880, p. 13.) 1 Rostovtzeff, pi. xxxi, 2 and 3 ; and p. 205. s Such motives are the head and eyes of the eagle-headed gryphon, the floral ending of animal extremities, the use of heraldically confronted figures. 3 The two are reproduced together by Rostovtzeff, Iranians and Greeks, pi. xxv. Cf. also Borovka, Scythian Art , pi. xlvi. It is true that if the Maikop belt dates from the time of Sarmatian occupation, and the makers of the Siberian gold ornaments were either Sarmatians or closely related to the Sarmatian group, a close similarity might be possible, even if communication between the two branches had for a long time been interrupted. But the resemblance appears too close for this ; it is more natural to suppose that communication was maintained, perhaps by way of the Kama and Volga. The girdle in the British Museum, obtained from Bulgaria, is inlaid with red pastes in exactly the same way as the Maikop example, and must belong to the same art, though the subject on the plates at the clasp (fig. 36) is artistically inferior. INTRODUCTION liii monsters is that of Achaemenid Persian art, and the treatment of the cloisons upon their necks is so exactly that of our no. 116, that we cannot imagine the two ornaments to be separated by any great interval of time ; it may be concluded that the gold collar travelled north from the Persian border, perhaps from Bactria, or that a craftsman from the south, migrating to Siberia, there carried on his old traditions. 1 It would therefore seem that intercourse was maintained, on the one hand, between Fig. 34. Gold collar from Siberia in the Hermitage. (Minns, Scythians and Greeks , fig. 188, p. 272 after Pridik.) Persia and West Siberia, on the other, between West Siberia and the Kuban ; 2 there can have been no greater obstacle to the communications which cut across the zone than to those following the direction of its length. It is the line of communi- cation between south and north which has the greater interest for us in connexion with the Scythic objects in the treasure. 1 Other examples of cloisonne inlaying are found among the Siberian ornaments, some of them probably representing local work. The best, such as the bird of prey holding a swan (Kondakov, Tolstoi, and Reinach, p. 381, fig. 334), may bear the same relation to contemporary Achaemenid ait as the collar itself. But, as Minns observes ( Scythians and Greeks , p. 273), the execution of the plaque repre- senting an eagle holding a wild goat in its talons (his fig. 192) is not so good ; the cloisonne technique does not seem to have appealed to the Scythic tribes in the same way as the simpler method of embedding the stones in cavities cut out of the metal base, though the Sarmatians continued to use both methods in Russia. 2 This influence probably passed first along the course of the Kama and Volga. There may also have been direct communication between the Scyths of South Russia and those east of the Caspian, round the head of that sea. liv THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS The nature of this widely extended Scythic art has now been so adequately described in the pages of Minns, Rostovtzeff, Borovka, and others that it is only necessary to mention its more salient features in so far as they tend to explain these objects. 1 In the first place, it was narrowly limited in subject : it was an animal art. A few plant-elements were borrowed from Persia and Greece, but never truly assimilated ; ‘ geometric ’ ornament was only approached by an indirect and uninten- tional way, through the complete degeneration of animal forms, the process being the same, if not carried so far, as in the case of many peoples in Africa, Oceania, and America whose art is known to the student of ethnography. The most remarkable characteristic of this animal art is a combination of naturalism with a stylization wholly indifferent to natural conditions. The naturalism is based upon long and intimate familiarity with the animals presented. Their features and habits were deeply implanted in the memory of the artists, who give vivid memory-pictures of each creature in repose or action, entirely disregarding the processes of reflection or calculation ; we have instant renderings of the animals at rest, in rapid motion, or in conflict, wholly untrue to leisured observation or to reason, yet conveying to the spectator the impression of moments plucked as it were from the very life. The strange contrast between these vivid present- ments, and figures impossibly distorted, or even dismembered, is presumably to be explained by complete absorption in decorative effect. Where effectiveness of pattern required it, or where a void space had to be filled, anatomical proprieties were abandoned without a thought, and the whole animal or its limbs might be contorted, or doubled up, or twisted until the decorative sense was satisfied. We see this principle at work in the case of no. 23, where the deer-legs given to the body of the lion-gryphon are intricately bent until the filling of the surface pleased the designer’s eye. In some of its developments this art awakens almost startling reminiscences of the Minoan. Direct contact of the two is inconceivable; but the early Greek colonists of Western Asia Minor may possibly have introduced Cretan 1 The question of its origin lies beyond our scope, but a few points may be noted. The oldest examples known have been found in the Kuban and South Russia. But these examples, for instance those discovered at Kelermes and Kostromskaya Stanitsa, represent an art already fully developed. As the first Scythic tribes to invade Russia came from the steppes of Central Asia adjoining the Altai, a region famed for its wealth of gold and other metals, it has been commonly assumed that this central region was the original home of the style, and that from here it spread northward down the valleys of the Irtish and Yenisei, eastward towards China, and westward towards Russia (cf. Rostovtzeff, Iranians and Greeks , p. 197). Borovka, on the other hand {Scythian Art), suggests that it began as a primitive art of wood and bone in the north of Siberia, gradually learning to translate its forms into terms of metal as it moved south towards the central mountain mass. The hypothesis would account for the popularity of northern animals (e. g. the elk and bear) in Scythic art, and it explains certain technical details (p. lvii). For Borovka the Altai region is not the cradle of the art, but the great centre of its expansion when it had attained maturity. He assigns an early date to the bronze art of Minusinsk, placing the transition from bronze to iron in that region in the seventh century B. c., and comparing bird-heads on daggers with those carved in bone, from Kelermes. An early date for the Minusinsk discoveries would accord well with his theory of origins; but other authorities regard the Minusinsk objects as belonging to a much later time (cf. Minns, Scythians and Greeks, pp. 241 ff. ; Rostovtzeff, as above). INTRODUCTION lv types which travelled into the interior. While the Scythians were still in Hither Asia, religious ceremonial in Syria was strongly influenced by Cretan tradition ; conceivably, artistic motives might have travelled by the same course, and through some appeal to the fancy of the Scythians, have found a place among their designs. The alternative would be to suppose wholly independent invention by peoples of two races, separately moved to render natural objects in the same impressionistic way. 1 The appearance of inconsistency in the treatment of nature runs through the whole of Scythic art. We see, here, a species rendered to the life, there animals disintegrated and their limbs or characteristic features transposed. Parts are used for the whole : a bird’s head, or merely an eye and beak, represent the bird (cf. no. 39). Forms of beasts are elongated until they become unrecognizable to any but the trained eye (cf. no. 144). Small representations of beasts are placed, like charges, upon blank spaces on the bodies of larger figures, as in the case of the deer from Kul-Oba. 2 The adaptation of animal forms to the contour and surface of ornaments and trappings is managed with a skill which commands our admiration (cf. nos. 1 1 x and J 90). The transposition of limbs or features naturally led to the production of monstrous shapes; we see, for instance, leonine bodies with antlers, each tine of which ends in a ‘ beak-head 3 and the strange gryllus-like fantasy from one of the Seven Brothers barrows. 4 In their origin these hybrids must be distinguished from the traditional monsters of ancient Mesopotamian art which themselves had entered Scythic territory as early as the seventh century 15 . C., and had been assimilated by the Scythic crafts- man : 8 in the one case the monstrous form was created by the play of a fancy intent 1 M. Salomon Reinach many years ago {Rev. Arch, xxxvi (1900), pp. 216, 240 ; cf. Minns, p. 262) drew attention to the curious fact that the so-called flying gallop was known only to the Cretans and the Scythians, and was not again used in any art until the close of the eighteenth century. But the flying gallop is not the only motive peculiar to the two peoples ; we must add the unnatural slewing round of the hind quarters, so that while the forelegs are upon the ground the hind legs are in the air, which occurs on Cretan gems (cf. the ring, no. lit). The reverted position of the head, found in early Ionian art, is another common feature, though this being found on much older cylinders from Elam does not provide evidence of equal value. The theory of an indirect connexion between Minoan and Scythic art would be further supported if there is more than chance in the agreement between a subject upon a textile found in Mongolia and Cretan representations of sacred high places. With the fabric on which it occurs were other textiles decorated with Hellenistic subjects such as were popular in Olbia towards the beginning of the Christian era ; we have to decide whether a much more ancient motive won so great a popularity as to enjoy an astonishingly late revival, or whether the likeness depends on co- incidence. For the Mongolian textiles see G. Borovka, Comptes rendus des Expeditions pour I'exploration du Xord de la Mongo lie, as above, p. 33, and figs., especially fig. 12. - Minns, as above, fig. 98, on p. 203. Cf. also the objects from Vettersvelde (above, fig. 30), where the Greek artist has imitated this Scythic peculiarity. 3 Borovka, Scythian Art, pi. xx. The last tine of the antlers of the Kul-Oba deer ends in a ram’s head. The tines of the antlers of the deer from Axyutinsty all end in birds’ heads (Minns, Scythians and Greeks , p. 1 8 1 ). 4 Minns, Scythians and Greeks, fig. ill, p. 211 ; Rostovtzeff, Iranians and Greeks, pi. xiii, D. 6 The monsters may have begun in the Sumerian civilization ; Rostovtzefif has pointed out that some of the features characterizing the Scythic derivatives already existed at a remote period {Iranians and Greeks, p. 192). Their northward path lay through Babylon, Assyria, and Persia. The most VI THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS only upon decoration ; in the other a deliberate religious or prophylactic idea had prompted the invention. But when once the Mesopotamian monster reached Scythic soil its old significance was lost and it became a mere constituent of decorative design ; Scythic art is of all arts the most entirely divorced from intellectual control. It was an art which might borrow foreign elements, but in doing so did not abandon its own style. The. monsters of Hither Asia it was able to employ with effect, because thev could be readily incorporated in a decorative system confined to the treatment of animals. It was otherwise in the case of motives introduced through Hellenic channek^ except, perhaps, a few of early Greek origin, which were confined to animals, and lent themselves to a schematic style. Its contact with Greek art of the advanced fifth century and later was less happy. Here the naturalism differed in spirit from its own ; and Fig. 35. Clasp of a silver-gilt Sarmatian belt inlaid with red stones, from Bulgaria (British Museum). The bent neck of the eagle forms a hook which, passing through the jaws of the boar, fastens the belt. when it adopted Greek plant-motives, however formal, it did so without understand- ing : combinations of dismembered limbs and details of palmettes produced a grotesque assemblage of disparate elements in which the old unity of feeling is lost. 1 In no. 190 the introduction of plant-elements is more skilful and less incongruous than is usually the case. Where, as in the south of Russia, Scythic and Sarmatian art was subjected to continual Greek influence the style was contaminated ; but the action of Hellenistic art was merely negative or destructive; it hastened the natural decadence which had crept in with the course of the centuries. 2 During its period of contact with Greek and Graeco-Roman culture, the art of the Scyth and the Sarmatian underwent the same popular in Central Asia was the lion-gryphon, which is held to be the ancestor of the Chinese dragon, and must have entered China under the Chou dynasty. 1 For examples of these cf. Minns, figs. 83, 109, &c. ; Rostovtzeff, fig. 22, p. 196; Borovka, Scythian Art, pi. viii. 2 Something of the same kind may have occurred to the north of the Oxus during the period of Greek influence in Bactria, after the time of Alexander ; but here the influence was probably less intensive, so that Scytho-Siberian art was better able to preserve its integrity. INTRODUCTION lvii experience as that of other barbaric peoples subjected to the same influences. In pro- portion as it welcomed what the southern arts had to offer, it hastened the internal causes of decay. But to the last it showed great powers of resistance, and by its association with the destiny of the early Teutonic tribes exerted a posthumous influence among the foreign peoples of the West. It may also have contributed to that revolution in the principles of ornament which spread so rapidly through the Roman Empire from the first century of our era. The chief medium of Scythic art as we know it is cast or beaten metal, bronze or gold ; but much carved bone has survived, with a smaller proportion of wood. The suggestion has already been noted that the art may have begun with wood, bone, and elk horn, and there is plausibility in the argument that the stylistic treatment was originally conceived in terms of wood-carving. The slanting or bevelled surface by which one plane passes into another is characteristic of work boldly cut in soft wood with a sharp blade . 1 This method admirably suited the needs of an impressionist art which saw objects in contour, with their parts sharply contrasted in light and shade, or clash of colour, rather than as shapes modelled by imperceptible gradation, and passing into several planes. Hence the aesthetic need and the technical method were in full harmony ; and when the Scyths came to use metal as frequently as wood and bone, they retained the original effect of carving, by casting their plaques from carved „ , , , . , . , . . , . 1 FiG. 36. Inlaid ornament with lour horses models, the slanting surfaces of which met at heads; obtained with the belt, fig. 35. (Cf. an obtuse angle. This is very apparent in Minns, Scyt/uans and Greeks, 168.) some of the earliest and most interesting of Scythic gold ornaments, the feline beast found at Kelermes on the Kuban, which may date from the close of the seventh century B.C., 2 and the couchant deer from Kostromskaya Stanitsa, also one of the earliest examples of Scythic art in Russia . 3 On the limbs of 1 As noted above, Borovka compares this wood-carving with that executed by Russian peasants to-day. In the case of reliefs in thin gold, he believes that the gold was pressed over the surface of wood-carvings, which were not removed ; he draws attention to cases in which the wood has partially survived beneath the gold, having been left in position. Thicker plaques were naturally cast; though here too the original model may have been of wood. 2 Rostovtzeff, Iratiians and Greeks , pi. ix; G. Borovka, Scythian Art, pi. xii ; J. Strzygowski, Altai-Iran, p. 140. Strzygowski in this work brings out the aesthetic importance of this bevelled carving, called by him Schrdgschnitt (slant-carving), a better term than the Kerbsclinitt or Keilsch?iitt, formerly used by German archaeologists. Such carving, with its glancing effects from polished, sloping surfaces, was freely adopted in Europe in later Roman times, probably through Sarmatian influence. The Sarmatians introduced it into early Teutonic art, where it is freely used on brooches, of various types. 3 Minns, fig. 129, p. 226; Borovka, pi. 1. lviii THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS these beasts the passage from the higher to the lower plane is by bevelling, exactly as in the case of those carved by a sharp knife in a soft wood. 1 The Kclermcs ornament illustrates equally well the production of bright Scythic colour-contrast by inlays of semi-precious stones or other material. The ear is outlined by amber set in cells, and this, like the similar inlays on another gold ornament from the same find, is an early example of that embedding in gold of coloured substances, usually turquoises, which first became widely popular in those parts of the Scythic-Siberian area adjoining the Persian frontier, and then passed into West Siberia and South Russia. In the latter area it was highly developed by the Sarmatians, to whom, and not to the Goths, belongs the credit of introducing the method to the early Teutonic tribes in Europe. The earlier Scyths, though acquainted with coloured inlay through such examples as those from Kelermes, do not appear to have produced this kind of work to any great extent. The Sarmatians, however, freely employed this mode of decoration, not only embedding the stones, but also setting them in cloisons (cf. p. liii). As noted above, they may have started on their westerly migration from a region between the Oxusand West Siberia, and therefore to have lived upon the line of Achaemenid influence from Bactria to the north ; they may even have been neighbours and kinsmen of the tribes about the Jaxartes, to whom we assign the ornaments in the Oxus treasure. While the first Scythic invaders of Europe had set out before the rise of Achaemenid power, the Sarmatians probably left Asia at a time when it was still in being. If, as seems probable, we are right in assuming that the great development of orf 'evrerie cloisonncc took place in the Persia of Achaemenid times, the difference in taste between the earlier Scyths and the Sarmatians is readily explained. At the same time the Scythic objects in the treasure, already remarkable as coming from a part of the steppes hardly represented by other archaeological discovery, command a new interest, for although the inlaid stones once enriching them are lost, the cavities which remain prove their participation in this method of enhancing the brilliance of gold by colour. They are seen to form one of the early links in the long chain connecting the orjcvrcric cloisonnee of Iran, Mesopotamia, and perhaps even of Egypt, with that of the Goths, the Franks, and the Anglo-Saxons. It is among Scythic objects from West Siberia 2 that the examples of this art in the 1 Another good example is a bronze torque, said to be from Perm, from the Stroganov collection (Borovka, as abox’e , pi. xlii). The important collection from Siberia in the Hermitage owes its finest examples to an expedi- tion sent by Peter the Great to obtain specimens of the gold ornaments then being plundered from the tumuli in the valleys of the I shim and the Irtysh by the Russian colonists. For modern accounts of them see E. H. Minns, Scythians and Greeks , pp. 253, 271 ff., with aseiiesof illustrations ; Kondakov, Tolstoi, and Reinach, An/iquites de la Russie Meridional e, pp. 361 ff., also with a good series of illus- trations ; Rostovtzeff, Iranians and Greeks in South Russia, pp. 104 ff. ; G. Borovka, Scythian Art. The older books are Witsen, Noord en Oost Tartarye ; Messerschmidt, MSS. oj the Acad, of Sciences of St. Petersburg-, Weber, Das veranderte Russland, 1721-1739; P. J. von Strahlenberg, Description of Siberia and Great Tartary, London, 1736, p. 364; J. Bell, Travels from S. Petersburgh to various farts of Asia, Edinburgh, 1806, p. 154. The accounts of Witsen and Messerschmidt are reprinted by A. A. Spitsyn in Transactions of the Imperial Russian Archaeological Sac., Russo-Slav section, viii (1906), p. 227, with inventories of objects sent to the Tsar INTRODUCTION lix Oxus treasure find their closest affinities, and not among the latest of the group, but among those to which an early date may be attributed ; it was suggested above (p. liii) that the gold collar or necklet (fig. 34) found in Siberia, and resembling in style no. 116 in this Catalogue, cannot be far removed from it in date. In the treat- ment of the sunk cavities on the flanks of the monsters, this collar resembles other objects from Siberia, and also the aigrette (no. 23) and gold ring (no. hi) in our treasure; these other Siberian objects appear to be later than the collar itself, but some of them not much later. It is with these that the lion-gryphon of no. 23 is probably contemporary; it retains so many features of its Persian prototype, recognizably, if inaccurately, rendered, that if not ascribed to the close of the fifth century B. c. it may well belong to the earlier part of the century following ; 1 we see Fig. 37. Inlaid gold ornament from Siberia. (After Kondakov.) from nos. 144-5, an ^ from kindred objects found in Siberia and Russia, the kind of degeneration which befell the Iranian monster when it passed beyond the effective range of Persian influence; and for these kindred objects the second century B. c. is the latest suggested date. Further, the cavities on the flank of no. 23 are placed at points significant for the organic structure of the creature, or for the accentuation of its musculature; in this deliberate accentuation of important points the earlier Scythic craftsman carried on a tradition of great antiquity in Hither Asia. The disposition in no. 23 nearly resembles that of no. 116; it translates into colour the sculptural treatment of the Assyrian reliefs, where the emphasis is always controlled by anatomical considerations. It is very different, on the other hand, from the haphazard and illogical sprinkling of inlaid stones over the surface of Siberian ornaments, the style of which suggests a time when the original anatomical relation was forgotten or misunderstood. 2 We see, however, from figures on textiles that reminiscences of the earlier tradition survived into, and beyond, Sassanian times. in 1716. An interesting early account of ‘Tartarian Antiquities’ in the form of a letter from P. Demidofif, is given in the second volume of Archaeologia (Soc. of Antiquaries of London), ii, p. 272, with several plates engraved by Basire. The Roman coins found in West Siberia, apparently at the time of Peter, are recorded by Witsen : they are those of the emperors Nero, Galba, and Gordian. For the antiquities from Minusinsk see A. M. Tallgren, Collection Tovostine des antiquiles prehist. conservees cliez le Dr. Karl Hedman , Helsingfors, 1917 ; F. R. Martin, L’dge du bronze ait Mnsle de Minoussinsk. Cf. also Minns, as above , pp. 241 ff. 1 The ears of the gryphon-head on a gold diadem from Kelermes resemble those of our example, and this object was found in a tomb of early date (Pharmakovsky in Archaologischer Anzeiger for the year 1904, p. 57 : in Jahrbuch des K. Deutschen Arch. Inst.). 2 The plaques marked by an irregular profusion of stones are precisely those in which other indica- tions of late date occur; for instance, in some of these Siberian plaques human figures are introduced, a feature very unusual, if not unprecedented, in Scythic art of the centuries before the Christian era. THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS W The Scytho-Siberian objects in the Oxus Treasure form a link between the gold- smith’s craft of Achaemenid Persia and that of Western Siberia. But ethnological probability and archaeological evidence alike connect the makers of the Siberian ornaments with the Sarmatians. To this people the makers of the Oxus ornaments may have been akin, if, as above suggested, the tribal group to which the Sarmatians belonged had lived as their neighbours in the Central Asian steppes long before the western movement to Russia began. 1 The relations between the makers of the Oxus ornaments, both with Persian and Sarmatian culture, and those between the Sarmatians and the early Teutonic tribes in Europe, bring home to us the impressive extent and unity of the ancient Scythic art. II. OTHER EARLY METAL-WORK The objects of various origin and period falling under this heading are only in part included in the Franks Bequest, to which, however, belong the early series of silver vessels from Erzingan in Armenia (nos. 178-86); important examples of Sassanian origin or affinity (nos. 207-1 1), and the interesting bowl (no. 205), the ornament of which is related to that in one of the caves at Ajanta. The examples not in the first edition represent acquisitions almost all of which have been made since the death of Sir A. W. Franks. They include Scytho-Siberian objects (nos. 190-2); the fine Bactrian axe and lion (nos. 193, 194); the silver dish from Badakshan (no. 196), and a series of dishes, bowls, and other objects from the regions within and without the North-West frontier of India, the art of which reflects the obscure interaction of Greek, Persian, and Hindu influences (nos. 198-204); and the fine Sassanian dish (no. 206), with a later example of this art, the dish (no. 210) ornamented with the bird-tailed monster characteristic of the Sassanian period. The attribution of some among these additions is certain ; in the case of others it is conjectural. In order the better to weigh the probabilities where uncertainty exists, it is essential to bear in mind the course of events in Bactria and the countries about the Indian border from the fall of the Achaemenid Empire to the Arab conquest of Persia in the seventh century, and to recall the influences affecting their art. With the invasion of Alexander the history of Bactria entered upon a new phase, destined to give the country an importance which it had never before possessed as a Persian satrapy, and of much significance in the history of art. After reaching Balkh, the conqueror spent some time in subduing the country, and in quelling revolts which broke out in the rear of his advance. He pressed far to the north of the province, founding his colony of Alexandreschate (Khojend) beyond the Jaxartes. He wintered at Balkh in 329-328 B. C., but had still further revolts to quell before, in 327, he set out on his march into India. 2 His failure to penetrate further than the Punjab, his 1 The tribes of this region, as already noted, must have been in the region of the Massagetae of Herodotus, and the Saka tigrakhauda of the inscriptions of Darius. 2 At the time of his death in 323 twenty-thousand of his soldiers had already been settled as colonists in Bactria. As this policy of land-settlement was followed by the Seleucid kings, we infer that the Greek and Macedonian element was a large one and formed the nucleus of the Greek and INTRODUCTION lxi unwilling return, and his premature death, are matters of general history. His successors were unable to hold his vast dominions together, and the independent part of Bactria as a Greek kingdom in mid- Asia followed upon the revolt of Diodotus from the House of Seleucus about 250 B. c., the secession of Parthia taking place at much the same time. The Greek kingdom maintained itself more than a hundred years north of the Hindu Kush, until overrun, soon after the middle of the second century, by Saka from the region of the Syr Daria. 1 Greek political power in northern Bactria now came to an end, though it survived to the south of the Hindu Kush (p. lxii), the upper Kabul valley being held for another hundred years, until about the middle of the first century 13 . C. The Greek kingdom was never subdued by Parthia, which empire acted as a great barrier, cutting it off from communication with the Hellenistic world. The works of art attributed to it under its free kings, chiefly coins, show that in its remote and isolated position it preserved Greek traditions with remarkable fidelity. 3 It has been truly said that nothing in Hellenic annals, rich as they are in romance, can appeal to the imagination more than the fortunes of these Bactrian kings. 3 The India with which this metal-work is connected is only the extreme north-west corner of the country: the Punjab and Sind, with the addition of Gandhara and the upper Kabul valley. So frequently was the Punjab invaded in early times, that it ceased to be fully Indian; the real India, which held its own against foreign influences, began to the east of the land watered by the Five Rivers. Achaemenid power was felt in this part of the world in the reign of Cyrus, who conquered Bactria and Gandhara. But the inscriptions at Persepolis and Naksh-i- Rustam show that it was Darius who, early in his reign, advanced his frontiers to the valley of the Indus. 4 Persian dominion lasted to the end of the Achaemenid empire, but the territory of the Great King never extended further to the east. Relatively small though it was in comparison to the vast empire of which it formed part, the Indian satrapy was exceedingly valuable owing to its wealth in gold ; it is said to half-Greek population from which the later Greek kingdom of Bactria derived its strength. No wide ethnical division separated the Greeks and the Persians, and the followers of Alexander imitated their leader’s example by marrying the women of the country. There was little race-antagonism ; Persians and Medes held high office as governors; Iranian soldiers fought in the Macedonian armies. 1 The Saka held Bactria for less than half a century, being displaced by a branch of the Yiieh Chi about 124 B. c. (p. xlvi). These Saka belonged to the great Scythic family, so long in contact with the Persian Empire. The Yiieh Chi are now held to have been in the main Indo-Europeans (cf. H. Cordier, Hist. gen. de la Chine , 1920, p. 225). 2 Seleucia on the Tigris, though less remote, showed a similar fidelity. It was probably made the seat of a viceroy by the Seleucides in the first half of the third century (G. Macdonald in The Cambridge History of India, i, p.432). It probably exerted no small influence upon Iranian art (cf. p. lxix). G. Macdonald, Cambr. Hist, of India , i, p. 461. Bactrian Greek coins are treated in ch. xvii by Dr. Macdonald, and in ch. xxii by Prof. Rapson, and are illustrated in pis. iii and iv. The portrait heads of some of the kings are of admirable quality, and have been compared with the fine work of the Italian Renaissance. ' Williams Jackson, in Cambr. Hist, of India, i, p. 334. Balkh, in Bactria, seems to have been in early times the basis for Persian administration in India, and the gold paid by that country as tribute must have passed through that city. lxii THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS have paid a tribute of three hundred and sixty talents of gold dust, an important contribution to the revenue of any State ; 1 the ancient Taxila (Takshasila) was probably the most important city within its bounds. 3 Before the Graeco-Bactrian kingdom had lasted a century, its rulers had cast their eyes eastward to India, and the disintegration of the Maurya Empire of Magadha after the death of Asoka ( c . 236 B. c.) gave them the opportunity of once more carrying Greek arms to the Indus. 3 Demetrius, son of Euthydemus and son-in-law of Antiochus the Great, invaded the Punjab and Sind, there establishing a Greek dominion. Some years later (before 162 B.C.), Eucratides, a rival, who began by seizing Bactria itself during the absence of Demetrius, followed up his success by taking the greater part of his Indian possessions, including Taxila. From these two kings descended two royal houses, the successors of Eucratides holding the Kabul valley, those of Euthydemus and Demetrius ruling in the Eastern Punjab. 4 Greek rule at Taxila lasted for a century, but the city, together with the lower Kabul valley, was taken by the Scytho-Parthians from Seistan about 85-80 b. c. 5 The last kingdoms of the Punjab were overcome about twenty years later by the second Scytho-Parthian king, Azes I. 6 The con- querors did not hold their Indian dominions for more than a century and a half. The Kushan, the ruling tribe of their old enemies, the Yiieh Chi who had driven them out of Bactria, had now given a name to the royal line in that country, and the whole people became known as the Kushana, or Kushan. Perhaps as early as A.D. 35 they advanced into the Kabul valley, and within the next twenty years they put an end to Scytho-Parthian domination in India, though communities of Saka continued to lead their old life, and are mentioned in Indian inscriptions for some centuries. 7 1 Though India was so rich in gold, and though it has always been famous for its jewellery, the art of its goldsmiths does not seem to have influenced that of the countries lying to the west. - Though some of the Jfitakas refer to Taxila as a capital city of Gandhara (J. Marshall, Guide to Taxila (Calcutta, 1918), p. 9). Lower Gandhara, the kingdom of Pushkalavatl, included both the lower Kabul valley and the territory to the west of the Indus. The exploration of Taxila, conducted by Sir John Marshall, has been described by him in the Annual Reports of the Director-General of Archaeology (Calcutta, 1912 to 1921), and in his short Guide to Taxila, Calcutta, 1918. The buildings discovered date from a later time and are ascribed to the Scytho-Parthian period. It was at Taxila that Alexander divided the treasures which he had captured from the Persians. 3 After Alexander’s death, territory in the Punjab, including Taxila, had been held for some time by his successors. But Seleucus in 305 B.C. ceded to Chandragupta (the Sandracottus of the Greeks) the Kabul valley and Taxila, together with Northern Baluchistan. The evidence of the coins shows that before the foundation of the Bactrian kingdom there was a busy life on both sides of the Indian frontier (G. Macdonald in Cambr. Hist, of India, i, p. 434). Antiochus I and II had remained on friendly terms with India ; Megasthenes the Seleucid ambassador repeatedly visited Chandragupta’s court at Pataliputra on the Ganges (e. 310-305). Ptolemy l’hiladelphus of Egypt (285-246) also sent an envoy to India (ibid., p. 554). * E. J. Rapson, Ancient Hist, of India , p. 128, and Catnb. Hist, of India, i, p. 554. ' The principal discoveries in the recent excavations at Taxila date from the Scytho-Parthian period (Marshall, Cambr. Hist, of India, i, p. 246). c Freshly minted coins of this king were found in the tope at Bimaran with the gold reliquary- casket mentioned below. 7 Rapson in Cambr. Hist, of India, p. 585. Saka princes seem even to have governed small states under the Kushan kings, to whom they stood in a feudal relation. The last Saka king, Gondophares, INTRODUCTION lxiii By A. D. 64 the Kushan had widely extended their rule in North-Western India, 1 and for a century and a half they remained the predominant power from Bactria to the Punjab. During this period they were the patrons of the Graeco-Buddhist art of the Kabul valley, best known as the Gandhara sculptures; 2 this fact alone shows that neither Greek nor native Indian art suffered under their rule. Their first king, Kujula Kadphises, may have been a nominal Buddhist. Vima Kadphises certainly daliied with the faith, and Kanishka became its Clovis. 2 But in A. D. 225 Ardashlr, the first Sassanian king, overcame the Kushan in Bactria, leaving them independent only in the Kabul valley and in the Punjab. About seventy years later they were obliged to accept Sassanian suzerainty even in these territories. The evidence as to this has recently been made known by the deciphering of inscriptions of King Narseh (A. D. 293-302) at Paikuli. 4 It had long been noted that their coinage in North-West India begins to show Sassanian influence, but the suspected invasion of India by Persian kings had not been proved. 5 It appears from the inscription that in 284 Bahram (Vahran) II (276-293) conquered the whole of Sakastana because it had supported a rising of his brother Hormizd ; he established his son Bahram III (293) as viceroy. But the phrase ‘the whole of Sakastana’ should imply all the old territory of the Scytho- Parthians in the valley of the Indus, as well as those in Baluchistan. 6 The Sassanian king would therefore now include in his dominions the whole region from the mouths of the Indus up to the Kabul valley and the Punjab, still left to the later Kushan, though apparently these princes were soon reduced to the position of feudatories. 7 founder of Kandahar ( Condophareia ), and reputed protector of the apostle Thomas, reigned about A. D. 45. In Sind, Mahva, and other regions south and south-east of the Punjab, Saka satraps held their provinces until Gupta times (p. lxv). 1 Rapson, as above , p. 584. The extension of Kushan rule is mentioned by Chinese authorities. 1 A. Toucher, L' Art Grlco-Bouddhique die Gandhara , ii (Paris, 1918), pp. 410, 444, places the conversion of North-West India and Gandhara to Buddhism in the middle of the third century B.C., while Graeco-Bactrian kings held Gandhara and were extending their power in the Punjab. This conversion explains the wonderful union of Greek form and Buddhist motive in the sculptures (p.458). 3 Foucher, as above, p. 420. Foucher places Kanishka, whose period has been much disputed, between A. D. 80 and no (p.514). It is no more to be supposed that Kanishka was a wholly admirable Buddhist than that Clovis was a perfect Christian, but each king protected and fostered the religion which he adopted. 1 Paikuli is in Kurdistan, on the south slope of the Zarda Kiaw, where the ascent over the pass over the Khoratan range begins. The inscription in Parsikand Pahlavik is distributed over fallen blocks of the ruined monument; it was first examined by Sir Henry Rawlinson, who made his discovery known in 1836. In 1844 he visited Paikuli again, copying as much as he could, his material being published in 1868 in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society by Edward Thomas. In 1911 Ur. E. Herzfeld took up the work, making two expeditions in that year and in 1 91 3. In 1924 he published a full account of the monuments and inscriptions in English, entitled Paikuli , Monument and inscription of the early history of the Sassanian Empire. Cf. Vincent Smith, Early History of India , p. 241, on numismatic evidence. The Kushan were eclectic in their iconography. The coins of Kanishka show Buddha Siva and the bull Nandi, and a number of Iranian deities including Ardochsho (see no. 198), and cf. Foucher, as above , p. 515. I he expression of Agathias, to tosv SeyecrTai'wv ’l6vos, should be taken in this wider sense. Herzfeld, Paikuli , p. 43. Herzfeld now inclines to believe that the Sassanian kings were lords of the Kabul valley until late in the fourth century. E lxiv THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS Yet they enjoyed a relative independence and were evidently too useful to the Sassanian throne to be treated with anything but consideration. The power of the Kushan and Sassanians in Gandhara and the Punjab was ended by the invasion of the Ephthalite Huns after the middle of the fifth century. For a hundred years the Huns dominated these two regions, with the whole of Bactria and Chinese Turkestan as Fir,. 38. From mural painting in Cave I at Ajanta. (After J. Griffiths, Paintings of the Buddhist Cave Temples of Ajanta, 1896, ii, pi. 95.) far as Khotan, not being defeated until A. D. 563—7, when they were overthrown by a coalition of Persians and Turks, the latter of whom finally held the recovered territory. 1 In the first quarter of the fourth century, when in the north-west the Kushan were still ruling as Sassanian feudatories, a new dynasty had arisen further to the east, that of ' Vincent Smith, Early History of India , p. 278. Baladitya, King of Maghada, defeated the Hun Mihiagrula in the first half of the sixth century, though before he died the barbarian chief ruined the stupas and monasteries of Gandhara. INTRODUCTION lxv the Gupta. It was Hindu by descent and religion, the first king being Chandragupta I, Raja of Pataliputra ; but its members, though Brahmanical Hindus, were tolerant of Buddhism. Under Chandragupta II (c. 375-413) the Gupta Umpire was extended by the conquest, at the end of the fourth century, of Sind, Kutch, and Malwa, where the above-mentioned Scytho-Parthian satraps had till now maintained themselves in inde- pendence as Buddhists . 1 But the Gupta kings never pushed their conquests into the north-west corner of India. Kumaragupta I (413-c. 455) reigned without loss of territory, though before his death the Huns had already entered the country. His successor Skandragupta was forced back by the Mongol invader; after his death the remaining Gupta princes ruled only in the Ganges valley, beyond the area with which we are concerned. The history of north-western India is little known in the second part of the sixth century. But early in the seventh, Harsha became king in the country to the east of the Punjab. Though defeated in 606 by the Chalukya ruler of the Deccan, Pulikesin II, he made great conquests in the north, and in his late years, towards the middle of the century, became a pious Buddhist, though not refusing countenance to Hinduism. 2 Pulikesin II was an aggressive conqueror, domi- nating all Central India. His fame reached the Sassanians, and Chosroes II sent a complimentary embassy to his court, which is thought to be represented in the frescoes of Cave I at Ajanta, situated in territory then under the Chalukya king. 3 The bowl, no. 205 in this Catalogue, is in the same style as this painting, and must be contemporary with it. Though much still remains obscure, the above summary may be of some service in determining possibilities of relationship. They help us to understand such objects as the bowl, no. 201, with its hunting scenes of Sassanian type, but not purely Persian, and its bird-ornament pointing to India ; no. 203, with its Indian god and Pehlevi inscription ; no. 204, with its Yaksha drinking from a rhyton under a vine ; and no. 205, with its resemblance to an Ajanta painting. But these pages on conditions affecting the Punjab and Kabul valley cannot be concluded without allusion to the real India lying to the east of the Indus, which had sent its religious ideas, Buddhist and Brahminical alike, into Gandhara and the regions under Persian suzerainty. 4 By the second century li. C. India had a sculpture of great vigour and charm, illus- trated by the reliefs on the rails of the great Buddhist stupas (Buddh-Gaya, Bharhut, Sanchi, and Amaravati). This work is animated by a kindly and human spirit ; it delights in narrative, and was well calculated to become the vehicle of Buddhism beyond the Indian borders. But the presence in the Kabul valley of Greeks with a similar naturalistic art, 5 under the patronage of the strong Kushan kings, robbed 1 V. Smith, as abos'e, p. 255. The Chinese pilgrim Fa Hien, who was in these parts at the begin- ning of the fifth century, notes the persistence of Buddhism in Malwa under Gupta rule. 2 Ibid., pp. 284 fif. ; Harsha’s brother and sister were also Buddhists, and Sind was still Buddhist in his day, though the law of Gautama was now in decline. 3 Ibid., p. 325. 4 It has been already noted that Hindu religious types appear on coins of the Kushan ; a like fact will be noted below in the case of Sassanian coins. 5 It is a matter of dispute whether India had any significant sculpture until Greek inspiration gave it life. The absence of work in stone earlier than that of Buddh-Gaya and Bharhut is difficult to explain lxvi THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS the Hindus of this prerogative. The Graeco-Buddhist art of Gandhara became the missionary art of Buddhism, and extended its influence as far as China, while the art of India, after the decline of Buddhism, assumed a wholly different character, avoiding naturalism, and seeking to embody ascetic and spiritual conceptions in terms of form. But though maintaining itself against Hindu art, the art of Gandhara was slowly ‘ indianized more perhaps by the increase of Indian blood among the population than by any deliberate attack. This change had already made great progress in the second century of our era. There had long been intermarriage between Greeks and Hindus ; as the purity of blood declined, so did that of Hellenistic art. It has been well said that the half-caste artist implied the hybrid sculpture. 1 Such gradual increase of the Hindu element explains the introduction of so many details due to the influence of Indian customs and belief. The silver vessels of Sassanian origin or affinities are somewhat less difficult to identify than those connected with India, but they will be better understood if the memory is refreshed with regard to the period and the art to which they belong. The founder of the new Persian dynasty was Ardashlr I. He was son of Papak, chief of the district south of the Niriz lake, near Shiraz, and responsible to Goshihr, the most powerful chief of Pars, under Parthian suzerainty ; Papak was son or descendant of Sasan, from whom the new line derived its name. 2 Ardashlr became king of Stakhr, defeated Ardavan, the last Parthian monarch in A. D. 224, 3 and conquered in east and west the Parthian provinces which had once belonged to the except on the supposition that the archaic work was in wood and has all perished. It may be that this was the case, though Foucher maintains that there was no Hindu sculpture of any account before the moment of Greek inspiration (l' Art Grico-Bouddhique du Gandhdra, ii, pp. 745 ff.). Against his point of view it may be urged that the ease and luxuriance of the early stripa reliefs argue a natural talent too vigorous to have remained wholly latent. Doubtless, positions occur which can only be explained by Greek instruction ; on the other hand, we find the primitive methods of vertical projection and inverted perspective (p. Ixxii), which Greek teaching would have discouraged. Perhaps Greek influence merely supervened, not creating a new art from the foundations, but giving a fresh impulse to an art already in existence. It is now held probable that the Greeks of Bactria introduced at second hand the Achaemenid Persian forms which appear in India (J. Marshall, in Catnbr. Hist, of India, i, p. 623). 1 Foucher, as above, ii, p. 467 : d sculptures hybrides sculpt tttrs metis. The beginnings of Graeco- Buddhist sculpture are ascribed by Foucher to the early part of the first century B. c., just before the Scytho-Parthian invasion, the Greek kings having already adopted Buddhism (ibid, ii, p. 445). The period of full activity he places in the second century A. D. The fine small reliefs on the gold relic- casket from Bimaran in the British Museum, with figures in relief of Buddha and disciples in Hellen- istic style, was found with freshly-minted coins of Azes I, the Scytho-Parthian king (Vincent Smith, Hist, of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, Oxford, 1911, p. 356 and pi. lxxiv) ; it should therefore date from about the beginning of our era. 2 Cf. Noldeke, Geschichte der Perser und Araber zur Zeit der Sasaniden (Leyden, 1 899), p. 4. The Persians did not commit their history to writing before the reign of Chosroes (Khusrau) I (531-579), and the early writers were imperfectly informed as to the beginning of the Sassanian period. The first written chronicle, the Khvatdynamak, was the prototype of the famous Shahndma, and the source used by the first Arab chroniclers. Fora review of early Sassanian history in the light of archaeological research see E. Herzfeld, Pailuli (1924), ch. iii. s Ardashlr is said to have married the daughter of Ardavan. INTRODUCTION lxvii Achacmenid kings . 1 He drove the Kushan (p. lxiii) out of Bactria, leaving them only the Kabul valley and the Punjab, where they recognized his suzerainty. He revived the monarchy after the old Achaemenid lines, and widely extended the practice of fire-worship , 2 thus fulfilling the aspirations of his native province, Persis, which throughout the time of Alexander’s successors had striven to keep alive the traditions of the earlier dynasty. From the third century, especially after the extension of Persian influence to North-West India, the Sassanian Empire rivalled that of the Achaemenid monarchs. The championship of Asia fell to it as a natural right , 3 and it met on equal terms, first imperial Rome, and then imperial Byzantium, only falling before the irresistible onset of Islam after a life of four hundred years . 4 Such victories as that of Shapur (Sapor) I over Valerian, and that of Bahram II over Carus, vindicate the claim of the new Persian Empire to greatness, as did the long assertion of its strength against such a ruler as Justinian. When a Sassanian work of art is examined, after one of Achaemenid times, the mere appearance of the persons represented shows that a long interval of time has passed, and that new influences have been at work. We see this in external details such as those of costume and equipment . 5 The kings no longer wear the Median dress, they are trousered, as the Persians seem to have been (p. xxx), though the trousers have conspicuous fringes, almost Mexican or North-West American in their fringed elaboration. A long-sleeved coat or tunic, girded at the waist and sometimes furred, covers the body, in addition to which a mantle may be worn ; bows and ribbons further enrich the costume. The hair is abundant and curled ; moustache 1 Hamadan, Aderbaijan, Armenia, Irak, Seistan, Khorasan, or East Iran, which included the ancient Bactria (cf. E. Herzfeld, in Der Islam, xi, 1921). Seistan was the ancient Drangiana, which had received the name of Sakastan, after its occupation by the Saka (Caka) of the steppe region north of Bactria, in the early Arsacid (Parthian) period (123-88 h. C.). 2 As the powerful land-owning aristocracy supplied the state with administrators and the army with leaders, so the mobeds, or priests of Mazdaism, formed a religious caste whose political influence was exerted in favour of national unity. Not all the princes of the Sassanian royal house were orthodox. Peroz, viceroy over the Kushan in Bactria, and son of ArdashTr, is represented on the reverse of a silver dirham in the British Museum adoring a Zeus-like figure of Buddha (cf. p. lxix). The legend, none the less, describes him as ‘ Mazda- worshipping lord’. Peroz was eclectic in his beliefs, and protected the heretical Mani. 3 The conflict between their civilization and that of the western empires was doubtless compared by the Persians with that between Ormuzd and Ahrimani, the spirits of good and evil. * The battles of Kadisiya (637) and Nihawend (642) sealed the fate of the empire, reducing it to a mere part of the Caliph’s dominions. But in spite of the change of masters, old institutions and a Persian national feeling survived. The great Sassanian nobles held so strong a position in the country that they were able to treat with the Mohammedan conqueror. In Tabaristan the house of Karen remained Zoroastrian for a century after the death of the last king Yezdegerd III in 650; the chiefs paid tribute to the Khalif, but regarded themselves as the representatives of the old royal line. This preservation of the old national sentiment and religion explains the long survival of the old art. We find textiles and silver-work in the Sassanian style still being produced under Islam (p. lxxi) ; while mural painting following a like tradition is seen on the walls of Mohammedan palaces. 6 Cf. Sarre-Herzfeld, Iranisclie Felsreliefs-, descriptions of the reliefs ; Dieulafoy, L'art antique de la Perse , v, p. 139. Ixviii THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS and beard are worn, the latter sometimes drawn through a ring. Each king wears a distinctive head-dress, by which he can generally be identified, a common feature being a large globular or balloon-like structure rising high above the head. 1 Ear-rings are often seen, and sometimes ornaments about the neck. The usual weapons are a long straight sword with plain cross-hilt, very different from the short sword of Assyria, the Median dagger or the Persian and Scythian acinaccs', 2 a composite bow (p. xxxvi), with long tubular quiver, and lance or spear. P'or defence he might wear a rigid hemispherical cap, as seen on the head of Ardashir I at Naksh-i- Rustam, 5 and on his body a coat of mail, which appears to have been, at any rate in the later period, real mail with links riveted together. 4 A shield might also be carried, sometimes circular. 5 Stirrups are not visible on the monuments, the feet of the rider generally pointing downwards ; looped straps may perhaps have been used. 6 But the real distinction between the old and the new Persian art is not a matter of attributes such as arms or dress ; it is of a more essential character. VVe are confronted by an art at once tenacious of national tradition and receptive of foreign influence. It is conservative in its choice of subjects, but treats them in a new manner; in its execution it overlays oriental conventions with principles imported from the West. In its receptivity, it resembles the art of the earlier Persian Empire, but it is more individual and more instinct with vital force. In addition to the old absorption in pomp and dignity, it is quick with a new energy which redeems any awkwardness or error arising from the attempt to use new methods imperfectly understood. The new methods coming from the West, we have first to ask whether they were received from the Parthian limpire, on the ruins of which the Sassanian power rose. Parthian art seems likewise to have been an imperfect union of Hellenistic and oriental factors, the Arsacid dynasty proclaiming itself phil-Hellene, but not suppressing local arts of native tradition. 7 Although this dynasty ruled Persia for several hundred years, relatively few traces of its art remain. There are two rock-reliefs at Behistun, both dating from the first century 13. C., but in very bad condition ; in these, figures of Victory crowning the king, and Greek inscriptions, confirm the Hellenizing tendencies of the Court. But the reliefs of the monument to Antiochus I, King of Commagenc 1 These head-dresses may be studied on the coins, which help us to identify the persons represented on the reliefs and other works of art. 2 The Sarmatian sword was also long and straight (Rostovtzeff, Iranians and Greeks , p. 129). 3 Sarre-Herzfeld, as above, p. 68, and pi. v. It has side-flaps recalling those of the bashlik (p. xxviii). 4 See the equestrian figure of Chosroes II at Tak-i-Bostan, ibid., pi. xxxvii ; the king here also wears a kind of camail. 5 Ibid., Chosroes II. 6 Metal stirrups are clearly seen on a silver dish of Sassanian affinities in the Hermitage (Smirnov, pi. xxxiii), but this may date from post-Sassanian times ; the metal stirrup has, however, been found in Sarmatian graves, so that it was already in use in Sassanian times (Rostovtzeff, Iranians and Greeks in South Russia, pp. 1 21, 130). The first historical reference to stirrups occurs in the Art of War of the Byzantine Emperor Maurice ( a . D. 582-602', where they are called tr/diXm. Cf. R. Zschille and R. Forrer, Die Steigbiigel in ihrer Formentwicklung (Berlin, 1896), p. 3. They seem to have become generally known in Europe by about A. D. 6co. 7 The Hellenistic influence is naturally apparent on the coinage (W. Wroth, The Coins of Parthia, British Museum, 1903). INTRODUCTION lxix (69-34 B. C.), show that these tendencies did not overcome old oriental conception and practice; they reveal a hybrid art. 1 A like juxtaposition of styles is found in the Parthian palace of Hatra in North Mesopotamia.” It has been contended that despite the Hellenizing pretences of the dynasty, Parthia was the adversary of Greek art. The country must have shared Iranian tendencies to formal ornament, and Strzygowski would assign to its influence the richly-carved Mshatta facade, where all is geometrically planned, and Greek motives are forced into its formal schemed Whether this attribution is accepted or not, there is plausibility in the idea that the real influence of Parthia, so far from being phil-Hellenic, was primarily Asiatic, and shared the opposition offered to Greek art in the west of Asia by the peoples of other races. It would seem, then, that Parthia was not the source of the influence which changed the style of Persian representational art. The real source can hardly have been other than the late-Hellenistic art of Asia Minor and Syria, the influence of which is visible in works of sculpture, large and small, which most vividly express the genius of Sassanian Persia. 4 It may have been largely exerted through Seleucia ; but Antioch may have transmitted much through ordinary channels of intercourse, and through the deportation, ' F. Sarre, Die Kunst des alien Persien , p. 27. Stelae of Parthian date found at Assur (ibid., fig. 5) have ruder human figures in relief, which yet recall in the conventions of their treatment the Achaemenid sculpture of Persepolis. The examples of minor sculpture attributed to Parthia have little connexion with classical art (F. Sarre, as above , figs. 6-8). Fig. 6, perhaps a sceptre-head, is a male bust in bronze, resembling Orodes II (9-6 is. c.), as represented on his coins ; figs. 7 and 8 are standing female figures, perhaps of the goddess Anahita. It is probable that silver plate was made for the Parthians, cf. Strzygowski, Altai-Iran und Vblkerwanderung , p. 103, but it is difficult to say with certainty that any existing piece had this origin. - W. Andrae, Hatra in Wissenschajtliche Verbffentlichungen der Dcutschen Orient-Gesellscha/t, 1908, 1912; E. Herzfeld, in Zeitschr. der Deutsch. Morgenlandgesellschaft , 1914, pp. 655-67. 3 The palace of Mshatta was on the edge of the desert to the east of Moab ; the ornamented facade is now in Berlin. Strzygowski places it very much earlier than other authorities, Sarre and Herzfeld, for example, regarding it as of Mohammedan date. Strzygowski’s analysis of the ornament, conspicuous for the development of the vine to cover great spaces, will be found in his valuable study in Jahrbuch der Kbniglich Preussischen Kunstsammlungen , xxv, 1904, pp. 225 ffi). The vine, as a factor in ornament, may have come from Bactria ; the Greek influences Strzygowski would derive from the Greek inland cities of Hither Asia, especially Seleucia. He suggests that the geometrical scroll, coming from Central Asia, was enriched in Bactria and Parthia by palmette elements, and through Parthia advanced to predominance in Hellenistic ornament. His views are developed in his Altai-Iran und Vblkerwanderung (Leipzig, 1917), pp. 103, 135, 188, 229, &c. Vine-ornament in relief has been discovered in the ruins of Hatra (W. Andrae, Hatra , as above, p. 12). For later dating of Mshatta see E. Herzfeld, Jahrbuch, as above, xlii, 1921, pp. 104 ff. 4 Greek types appear in the Sassanian coinage, though sometimes under new names. Thus a type of Zeus is seen on the reverse of a silver dirham of Peroz, son of Ardashlr and viceroy of Bactria, but it is described in the legend as Buddha (Thomas, Num. Chron. xv, p. 184 ; E. Herzfeld, Paikuli, pi. A, fig. 18 ; the coin is in the British Museum). In the same way, a gold coin of Hormizd (302-309) shows an Apolline figure representing Mithra, while a copper coin of the same king has Siva with Nandi (Herzfeld, as above , p. 48). The obverse of the coins shows the king’s head in profile, alone, or, more rarely, with his queen. For examples see Sarre, Kunst des a/ten Persien , pi. 143. In the same book (pi. 142) may be seen examples of engraved seals, and on pis. 144, 145 the famous Coupe de Chosroes, and the large cameo with an equestrian combat between a Persian and a Roman, both in the lxx THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS after Sassanian victory, of many of her people to Persis . 1 Some action there may have been from the side of Roman art, as a result of the long, if hostile relations between the P'mpires, some from that of East Rome ; but the art of the Roman Empire both in west and east itself owed so much to Greek tradition and practice that in both cases it could but repeat to Persia in slightly modified forms of expression the Hellenistic message already more directly given. To the Greek influence, through whatever channels conveyed, we may partly ascribe the general thawing of that frozen rigour which marks Achaemenid art, and specifically the partial humanizing of the Fig. 39. King and gods: relief at Tak i-Iiostan. (After Flandin and Coste, i, pi. xiv.) Great King. The Sassanian monarch does not share the complete immunity of his Achaemenid forerunners; he is no longer the predestined winner of every conflict with- out toil or risk ; the emblem of Ahuramazda no longer hovers over him, assuming victory without undue exertion. For all that we can see, his life depends on his own daring and address ; in short, the levelling elements of athletic skill and sportsmanship Cabinet des Medailles, Paris (E. Pabclon, Cat. des Canutes, 1897, nos. 360, 379). In a fine cameo head of Shapur I at Ilerlin, Greek influence is apparent (Sarre, as above, p. 54). Statuettes in metal are wholly oriental (ibid., p. 50). Sassanian engraved gems may be seen in the Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities. 1 The great deportation took place after the capture of the city by Shapur (Sapor) I, son of Ardashir I, in A.D. 260. This settlement from the chief centre of late-Hellenistic art in Asia may well have had some influence upon the course of Sassanian art (cf. H. C. Gallois, on the rock-relief at Naksh-i-Rustam, in the Proceedings of the Fourth Congress of the Dutch Oriental Society at Leyden'. INTRODUCTION lxxi appear to have intervened, quickening the human interest of the scene. In single combat with the champions of Rome, he is carried away with the ardour of a mediaeval knight ; in the dangerous lion-hunt he leaves nothing to chance or divine favour, but relies on his own sword and bow. A similar change affects the ceremonial scenes, translating them into a new language. If formalism is by no means expelled, and convention still obeyed, the rigidity is no longer so absolute. Everywhere there is the approach to nature which necessarily followed the acceptance of Greek ideas. The flat treatment of Achaemenid times is replaced by a system of modelling which sometimes rises into very high relief . 1 The growth of naturalism is especially marked in the treatment of animals, which is sometimes of great excellence ; it has been remarked that some of the horses represented in the rock-sculptures are worthy to rank with the great work of the Italian Renaissance . 2 3 The battle-scene at Naksh-i- Rustam, where the king charges at the gallop an enemy who goes down before him, finely conveys the ideas of speed and shock, however disproportionate the horses and their riders . 2 Graeco-Roman influence might change the aspect of Persian sculpture, but it was far from winning a complete triumph. Old oriental idea and procedure were disturbed or modified, but they were not driven wholly from their positions ; and as we con- template the more realistic examples of Sassanian sculpture, we seem to feel the presence of an indigenous and hostile element always awaiting its hour. In representa- tions, the Persian artist was frequently hampered, indeed, by two traditions drawing him in different directions. The attempt to reconcile naturalism with old convention interfered with his execution. For instance, in representing a rider moving across the field of vision he seeks to combine the rendering of the head in profile with a frontal position of the body, impossible in relation both to head and legs ; through the awkward effect thus produced, the rider is at a disadvantage compared with his horse, which preserves its natural majesty. But in some Sassanian reliefs the indigenous element regains the mastery, and Graeco-Roman influence is inconspicuous. In some of those on the rock at Tak-i-Bostan, which date from the close of the period, an oriental conception and treatment dominate the great hunting-scenes . 4 The sculptors of these lively episodes attempt a pictorial composition embracing landscape features, in which the king is seen hunting deer and boars from elephants, from horseback, and from boats. Here we see employed the old method which preceded true perspective in the treatment of such subjects. The plane of vision, instead of being regarded as 1 e. g. the equestrian figure of Chosroes II (Khusrau Parviz) at Tak-i-Bostan, dating from A. D. 620 (Sarre-Herzfeld, Iranische Felsreliefs , pi. xxxvi). 2 F. Sarre, Die Kunst ties alien Persien, p. 40 and pi. 78. The scene, on the rock at Shapur, is the investiture of King Bahrain I (a.d. 273-277) by the god Ormuzd. Bahrain II is also finely mounted in another relief at the same place (ibid., p. 39, pi. 77). See also the larger photos in Sarre- Herzfeld, Iranische Felsreliefs , pi. xli, xlii. 3 The king is again Bahrain II. Cf. Sarre and Herzfeld, as above , pi. viii. A no less vigorous encounter on a diminutive scale is seen on the cameo in the Cabinet des Medailles, Paris, where champions of Persia and Rome meet at the gallop (E. Babelon, Cat. des Caut/es (1897), no. 300, pi. xlii). Here, as in great reliefs, the horses are much too small for their riders. 1 Cf. Strzygowski, Origin of Christian Church Art, p. 119 (Oxford, 1923). lxxii THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS horizontal and receding, is treated as vertical ; the figures are superposed, the more distant being placed highest, the horizon coinciding with the top of the sculptured surface. In this ‘ vertical projection ’ the figures of men and beasts remain about the same size throughout, except when another ancient procedure intervenes, based on principles wholly unrelated to aesthetics, the procedure called 1 inverted perspective \ x The respect due to royalty demanded that the figure of the king should have the best place, towards the middle, and that it should be represented on a larger scale than that of ordinary men. At Tak-i-Bostan the king bulks very large among his subjects, and whether on dry land or embarked in a boat, dominates the picture, his figure being much larger than those of persons nearer to the spectator. The whole treatment of these reliefs is oriental and owes little or nothing to Hellenistic influence, but it has extraordinary vitality. The herd of deer in full flight crossing the middle of the picture is admirably conceived. But whether oriental resistance to Graeco-Roman suggestion was weak or strong, we cannot regret that it was maintained. 1/ the Sassanian dynasty had surrendered to western pressure, it would have left behind a merely imitative art with a character dictated from abroad and based upon principles foreign to Iranian feeling. Actually, it is represented by work of strong individuality, expressing, if not the genius of a people, the puissance of its royal line. The pictorial character of the reliefs at Tak-i-Bostan suggests that there was a close connexion between the sculpture of the Sassanian period and its painting, which must also have fallen under partial Hellenistic influence. Mural painting contemporary with the dynasty has perished. But as the Arabs, having no art of their own, became the patrons of that prevalent in the different countries which they conquered, 2 there was no cessation of local and national arts under the early Caliphs. We have seen that Persian national tradition continued long after the fall of the Sassanian line (p. lxvii, n. 4) ; it is not surprising, therefore, to find Sassanian influence in Mohammedan paintings of the eighth and ninth centuries. The most perfect are in the ruined palace of Quseir ‘Amra, on the edge of the Arabian desert towards Palestine, built and decorated as the summer dwelling of the Ummayad prince Walid I. 3 The audience-hall and bath- rooms of this desert palace are covered with frescoes chiefly late-Hellenistic, but partly Sassanian in style, the former predominating. The principal scene in the latter class is a rigidly ceremonial group, representing the kings of the world, as vanquished enemies of Islam, in an attitude of homage to their superior lord ; they are placed in a formal line, and stand impassively, without suggestion of movement. Elsewhere there is oriental suggestion in the enclosure of animals and human figures in a great lozenge-diaper. 4 This blending of Iranian and late-Hellenistic elements at Quseir 1 For vertical projection and inverted perspective cf. O. Wulfif, Kunstwissenschaftliche Beilrage A. von Schmarsow gewidmet, Leipzig, 1907; O. M. Dalton, East Christian Art, Oxford, 1925, pp. 162, 188, 229, 269. * So Coptic art lived on in Egypt, and in Syria mosaic-workers who had inherited Christian tradi- tion were called in to decorate the walls of mosques. 3 First described by A. Musil, Kusejr 'Anna (published by the Kaiserliche Akademie der Wissen- schaften , Vienna, 1907). 4 E. Herzfeld, Jahrb. der Preussischen Kunstsammlungen , xxiv (1921), p. 133; Strzygowski, ‘Antra und seine Malereien , in Zeitschrift fiir bildende Kunst , xviii, pp. 213-18; and Christian INTRODUCTION XX111 ‘ Amra is typical of Sassanian representational art. Old Sassanian tradition is still to be traced in the ninth-century remains of wall-paintings discovered at Samaria, where late Greek and Persian influences meet in a similar way . 1 In the work that has perished there must have been many a picture of battle and the chase and many a ceremonial group ; the elaborate hunting-scenes at Tak-i-Bostan must have found their parallels on the walls of palace halls and chambers, one of which may well have inspired the sculpture. In ornamental design the formal and the schematic triumphed over the natural ; the Iranian element predominated over the Greek. The vine, indeed, is sometimes used in the Syro-Hellenistic fashion as a recognizable species, disposed over the surface, and containing in the interspaces natural figures of human beings or animals ; whatever the precise date of the sculptured fagade from Mshatta , 2 its decoration includes not only late Greek features, but others proper to Iranian art. But the most characteristic ornament of the later Persian Empire is one which denaturalizes and disintegrates floral design. It is chiefly based upon the palmette and acanthus ; but by dismember- ing them and recombining their elements, it builds up strange inorganic ‘tree’ and ‘ candelabrum ’ figures, or by splitting and schematizing individual parts, gives them new identities." The splitting of the palmette produces transitional forms which may have contributed to later Islamic design, and its manipulation by the weaver of figured silks gives birth to unexpected motives, such as hearts, or long leaf-forms curving to- wards the tip ; the former are freely used in series upon the borders of medallions, &c., or set point inwards in groups of four to form ‘ rosettes ’ ; the latter have their part in the construction of formal trees . 4 The scheme of decoration for covering surfaces has always a geometric basis, a popular arrangement being a system of medallions contain- ing human figures, animals, or monsters, between which are formal designs like those above described. Another method, that employed at Ouseir ‘Amra, was to form a 4 lozenge diaper ’ by means of intersecting diagonal lines, the lozenge-shaped spaces serving to contain figures, &c., as in the case of the medallions. Such arrangement and such motives are well adapted to textiles, and are seen at their best on Sassanian Church Art, p. 1 1 9. Prototypes of Christian and Persian representational painting may be seen in the Palmyrene ceremonial frescoes discovered at Salihiya (Dura) on the Euphrates in 1922. In these we see an art strongly oriental in character dating from the first century A.D., but the scenes depicted are only ceremonial (J. H. Breasted, Oriental Forerunners of Byzantine Painting , University of Chicago, Oriental Institute publications, no. 1, 1924). 1 Cf. Herzfeld, as above , pp. 133-4. 2 Cf. note on p. Ixix. 3 A. Riegl, Stilfragen, p. 298, and cf. his figs. 1 6 1 , 162, where formal ‘trees’ are seen on the sides of capitals at Teheran. Cf. the relief at Tak-i-Bostan in Sarre, Die Kutist des alten Persien, pi. 90. For such forms in the Syro- Palestinian area we may compare the carved pilasters from Acre in the piazzetta at Venice close to the south-west corner of St. Mark’s, and the mosaics in the nave of the Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem. These Christian mosaics, no less than later work executed for Mohammedans in the Dome of the Rock and the mosque of El-Aksa in Jerusalem, show the long popularity of this formal style. 4 J. Strzygowski, Jahrbuch der I\. Preussischen Kunstsammhmgen , xxiv (1903), pp. 147 ff. Cf. also his Orient oder Rom, pp. 90 ff., 1 14 ff. lxxiv THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS figured silk. 1 The wings which form part of certain royal head-dresses 2 are sometimes used in pairs in ornament, a divergent pair forming, for example, a support below a head or other motive ; such pairs of wings occur in the sculptured ornament of Mshatta, surmounting formal trees. A feathery treatment of leaves is sometimes found, for which Indian parallels have been noted: 1 Strzygowski argues for a North Iranian initiative in the introduction of the geometrical scroll. This he ascribes to the Sacians (Saka), who, however, as Scythians, would be expected to prefer a purely animal art (cf. p. liv). But the Yiieh-Chi who, in the second century B. C., drove this people south of Bactria (p. 1 ) may have shared the taste of peoples in the Far East for geometrical design, and helped to diffuse it through Sassanian territory ; North Iran may thus have contributed, through a later agency than that of the Saka, to the change in the principles of ornament which took place under the Roman Empire, as a result of eastern influence. But it seems probable that Syria, the art of which was partly Hellenistic and partly oriental, had no small share in the development of surface-covering ornament composed of vine and acanthus, and that the impulse given to Sassanian decoration came largely from the west of Persia. 4 Inclusion of figures in the symmetrical convolutions of the vine, as seen in no. 209, was popular in Syria, and is familiar to students of the late-Hellenistic and Early Christian art in that region. In all Sassanian formal ornament, as in Byzantine, the design was relieved from the ground by sharp contrast of colour, or of light and deep shadow. 5 The reliefs upon Sassanian plate are produced neither by casting and chasing, nor by beating up from the back, but by a method which appears to be distinctively oriental, not occurring in Greek, Roman, or Byzantine silver-work ; the process is described in the note to no. 206 ; its essential feature consists in the fact that the figures are cut out in outline, independently beaten up into relief, and then soldered to 1 See O. von Falcke, Geschichte der Seidentexti/ien, forming the text to J. Lessing’s great Album, where other references will be found. Examples of Sassanian silks can be seen in the fine collection in the Department of Textiles in the Victoria and Albert Museum. 2 e.g. that of Bahram (Vahran) II. For their occurrence in formal trees in the ornament of Mshatta cf. Strzygowski in Jahrbuch der K. Preussischen Kunst sammlungen , 1904, p. 314. 3 Cf. Strzygowski, Altai-lran , p. 72. This feathery treatment is seen in the ornament on the back of the well-known gold cross at St. Peter’s at Rome, presented by the Byzantine Emperor Justin and his consort Sophia. Cf. also no. 202 below. * The whole subject is a difficult one. Strzygowski's views are ably set forth in his above- mentioned book AUai-Iran, and in various articles to which references are given in that work. The opposite point of view was maintained by Riegl in Stilfrageti , and by other writers, and the claims of Syria have been asserted by O. Wulff (in Altchristliche und Byzantitiische Kunst). Cf. Dalton, East Christian Art (1925), ch. vi. 5 In jewellery the colour-contrast was obtained by inlaying flat coloured stones in gold, after the old Persian manner, except that cloisons do not seem to have been used, the stones being set at intervals in a continuous plate of gold. The buckle-plate from Wolfsheim, which has engraved on it the name of Ardashlr, may not have belonged to the king of that name, but is probably Persian. For the earlier references to this and other examples of the Sassanian period see Archaeologia, lviii, pp. 237 ff. Cf. also M. Rosenberg, Geschichte der Goldschmiedekunst, and the works by Minns and Rostovtzefif cited above in the section on Scythicart. The Wolfsheim buckle is reproduced by Sarre, Kunst des at ten Persien, fig. 16, on p. 53. INTRODUCTION lxxv prepared spaces upon the surface of the object adapted to their contours. This method is known on silver made as early as the second century of our era, but is probably much more ancient. 1 Like Byzantine silver plate, that of Sassanian origin travelled to great distances in the paths of commerce, and many of the best pieces have been found in the province of Perm in Eastern Russia, and in Siberia, where they were traded for furs, the chiefs of the barbaric tribes having a great liking for bowls, dishes, and cups of precious metal. 2 Persia herself has yielded few or no examples. 3 The plate thus discovered chiefly dates from the fourth century and later, little remaining to represent the first century of the Sassanian dynasty. The Arab invasion not impeding the minor arts in Persia, there exist numerous pieces of early silver which are conveniently described as post- Sassanian. In the more inaccessible districts of the plateau the old arts survived, and the Sassanian tradition was remembered both in the Caucasus and in Turkestan. 4 Some of the pieces made soon after the conquest are with difficulty distinguished from those immediately preceding it; but as time went on, foreign characteristics modify the original design and style. The silver vessels of purely Sassanian origin in the Museum are few, but of great interest (nos. 206-9). Two may be classed as post-Sassanian ; while Sassanian influence is seen on other vessels from the Indian area, ruled by the Kushan (p. lxii). Whether it consists of figures or of ornament, their decoration follows the traditions of the greater art as above described. No. 206 illustrates the apparent degradation of the king from the position of demigod to that of sportsman ; his vigorous action proves him to be putting forth his full powers, and suggests his tense enjoyment of the chase. In no. 207 there is rather less vitality; there is a tendency to return to the languid action of a being whose sport is without the excitement of danger (p. lxx). The vase, no. 209, is ornamented in the style familiar to students of Christian art in the sixth century, especially that of Syria. Of the post-Sassanian silver, the striking dish with the bird-tailed dragon (no. 210) must be very nearly contemporary with the dynasty ; the dish as a whole corresponds to one of the medallions woven in figured silks, of which a good example is to be seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum. 5 No. 21 1, with a festive scene, has parallels in the Hermitage collection ; the principal figure suggests a barbaric chieftain rather than a Persian king or noble. 1 No. 196 affords an early example. Another is a silver dish at Athens, remarkable for the ornament of its emblema and having the Labours of Hercules in applied relief round its border (G. Matthies, At/ienische Mittheilungen , xxxix, 1914, pp. 104 ffi). 2 Cf. J. Smirnov’s account of a silver dish found in Perm in Materials for Russian Archaeology (issued by the Imperial Archaeological Commission, St. Petersburg; in Russian), 1899. s The Mongolian invasions and the fall in the value of silver in the eleventh century help to explain their absence. Cf. Sarre, Die Kunst des alten Persien, p. 48. 4 The classical work for illustration of Sassanian and post-Sassanian silver is the Album by J. J. Smirnov entitled BocToiHoe Cepe6po ( Oriental Silver), St. Petersburg, 1909. The text was never written ; there is a short but valuable introduction. F. Sarre, Die Kunst des alteii Persien, pis. 104-141, has given excellent illustrations of Sassanian and post-Sassanian examples. A number of examples are illustrated by A. Odobesco, Le Tresor de P/lrossa, and in Kondakov, Tolstoi, and Reinach, Antiquites de la Russie Meridionale, pp. 414 ff. 6 Dalton, Byzantine Art and Archaeology, Oxford, 1911, fig. 368. lxxvi THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS The objects composing the Treasure of the Oxus, and the examples of later metal- work described in the second part of this catalogue, are of peculiar interest because they represent the little-known minor arts of the Middle East. The destructive agencies continually at work in the regions from which they come, have swept out of existence almost everything of a perishable nature, with the result that metal-work assumes an exceptional importance. Engraved gems, which, by their hardness, have naturally withstood destruction, are less fully representative, their diminutive scale excluding any development of design ; only a few figured textiles have been preserved. That part of the Middle East which embraces Persia, Bactria with the adjoining steppe-country, and the north-western corner of India, was in touch not only with the route crossing Chinese Turkestan, but also with that far to the north of this, running from Russia along the steppes and the foot-hills of the central mountain system to the borders of China. It is now established by research that the steppes, far from being a barrier, provided from remote times free channels of communication ; they connected not only the opposite ends of Asia but the two continents of Asia and Europe themselves ; evidence for this has been given above in the section devoted to Scythic antiquities (pp. xlvi-lx). The countries of the Middle East received from the great cultural base of Mesopotamia influences which they transmitted through Bactria to the steppes, where, upon reaching the above-mentioned northern route, they turned either eastward or westward according to the movement prevalent at the time. Thus by an easterly divergence the monstrous forms of Mesopotamia passed into China ; by turning westward, orftvrerie cloisonute entered on a course which finally led it across the whole of Europe to the British Isles. Objects of metal, not least gold ornaments and silver vessels, range far afield, and are among the most significant of archaeological documents. Those described in this volume command our attention as coming from all-important central regions, and as belonging to a period of high interest, the thousand years divided into equal parts by the Christian era. The earlier among them illustrate the minor arts of the Achaemenid age, so scantily pre- served in comparison with those of Greece, the later reveal the interaction of Hellenistic, Indian, and Sassanian art in the centuries immediately before the advent of Islam. Both groups contain examples of documentary value with regard to the migration of motives and technical methods. A THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS I. OBJECTS IN THE ROUND SILVER STATUETTE, cast and chased, parcel-gilt : a man standing with his r. arm hanging by his side, and holding in his l. hand a bundle of rods before his breast. He has a long narrow beard, with whiskers and moustache ; the eyebrows are heavy, the eyes large, and the nose regular in outline. He wears a garment resembling a short jacket with close sleeves, gilded in front, and at the back ornamented with a vandyked band in cross-hatching ; a skirt of many folds diverging from a vertical median band falls to his feet ; the median band is raised, ornamented with herring-bone pattern, and gilded (cf. fig. 8, cylinder). On the head is a low cylindrical head-dress with flat top covering the ears and bound with a raised fillet knotted at the back, where the ends hang down. Round the top is a flat band of gold engraved with crenellations. Below the head-dress the long hair forms a large roll, projecting on each side of the face, and conventionally ornamented behind with dotted circles. Both feet are pierced at the instep. Plate II. Early fifth century B.C. H. 5-9 in. 14-8 cm. Cunningham 1 , pi. xi ; Kondakov, Tolstoi, and Reinach, p. 338, fig. 299. From a comparison with Persian cylinders (F. Lajard, I?iti oduction d V etude du culte public et des mysteres de Mithra (Paris, 1847), pi. xix, fig. 3 ; J. Rawlinson, The Five Great Monarchies, &c., iv, p. 321; A. Furtwiingler, Antike Gemmen , pi. i, figs, n, 13, and 16) it appears that this figure represents a king of the Achaemenid dynasty. The long garment with many folds is indeed worn on the monuments by courtiers and royal guards as well as by the king (F. Sarre and E. Herzfeld, Iranische Felsretiefs (1910), pis. xxiv-v, and F. Sarre, Die Kunst des alien Persien (1922), pis. 13, 19) ; but the crenellations on the tiara indicate a royal personage. The crenellated tiara was certainly used by kings of the early dynasty, for it is seen on the rock sculp- ture of Behistun (fig. 40) : the fire-altar with crenellated top, which is thought to have suggested the crenellated crown, is seen on a relief from Khorsabad ; the form is therefore no proof of late date. The jacket-like appearance of the garment covering the shoulders may be due to mis- understanding on the part of the artist. The Persian mantle, adopted from the Medes, consisted of a great rectangular cloth more than twice the height of a man’s body from shoulders to feet, and as broad as the space measured by his outstretched arms. This was girded, and could be so gathered up as to allow freedom of action (see E. Herzfeld, in Sarre and Herzfeld, Iranische Felsretiefs , as above, pp. 50, 51 ; and cf. fig. 88, cylinder, showing a king in violent action, with girded garment. The bundle of rods held in the hand represents the Zoroastrian barsom (p. xxvi, and no. 48). Fig. 40. Detail from the crown of Darius at Behistun. (After King and Thompson.) 2 THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS 2 . 2a. Gold STATUETTE of a bearded man, cast and chased. The face is thin and skilfully modelled, the nose small and straight, the hair cut short across the forehead. On his head is a high hood-like cap, stiffened so as to remain erect, as in the case of no. 4, the sides covering the ears, a broad band crossing the chin under the lower lip, leaving the moustache visible, and probably concealing a beard; at the back the cap has a tail-like end. The figure wears a girded tunic reaching to the knees, and over this a long-sleeved coat with ornamented or furred edges, worn as a mantle, the sleeves hanging empty at the sides. The left arm is hidden under this garment, but the right hand protrudes, holding a bundle of rods. The figure terminates in an irregular flat plate, the feet not being shown. Plate XIII. Fifth century B. C. H. 2 2 in. 5 6 cm. Weight 580 grs. The person here represented may be a magus holding the barsom, for we know that magi wore the hood-like cap, and that they covered their mouths (see p. xxviii). But the bundle of rods was clearly carried by others than magi. The long coat with empty sleeves is the candys described by Xenophon (c f. p.xxxi), and seen in the sculptures of Persepolis and Lycia (figs. 10 and 12); it is also worn by the chief figure in the chariot (no. 7, pi. iv). A statuette, almost exactly reproducing this, was obtained by Sir A. W. Franks at the same time, but is regarded as probably an imitation made at Rawalpindi. A third example, showing similar characteristics, is in a collection of oriental gems and gold objects deposited by Major-General Pearse in the India Museum at South Kensington. Two larger statuettes, each representing a man wearing the same costume, have come to light since the publication of the first edition of this Catalogue. One, of silver, and 12 centimetres high, is in the Vorderasiatische Abteilung of the Berlin Museum (F. Sarre, Die Kunst des alien Persien , p. 19 and pi. 43). This figure, otherwise dressed like the Oxus figure, wears on the legs coverings resembling rumpled stockings, and instead of the bundle of rods holds a lotus bud. The second, of similar size, is of gold, and is said to have been found in 1920 near the village of Kesbuch in Cilicia (cf. The Antiquarian Quarterly , published by Spink and Son, London, no. ii, 1925, p. 49). This figure resembles the Berlin example, but the right hand holds the transverse cord connecting the two sides of the coat across the breast. Fig. 41. Back of silver statuette (no. I). 3. SILVER STATUETTE, cast and chased : a man with cropped beard and curly hair, wearing a short-sleeved tunic girded at the waist, and holding a staff or rope (?) in both hands. His legs and feet are bare. Plate II. Fourth century B. C. H. 3-5 in. 8*9 cm. This figure, though not of Greek workmanship, shows Hellenistic influence. 4. Silver statuette, cast and chased : a nude figure of a youth, facing, with the elbows held close to the sides and both forearms extended, the clenched hands being pierced with vertical holes to contain objects now lost. The legs, which are THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS 3 of disproportionate length, are close together, the feet resting upon a small rectangular plinth set upon another plinth of larger size. A high gold cap has been fitted over the hair, which projects in a roll over the forehead ; the lobes of the cars arc pierced. The head has been separately cast, and is neatly joined to the neck. The figure is heavy, and must have been cast solid. Plate II. Fifth cent my is. C. H. ii‘5 in. 29-2 cm. From the collection of General Sir Alexander Cunningham. Cunningham 1 , pi. xiii, fig. 3. The type recalls that of Greek mirror-handles of about 500 B.C., in which the figure is a reduction of contemporary votive statues. The character is here barbaric, and the work may well have been produced in Persia in the fifth century B. C. The contour of the cap recalls examples in the reliefs at Persepolis (Sarre, Die Kunst des alien Fcrsien , pis. 25, 26, and Sarre and Herzfeld, Iranische Felsreliefs, pi. xxiv) ; the figures being those of soldiers. But these military caps are not so tall as the present example, which in its height rather resembles that of no. 1 ; in that case, however, there are side-pieces. Comparison with the gold plaque, no. 86, suggests that this figure held gold birds, and that the youth is represented as making an offering, perhaps to Anahita, who is frequently represented in association with birds (cf. p. xxiv, fig. 9). The alternative to birds would be lotus-flowers. 5. Gold IIEAD, of a beardless man, hollow. The nose is slightly aquiline, and the superciliary ridges are prominent ; the eyes are widely opened, the pupils being represented by punched circles. The lobes of the ears are pierced, and in one are the remains of a plug with a ring at the end. Seen from above the skull is almost circular, the hair being represented by close-set wavy lines radiating from the centre. The back of the neck is damaged by a long, almost vertical, cut. Plate III. H. 4-45 in. 1 1- 3 cm. Weight 12^ oz. Like the preceding number, this head may have been made in Persia. It is doubtful whether the maker had any thought of reproducing an ethnical type, but the form of the head recalls that of the round-headed people in and around the Pamir. The head is barbaric and has no defined style, but the treatment of the hair has some analogy with Greek work of the fourth century. 6 . Small GOLD head, hollow, representing a beardless man with broad face and small features. The hair is cut straight across the forehead, and is long at the back. The top and back have close rows of short, punched, vertical lines. On the crown of the head is a circular depression pierced with eight holes in a rosette- like arrangement. There are three slots, one above each ear, and one at the back of the head. Plate II. This head belongs to the same art as the preceding; the neck may possibly have fitted into that of a flask containing perfume. 7. Gold CHARIOT, drawn by four horses abreast ; in it are a standing charioteer and a seated figure. It is open at the back, and has a square front, ornamented with two incised bands in saltire orqamented with triangles, and having at the point of crossing a head resembling that of the god Bes. The under side is largely F 4 THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS covered with cross-hatching, and along the bottom of the sides is a band with parallel vertical lines. The wheels have nine spokes, and the tires are studded with pellets to represent stud-like projections. In the interior (see fig. 20) a strip of gold runs from front to back, where it is bent downwards at right angles and fixed to the bottom of the car. On this is seated the principal personage. He wears a long garment reaching to the ankles, the sleeves of which appear to hang empty, like those of the candys (p. xxxi ; cf. also no. 2 and fig. 10). On his head is a hood or cap, round the front of which is a flat strip of gold, like a fillet, with ends projecting above the forehead ; round his neck is a collar of gold wire ; his legs are represented by two thick pieces of wire. The charioteer wears a similar cap without fillet, a short girded tunic, and a wire collar ; his legs are also formed of wires. The four horses are connected by a single yoke, to which they are harnessed by breast-straps. Upon the yoke, above each horse, is a loop, through which the wire reins pass ; alternating with these loops are vertical ornaments suggesting plumes. The yoke is connected with a pair of shafts, within which stand the two innermost horses. The bits have large rings at the sides, and each animal has on the breast a martingale with pendent tassel, though this is not added, but punched in the metal. The two human figures are fixed to the chariot by wires passing through holes in the bottom and doubled over beneath. In the case of the driver these wires are attached to a small plate connecting his feet ; in the case of the other figure they are longer, and pass through the seat as well. The horses now have only nine legs remaining, between them, and the spokes of one wheel are imperfect. Plate IV, and fig. 20. Fifth or fourth century B. C. L. 3-5 in. 1 8-8 cm. Weight 2 oz. 370 grains. Oscar Nuofifer, Der Rennwagen im Altertuin (Leipzig, 1904), pi. viii, fig. 48 ; P. Sykes, History of Persia , i, plate opposite p. 140. This was not the only model chariot in the Oxus Treasure. A second, belonging to the Earl of Lytton (fig. 11), is reproduced by Cunningham (Cunningham 1 , pi. xii, fig. 8, and by Kondakov, Tolstoi, and Reinach, Antiq. de la Russie nUrid., fig. 298, p. 397). Lord Lytton’s example has lost all the horses ; the following number (no. 8) may have been one of those once attached to his chariot. The figure seen in Cunningham 1 , pi. xiii, fig. 2, also belongs to Lord Lytton. This chariot may be compared with that on the cylinder of Darius in the British Museum (fig. 40), where projecting studs are also seen on the tyres of the wheels. The chariot of Darius Codomannus in the famous mosaic at Naples representing the battle of Issus also shows this feature. That seen in the relief at Persepolis (fig. 22, and F. Sarre, Die Kunst des alien Persien, pi. 26) is higher in form, and does not show the studs at such wide distances ; but this sculptured chariot accompanies Syrians bringing tribute, and may not be strictly Persian. For remarks upon this model, and the place of its type in the historical sequence of Asiatic chariots, cf. Introduction, p. xxxvii. 8. Gold HORSE, hammered from two plates soldered together, leaving the body hollow ; the legs alone are solid. The head-stall and reins are of applied wire, with circles at the junctions ; there is a lozenge setting where the straps cross over THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS 5 the face. The mane is gathered into a plume on the top of the head, which is well modelled. Plate XIII. L. i*7 in. 4-3 cm. Weight 93 grains. From the collection of Sir Alexander Cunningham ; used by Cunningham to complete his representation of Lord Lytton’s chariot (cf. note to no. 7 above). 9. Gold horse’s head, cast and chased ; imperfect upon one side. Plate II. L. i-2 in. 3-1 cm. Weight 666 grains. Cunningham 1 , pi. xiii, fig. 4. This head may well date from the fifth century B.C., and is not likely to be later than the fourth. 10. Silver handle from a vase, parcel-gilt. It is in the form of a wild goat standing, the hind legs rising from a flat gilded plate with incurved sides, the bent knees of the forelegs resting against a curved bar once affixed to the rim of the vessel. The body is hollow, and the animal is treated through- out in a bold conventional manner ; the hair on the body is represented by broad gilt bands, parted in the middle on back and breast, by gilt semicircles upon the shoulders, and by close curls, symmetrically disposed, upon the forehead ; the long beard is also gilded. The horns, which are gilded, and flat on the inner sides, are divided into six sections by transverse raised bands, each of three parallel lines ; beneath these runs a single vertical band following the contour of the horn. Gilded circles in low relief are seen amid the gilded hair on the shoulders, and upon the thighs ; on the forelegs, above the knees, are drop-shaped gilt figures with bifurcating ends. These follow a conventional method of suggesting the musculature or emphasizing points of organic importance in the structure of the animal (cf. note to no. 11). The ears, eyes, and hoofs are all gilded. The ribs are indicated by a series of parallel channels on either flank; under the body is a rectangular aperture. On the outer side of the plate from which the hind legs rise is an engraved palmette. Plate V. Fifth century B. c. L. 8-3 in. 21 cm. The head of this wild goat may be compared with that of the winged goat at the end of a silver rhyton from the fourth tumulus of the group of barrows known as the Seven Brothers, on the Kuban, most of which date from the fifth century B. c. (M. Rostovtzefif, Iranians and Greeks in South Russia, pi. xii A, and p. 53 ; F. Sarre, Die Kunst des alten Persien , pi. 48 ; and Compte rendu (1880), Atlas, pi. i, fig. 5) ; also with two parcel-gilt handles, from a vase found in Armenia, one of which is in the Louvre (W. Frohner, La Collection Tyszkiewicz, Choix de monuments , pi. iii; F. Sarre, Die Kunst des alten Persien, pi. 49); the other in Berlin ( Jahrbuch des K. Deutschen Arch. Instituts, Arch. Anzeiger, 1892, p. 113). Two handles, in the form of deer, rising from curved panels in much the same way as the present example, were discovered Fig. 42. Pal- mette on no. 10. 6 THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS in a barrow in Semipalatinsk, West Siberia (Smirnov, as above , pi. v, i8). The treatment is not Greek; the conventions are Iranian in character. This vase-handle was reproduced in gold while the Treasure was in India; the illustrations in Cunningham 3 , pi. xxi, and in Kondakov, Tolstoi, and Reinach, p. 288, are from this reproduction. 11. Gold deer, cast hollow and finished with a punch ; the musculature is con- ventionally indicated as in the previous number. The fore and hind legs rest upon transverse connecting plates, pierced with holes for small nails, by which the deer might be fixed to some flat surface. The horns and ears have been separately cast, and soldered in their places. A circular marking on the breast probably represents a whorl of hair, a band of herring bone along the back suggesting the hair on the body. The eyes have cavities which have perhaps been inlaid with coloured stones. Plate VI. Fifth century B. c. L. 2-2 in. 5-5 cm. Weight 380 grains. Cunningham 1 , pi. xv ; Kondakov, Tolstoi, and Reinach, fig. 303, on p. 343 ; Minns, Scythians ami Greeks, fig. 177, on p. 256. From the collection of Sir Alexander Cunningham. This and the following number may be compared with the small gold figures of deer from Siberia in the Hermitage (Kondakov, as above, figs. 335-7, on pp. 381-2). The conventional representation of the muscle lines is of an early type ; it was a method adopted from Assyria, appearing in Achaemenid monumental art, such as the lion-frieze at Susa (M. Dieulafoy, Suse, pi. iii). The whorl, as representing the twist of the hair on the body, may have been the naturalistic origin of similar marks placed on the flanks of lions and other beasts in Assyrian and Persian art. 12. Gold deer, cast hollow, and standing on a flat rectangular plate pierced round the edges with twenty-two holes for attachment. The details of ribs and muscles are rendered by punching, and the lower jaw is emphasized by a band of ornament running to the ear. Holes mark the places where antlers were once fixed. The legs are separately cast and soldered in position. Plate V I. Fifth century B. C. L. 2-5 in. 6-3 cm. Weight 910 grains. Cunningham 1 , pi. xv, fig. 7; Kondakov, Tolstoi, and Reinach, fig. 304, on p. 344; Minns, as above, fig. 177. The peculiar treatment of the lower jaw is seen again on the silver disc (no. 24). Cf. also the imperfect head of a deer(?) from the Don (J. I. Smirnov, Russian Silver, pi. v, no. 16). 13. Running stag, of gold, cast and chased, the feet resting upon two rectangular plates, each pierced with two holes for attachment. Plate XXI. Fourth century B.C. L. 1-3 in. 3-25 cm. Weight 134 grains. This small figure is naturalistically treated and should be later in date than the two preceding numbers. 14. Head OF a LION-GRYPHON in silver ; the mouth widely opened. It is hollow at the back, forming an almond-shaped cavity, pierced in the middle of each side by THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS 7 a silver pin, as if for attachment. The crest is a solid rib curving up over the forehead. Below the high pointed ears are two horizontal projections. Plate II. Fifth century B.C. L. 1-2 in. 3 cm. For the lion-gryphon see the note to no. 23. The present example is without the characteristic Persian horns, and may be compared with the monster on a chalcedony cone in the Hermitage, figured by Lajard, Culte de M Ultra, pi. lxii, fig. 8. From the contour of the back it may be conjectured that this object was once applied to a curved surface, such as the rim of a vessel. 15. FIGURE OF A goose, silver, cast and tooled ; the eyes are inlaid with gold, the feathers indicated by punched dots and lines. The feet are rudely represented on the flat base upon which the bird stands, and the legs are not divided. On the chest is a stud in the centre of a slightly raised rectangle. Plate VI. L. 4-25 in. 10-7 cm. Geese are seen upon the gold plaque (no. 47) ; see note on that number. 16. Gold FISH, hollow, and beaten up from a flat plate. The scales are indicated by regular imbrications, and the fins punched with close parallel lines. The mouth has an inner lining with a thickened edge, as if the fish had served as a flask or bottle, and had been fitted with a stopper. Above the left fin is an applied loop for suspension. Plate VI. Fifth or fourth century B. C. L. 9 5 in. 24 2 cm. Weight 15I oz. Cunningham 1 , pi. xv, fig. 8 ; Kondakov, Tolstoi, and Reinach, p. 352, fig. 309. From the collection of Sir Alexander Cunningham. The fish is not infrequently represented in finds in Russia. The best-known example is the large repouss^ example of gold from Vettersfelde, either a shield-ornament or a horse-frontlet. This has upon its surface other fish, with various animals ; it is attributed to an Ionian Greek crafts- man working for Scythians in the fifth century B. c. (A. F tirtwangler, Der Goldfund von Vetters- felde , p. 27 and pi. 1 ; Minns, Scythians and Greeks , fig. 146, p. 238 ; Rostovtzefif, Iranians and Greeks , p. 52). The Vettersfelde treasure also included a gold sheath, the surface of which is ornamented in the same style, two fish appearing at the lower end (fig. 30, p. xlviii). Another example which may be mentioned is a repousse gold plaque in the shape of a fish from Volkovtsy, in the Government of Poltava (Minns, as above , p. 184; Bobrinsky, Kurgans near Sniiela, iii, pp. 82 ff., with figures). This example is also of the fifth century. The fish in such cases is more likely to be connected with some magical or religious idea than to have practical associations like the fish on the coins of Panticapaeum which symbolized the profitable fisheries of the Black Sea. The occurrence of Merovingian brooches in the shape of fish may bear a relation to Scythic usage, since early Teutonic jewellery was directly influenced by the Sarmatians in the south of Russia (Rostovtzefif, as above , p. 184). Such a survival may perhaps confirm the view that the fish may have been regarded as a charm. It may be noted that fish of gold and silver were offered to Atargatis (F. Dolger, Ichthus, p. 133), and for early astronomical associations cf. F. X. Kugler, Sternkunde nnd Sterndienst in Babylonien. 8 THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS II. VESSELS 17. Gold JUG. The oviform body with horizontal flutings contracts rapidly towards the small base, which is only 1-5 in. in diameter. The plain broad neck expands at the rim, which has an open spout, the end of which has been cut off. The handle is octagonal in section, expanding below into a circular rosette ; its upper end is in the form of a lion’s head, represented as biting the rim. Plate VII. Fifth century B. C. H. 5-1 in. 13 cm. Weight njjoz. F. Sarre, Die Kunst ties alien Persien, pi. 46. The lion’s head upon the handle may be compared with those on some of the armlets, e. g. nos. 1 17-20, and with those on the gold collar from Susa in the Louvre (fig. 66 on p. 34). Horizontal channelling occurs on various silver and gold objects of the Achaemenid period, e. g. the rhyta from the fourth tumulus of the Seven Brothers group in the Kuban (J. I. Smirnov, Russian Silver, Album, pi. iv ; Rostovtzeff, as above, pi. xii A; Compte rendu (1880), Atlas, pi. i, fig. 5 ; Minns, as above, fig. 1 10, p. 21 1), and the bowl with lion-handles (Smirnov, pi. vi, 19). The rhyton, no. 178 below, may also be compared in this respect. 18. Shallow gold bowl; embossed from the inner side with ornament in two concentric zones. In the centre is an omphalos beaten up from the outer side. The outermost and larger zone of ornament consists of pairs of lions erect upon their hind legs with their forearms diagonally outstretched, each pair divided from Fig. 43. Gold bowl (no. 18). the next by an almond-shaped boss with the point inwards ; this zone is bordered both above and below by a plain embossed band. The smaller inner zone surrounds the circular depression forming the reverse of the omphalos , and is ornamented by six lesser almond-shaped bosses at regular intervals with the points outwards. Plate VIII, and fig. 47. Sixth century B. c. D.'475 in. 121 cm. Weight 1,135 grains. The stylized lions on this bowl recall types seen in the Assyrian reliefs with hunting-scenes of the time of Ashurbanipal. Herzfeld has suggested that this object may have been made in the Armenian kingdom of Urartu, the relations between which and Assyria are well known. 1 He argues that Van was the real centre where much of the metal-work attributed to Assyria was actually produced, and believes the Medes to have inherited Vannic artistic traditions which they 1 In Janus i: Festschrift zu C. F. Lehmann- Haupts Sechzigstem Grburtstage (Vienna-Leipzig, 1921), p. 154; cf. also his remarks in Der Islam, xi, p. 136 n. For Urartu cf. H. R. Hall, Ancient History of the Near East, p. 458. THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS 9 in turn handed on to Achaemenid Persia. Objects like the cylinder of Darius (fig. 7) show that Assyrian lion-types survived to early Persian times, perhaps transmitted by the Medes ; and it does not seem impossible that the present bowl, like the rather later sheath, no. 22, should be of Median origin. 19. Silver bowl, shallow, of fhiale type, the edge and interior plain. The outside is ornamented in relief with a rosette of nineteen petals surrounded by a narrow undecorated band. Round this is a broad zone of much larger petals radiating from the centre. A triangular fragment has been broken from the rim. Plate V. Persian. Fifth century B. C. D. 57 in. 14-5 cm. The treatment of the lotus-ornament is Persian rather than Greek. ao. Gold bowl, nearly hemispherical, without any ornament ; carefully finished. Plate III. D. 3-92 in. 9-9 cm. Weight 9§ oz. Captain Burton (p. xiii) was informed that when the treasure was found this bowl was seen to be placed over the gold head, no. 5. ai. Gold bowl, shallower than the last number, but equally devoid of ornament. Much battered. D. 6*35 in. 16 3 cm. Weight ioi oz. III. EMBOSSED OBJECTS (Where not otherwise stated the metal is gold.) 22 . Sheath OF a DAGGER, imperfect ; the upper end has the curved lateral projection of the daggers worn alike by Scythians, Bactrians, and others in the time of Darius I, and presumably at an earlier date (cf. p. xxxv). The ornamented surface is covered with embossed scenes illustrating a royal lion-hunt ; they occupy the compartments into which the broad upper end is divided and the whole length of the narrow part in which most of the blade was contained. The scenes are framed in borders of conventional design (see fig. 45) ; inner borders and divisions are marked out by narrower bands, chiefly in herring-bone pattern. The principal compartment at the broad upper end is divided into two parts by a horizontal band of herring-bone, which leaves a smaller space below, like an exergue. In the larger upper space a lion, standing in the middle, with bowed head, receives lance-thrusts from two mounted royal* figures whose confronted horses rear above him ; the winged disc is seen in the air, and the whole subject is treated with a rigid symmetry. The ‘ exergue ’ is divided into two equal halves by incurving serpentine heads with open mouths, which issue from the two ornamental bands framing the sides of the panel ; in each half a rampant lion turns his head backwards towards the serpentine head, which appears to threaten him. The lateral projection, one side Fig. 44. Outline of gold bowl (no. 21). THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS of which follows the curve of the outer edge, has three panels, two of irregular outline. One of the latter, much larger than the other, bears a similar subject to that above described : a lion in the middle is transfixed by the lances of two confronted royal figures, whose horses rear up to r. and /., but in this case the lion stands almost erect on his hind legs, looking back towards one of his assailants. Beneath the lion and one of the riders a small longitudinal space bordered by herring-bone encloses a slain lion ; behind the rider above this space is a small triangular compartment containing a lion rampant to r., with reverted head. On the long narrow body of the sheath a series of five royal figures galloping to r. are shooting with the bow at as many lions. The human figuies are monotonously alike ; but though all the lions are upon their hind legs they show great variety of attitude, two of them confronting the horsemen, the others turning their heads back upon them as they retreat. Just below the mouth is an applied loop with floriated ends, through which a cord passed ; the weight of the dagger was, however, mainly supported by a cord inserted in a loop or hole at the top of the curved part of the mouth, which is imperfect (on the method of fastening these daggers, or short swords, see above, p. xxxiv, and cf. fig. 12). The lost chape probably had the rounded form of those terminating the Kelermes Fig. 4;. Details from no. 22. and Melgunov sheaths (see note below). The embossed gold plate must have been lapped over a wooden lining. The whole has been cut into pieces, of which only seven are preserved, three or four others having disappeared. Plate IX. Sixth century B.C. L. 10-9 in. 27-6 cm. Weight 20 oz. 455 grains. Doubts have been expressed as to the authenticity of this sheath, on the ground that its subjects are so similar to those of reliefs dating from the time of Ashurbanipal from the north palace of Kouyunjik. It has also been urged that the royal figures wear the high Assyrian tiara, whereas the costume is Median or Persian, and the feet appear to be bare ; further, that as the sculptures were buried beneath the ruins of the city shortly after the time of Ashurbanipal, it would have been impossible for any Mede or Persian of a later time to have obtained access to them, and therefore the sheath must have been made after Layard’s discoveries. To these objections it may be replied that no relief from Kouyunjik is exactly copied. All that can be said is that the artist has reproduced a traditional type of lion-hunt, of which many examples in other materials than stone, and on a smaller scale, must certainly have been preserved after the overthrow of Assyria in 612 B.C. (Cf. pp. xxxv, xxxvi.) We know that the influence of Assyrian art spread to the north of the Caucasus from the close of the seventh century B. c., and probably traditional motives also passed into Media, if not directly, then, as Herzfeld supposes, through the art of the Vannic kingdom of Urartu [Janus: Festschrift zu C. F. Lehmann- Haupts sechzigstem Geburtstag, Vienna-Leipzig, 1921, pp. 155-6). We may therefore provision* ally ascribe the present sheath to that Median art of which so little is known, especially as the costume of the figures, as already remarked, is essentially Median. The ornament of the THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS •i i borders framing the subjects must be derived from Ionian Greek prototypes, sometimes not perfectly understood. For the external border running round the sheath Herzfeld has compared a fragment from the temple of Messa in Lesbos, now in the Berlin Museum (R. Koldewey, Die antiken Baureste tier Inset Lesbos , Berlin (1890), pi. 25, no. 12). It may be noted that early gold sheaths in Russia show reminiscences of Assyrian art, notably those from barrows at Kelermes on the Kuban, and from the tumulus excavated by General Melgunov, near Elisavetgrad between the Bug and the Dnieper. In the latter case (Minns, Scythians and Greeks , fig. 65, p. 1 7 1 ) the projection at the side has a border somewhat analogous to that just discussed, and like it perhaps based upon an Ionian prototype. The beast-heads terminating the bands which frame a panel at the broad end of our sheath have a barbaric appearance ; like the form of the sheath itself, they may possibly be of Scythian origin. The above considerations confirm the view that the sheath is ancient. This view was from the first supported by the condition in which it was obtained, all cut up into a number of pieces. As stated on an earlier page (p. xiv), Captain Burton saw the Treasure in process of division among the men who stole it, the method employed by them being a common one, exemplified by clipped and fragmentary hoards of silver belonging to various periods and countries. But the real argument for authenticity is to be found in the style of the work. This mixture of motives is just what might be expected in an object made in Iran in the sixth century, and what would not be expected from a modern forger, who would have sought, above all things, to reproduce the orthodox and uncontaminated style of the Assyrian reliefs, or their reproductions in illustrated books. Gold AIGRETTE (?), with two long pointed projections at the back ; in line with these are two small sockets, now empty. The front is a concavo-convex gold plaque, representing a lion-gryphon couchant, embossed and chased, the head alone being completed in the round. The whole figure is stylized, though enough naturalism remains to make the identification of the monster easy and certain. The legs are bent without regard for anatomy, but with an evident feeling for decorative effect; the tail forms two loops and ends in a leaf; settings for gems are cut out upon shoulder and flank ; while pellets of gold are placed in the ears and at the extremities of the horns. See figure 46. Scythic, fifth or fourth century B. C. Plate I SI Fig. 46. Gold aigrette (no. 23). 12 THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS L. 2-42 in. 6* 1 5 cm. Weight 200 grains. Archaeologia, lviii, p. 102 ; Minns, Scythians and Greeks , fig. 176 on p. 256. The position of the monster recalls that of a couchant deer from Scythian tombs in South Russia (Kostromskaya : Minns, fig. 129, p. 226 ; Borovka, pi. i ; Kul-Oba : Minns, fig. 98, p. 203; Seven Brothers : fig. 115, p. 214. Cf. also fig. 32 in the present Catalogue. In fact the leonine body and eagle's legs of the original Persian monster have been abandoned for a hybrid body, with a long tail but the hoofs of a deer. Moreover the hoofs are so represented as to suggest that, were the animal to rise, it would stand on their tips; parallels for this convention are seen in the case of a standing deer on a gold plaque in the Moscow Historical Museum (Borovka, Scythian Art, pi. iii, i) and on a mirror from Siberia in the Hermitage ( ibid pi. xli). The whole treatment affords a good example of the advanced stylization characteristic of Scythian art (p. liv). As noted in the Introduction, the arrangement of the cavities for the inlay of coloured stones on the monster’s flank resembles that seen on the gold plaques and other ornaments found in West Siberia in the time of Peter the Great (p. lviii). Attention was especially drawn to a splendid penannular gold collar there discovered (Minns, fig. 1 88, p. 272), which has at the two ends the heads and bodies of lion-gryphons of regular Achaemenid type enriched with stones set in fine cloisons, so closely resembling those of no. 116 (pi. i) that it cannot be far removed from it in date. It may be assumed that this collar was an importation into Siberia from Bactria or its neighbourhood ; and the resemblance between the cavities for inlay on the flanks of its lion-gryphons, and those upon other collars and plaques discovered in Siberia, leads us to infer that these objects are all of one lineage, those of Achaemenid origin,' or very nearly related to it, being the oldest, those in which the Scythic style is wholly dominant later in their several degrees. It was further suggested in the Introduction that these develop- ments in Siberia were parallel to, and probably dependent upon, similar changes in the art of the regions to the north of Bactria and east of the Caspian, where this aigrette and the other Scythic objects in the treasure are supposed to have been made ; for contact, direct or indirect, may be assumed to have existed between the Scythic tribes of this area and those of Western Siberia (p. liii). The monster represented on this ornament, the so-called lion-gryphon, came to Achaemenid Persia through Assyria and Babylonia ; though the horns appear to have been a Persian addition. The facts with regard to its distribution on early monuments will be found at the end of A. Furtwangler’s article Gryps in Roscher’s Lexicon (see note on no. 116). It is found on coins of Lycia, Cilicia, and Panticapaeum, and was probably introduced into Greek art through imported Persian cylinders and textiles. The Greeks frequently employed it in orna- ment, dropping first the eagle’s legs, and then the short feathered tail, and thus approximating to their own eagle-headed type; but in monuments of a good period it is generally connected in some way with Persia and the Persians. One of the most conspicuous example: of this is the Vase of Xenophantos, found in the Crimea, but made in Attica (Minns, fig. 249, p. 343; Kondakov, Tolstoi, and Reinach, fig. 109, p. 80), on which Persians are seen hunting it. It is often found on engraved gems ; a good instance is to be seen upon a chalcedony scaraboid now preserved in the Louvre, where such a gryphon is being killed by a Persian (Furtwangler, Antike Gennnen, iii, p. 123, and cf. pi. xi, fig. 19, pi. xii, figs. 1 and 4). Only one other instance of its association with Persia need be cited : that on one of the sarcophagi from Sidon in the Ottoman Museum at Constantinople, where it forms part of the ornament on the saddle-cloth of a Persian’s horse in the lion-hunt there represented (Hamdy Bey and Theodore Reinach, Une nforopole royale d Sidon, p. 303). For the various objects with different types of gryphon found in South Russia see the indexes of Minns, Scythians and Greeks, and of Rostovtzeff, Iranians and Greeks, s.v. Griffin. Attention may further be drawn to the treat- ment of the end of the tail as a leaf. The combination of floral with animal motives appeared in the Scythic art of South Russia in the fifth century (Rostovtzeff, Iranians and Greeks, pp. 54, THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS i3 1 93), though at first resulting in very fantastic forms. The present leaf-ended tail suggests a later and more realistic feeling, as does the crest on the monster ornamenting the small gold cap (no. 190), not forming part of the Treasure, but obtained through the North-West of India, and doubtless from the Oxus region. 24. Silver disc, parcel-gilt, the gilding done by cutting plates of thin gold to the desired contour, and lapping them over the embossed figures. In the centre is a boss pierced by five holes, and round the edge isaguilloche border. In the zone enclosed between the two are represented three mounted huntsmen a spear at two deer, one of which has already been hit, a broken spear sticking in its back ; a second horse- man similarly pursues two wild goats, one of which, like the deer, carries a broken spear in its back ; a third, riding in the opposite direction, aims an arrow at a hare before his horse’s feet. All three wear the bashlik (p. xxviii), girded tunics, and trousers, the patterns on the garments being indicated by punched dots and parallel or hatched lines. They ride without stirrups on ornamented saddle-cloths fringed at the back ; in two cases a projection behind the waist suggests the end of a bow-case (gory t us). The tails of the horses are tied with bows. Plate X. Fourth century B. c. D. 3-8 in. 9-65 cm. Cunningham 2 , pi. vi, fig. d; Kondakov, Tolstoi, and Reinach, fig. 252 on p. 287 (from the gold imitation). This disc may have formed the boss of a decorative shield. The hunting scene closely resembles that upon the gold hilt of a Persian dagger (fig. 16) found in a tumulus at Chertomlyk on the Dnieper, north-west of Nicopol ( Compte rendu, 1865, pi. v; Pridik, Melgunov , pi. v, fig. i ; Kondakov, fig. 264 on p. 304 ; Minns, Scythians and Greeks, fig. 5 1 on p. 163). The type of horseman is definitely Persian. It is found on gems (Lajard, Culte de Mithra, pi. liii, fig. 8; Furtwangler, Antike Gemmen, iii, p. 122, and pis. xi, xii ; E. Babelon, La collection Pauvert-de-la-Chapelle, pi. iv, fig. 17). It also occurs on coins of Evagoras II of Salamis in Cyprus, a tributary of the Persian Empire (cf. fig. 11). The fashion of tying horses’ tails with knots was usual in Assyria, and seems to have been a general oriental custom. 25. Circular tlaque, convex ; in the centre, within a border of bosses between two cables, is an eagle displayed ; beyond, is a broad band containing lotus-ornament within a circle of smaller bosses. Round the circumference, upon another cable, is a narrow band of scallops in contrast, the general effect somewhat resembling egg-and-dart moulding. In the centre of the back is fixed a stout ring. Plate XI. Fifth-fourth century B. C. D. 375. 9-8 cm. Weight 61 1 grains. Possibly an ornament for the top of a cap or other head-dress. galloping in pursuit of game. One launches Fig. 47. Shield from Persepolis. (After Flandin and Coste.) 14 THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS The eagle, in its stylized treatment and heraldic attitude, is purely oriental. The band of lotus-design is also Persian in character ; it may be compared to that seen on the glazed bricks on the great staircase at Susa. (Cf. fig. 48.) It may be noted that the eagle was connected with the legendary history of the Achaemenid royal line. Aelian ( De tiatura animalium, xii. 21) relates the tradition that Achaemenes was nurtured by an eagle ; a gold eagle displayed ornamented the yoke of the royal chariot (Xenophon, Cyropaedia , vii. 1. 4 ; O. Curtius, iii. 3). Eagles surmount a sarcophagus, from the royal necropolis at Sidon, on which Persians are represented (Hamdy Bey and Th. Reinach, Une necropole royale a Sidon, pp. 275-6). 26. Pierced disc ; a sphinx seated to /., the r. foreleg raised, the head turned backwards. She wears a hemispherical cap and necklace, and her hair falls in a roll upon her neck. The tip of her wing is given the form of a lion-gryphon’s head, on which she bends her gaze. The border of the disc is ribbed. Plate XII. Fifth century B. c. Fig. 48. Lotus ornament from Susa. (After Dieulafoy.) 1 ). 2 in. 5 cm. Weight 58 grains. Like the following numbers this disc probably belongs to the class of thin gold ornaments sewn to garments ; the fashion of enriching the costume with such bracteates, known in ancient Crete, was much practised by the peoples of Hither Asia. The discoveries in the barrows of South Russia prove the wide extension of the custom among the neighbouring Scythians (cf. Minns, Scythians and Greeks, fig. ic6, p. 208, with various bracteates, one representing a sphinx). The sphinx came into Greek art with the gryphon and other winged monsters (Furtwangler, Antike Gemmen, iii, pp. 43, 72), and was introduced into the Scythic territory as early as the sixth century (Mirror from Kelermes : Rostovtzeff, Iranians and Greeks, pi. vi). The termination of a wing-tip or other extremity with the head of a monster, beast, or bird is earlier than Achaemenid times ; tails of beasts end in birds’ heads on Hittite sculpture at Sinjirli (Rostovtzeff, Iranians and Greeks , p. 58). The fashion was very popular among the Scythic peoples, objects made by them, or by Greeks for them, showing numerous examples. Thus the tail of the gold fish found at Vettersfelde ends in two rams’ heads (Furtwangler, Der Goldfund von Vettersfelde, pi. 1) ; the last tine of a stag’s antler on the plaque from Kul-Oba (Antiquills du Bosphore Cimmerien, pi. xxvi, fig. 1) ends in the same way ; on a plaque from one of the Seven Brothers tumuli in the Kuban district, the tail of a winged monster ends in a bird’s head. The above examples, with others, will be found illustrated in Minns, Scythians and Greeks , where many instances of the Sphinx in South Russia will also be found (see his index, s.v. Sphinx ). 27. Disc ; a sphinx seated to r. with /. foreleg raised. Plate XII, XXI. D. x in. 2 6 cm. Weight 19 grains. 28. Another ; a lion- gryphon seated to r. with reverted head, ribbed border similar to that of no. 26. At the back four loops for attachment. Plate XII. D. 1-9 in. 475 cm. Weight 82 grains. 29. Another, with the same design ; four loops at the back. D. 1-62. 4-2 cm. Weight 82 grains. THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS i5 30. Another, similar: at back traces of loops for attachment D. r6 in. 4 cm. Weight 123 grains. 31. Another ; a winged lion (?) walking to l. Plate XXI. D. 0 62 in. 1-6 cm. Weight 10 grains. 32. Another ; head of Bes. Guilloche border, in which are four holes for attach- ment. Plate XII. D. 17 in. 4-35 cm. Weight 70 grains. The head of Bes is seen on the front of the chariot, no. 7. 33. Another ; an eagle displayed ; above the head a disc. Ribbed border similar to those of nos. 26 and 28. Plate XII. D. 1-9 in. 4-8 cm. Weight 88 grains. The eagle is found on bracteates made for affixing to garments in South Russia, but in a less heraldic form. Cf. also note to no. 26. 34. Another, similar, but without border; at the back two loops for attachment. Plate XII, XXI. D. o-88 in. Weight 20 grains. 35. Disc ; a bearded human half-figure to /. wearing a Persian head-dress ; it issues from two pairs of extended wings and a feathered tail. Plate XXI. Fifth century B. C. D. o-86 in. 2-2 cm. Weight 14 grains. This figure perhaps represents Ahuramazda (Lenormant in Cahier and Martin, Melanges d'archtologie, iii, p. 1 3 1 ; cf. J. G. Rohde, Die heilige Sage . . . der alten Baktrer, Meder, Perser , &c., pp. 485 fif.). Dieulafoy, on the other hand, argued that such emblems represent nothing more than genii, and that they are the prototypes of the winged figures in human form which appear upon Sassanian monuments like no. 2c8 below (PAcrofote de Suse, pp. 406-8). Similar bearded busts are frequent upon Persian monuments of the Achaemenid period, but the figure often rises from a circle, and sometimes holds the symbolic ring in its hand. Another form of the winged disc used in Persia occurs on a scaraboid found in a grave south of Kerch ( Compte rendu, 1880, Atlas, pi. iii, fig. 7 ; cf. Minns, Scythians and Greeks, pp. 410-12). 36 . Another, with design punched in outline representing a horseman riding to r. and holding up a rod or spear in his /. hand. He wears a basklik, girded tunic, and trousers, the latter ornamented by hatched lines. He is seated on a saddle-cloth with border, and is reining in the galloping horse, whose tail is tied with a bow (cf. no. 24). See figure. Fifth century B C. D. 1 -9 in. 4-8 cm. Weight 85 grains. Fig. 49. Design on no. 36. This object, though not embossed, is included in this section, because it appears to have been used for the same purpose as the preceding numbers. i6 THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS 37. Rectangular plaque, with embossed ornament in two rectangular compart- ments of unequal size. In the smaller, a man wearing a hemispherical head- dress, girded tunic, and trousers, stands with raised hand facing the larger compartment, which contains a lion standing to /., but with the head facing ; the details are indicated by punched dots. Along one side of the plaque is a vandykcd border of applied strips of gold, forming triangular cells for coloured stones now missing. On the back are four loops for attachment. Plate XXI. L. o-8 in. 2 05 cm. Weight 20 grains. Cunningham 1 , pi. xv, fig. 4. The lion resembles one seen on a plaque from South Russia ( Cowpte rendu , 1876, pi. iii, fig. 20). 38 . Figure of a Man, embossed from a thin plate. He wears a crenellated crown (see no. 1), a long garment with wide sleeves ornamented with a row of circles, and shoes or boots. His long hair falls in a heavy roll upon his neck, and in his ear is a circular ear-ring : possibly the ridge round his neck represents a collar. His r. hand is held up before his face, and in his /. is a lotus-like flower. At the back are five loops for attachment. Plate XIII. Fifth century B. C. L. 2-42 in. 6-15 cm. Weight 53 grains. This figure perhaps represents a Persian king in the act of making an offering. The carrying of a lotus-flower seems to have been a ceremonial act in Persia, and is also seen on Assyrian monuments ; on the sculptures the king and officers of the court are sometimes seen either with an actual flower or with an ornament in its shape. (An example from Persepolis is seen in fig. 10.) Deities themselves were associated with particular flowers (see above, p. xxxvii) ; and on coins of Tiribazus a half-figure of Ahuramazda holds a lotus (E. Babelon, Les Perses Achimenides, pi. iii, fig. 16). The lotus is held by other figures in the present collection (see pis. xiii, xiv, xv, xxv), one of which, no. 103, may represent Anahita [Anaitis] : on its general significance see notes to nos. 103 and 188. It is difficult to say whether this figure is bearded or beardless : the chin is full and highly embossed, so that perhaps a beard is intended. The Achaemenian kings were almost all bearded, but the younger Cyrus appears without a beard upon darics (Babelon, as above, pi. ii, fig. 7). On the royal costume see above, pp. xxxi and xxxii ; on p. xxix the similarity between royal and priestly garments, and on p. xxxiv that between male and female costume in court circles, are noted. The dress of the archers upon the archers’ frieze at Susa (cf. fig. 28) is of very much the same character. The costume and attitude of this figure should be especially compared with those of no. 89, pi. xv. It was probably attached to some article of apparel or caparison, as was also the succeeding number. 39. ORNAMENT in the form of a large bird’s head with curved beak issuing from a serpentine body. At the back five loops for attachment. Plate XIII. L. 1-34 in. 3-35 cm. Weight 65 grains. This is one of the monstrous combinations created by Scythian fancy, the same fancy which suggested the fantastic forms seen on plaques from fourth- century graves in the south of Russia THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS i7 (Rostovtzeff, Iranians and Greeks , figs. 21, 22 ; Minns, Scythians and Greeks , index, s. v. Beak- heads ; Compte rendu , 1880, pp. 9 AT., Atlas, pi. i, fig. 8). From the loop at the back it may be conjectured that, like the preceding figure, no. 38, it was attached to some article of apparel. Some objects as found in South Russia were not always in the form of discs, but were often cut in outline (e. g. Compte rendu , 1880, Atlas, pi. iii, fig. 27). 40. Gold button (?) with conventional lion’s head facing, and cable border. Across the back is soldered a thick gold wire forming a loop for attachment. Plate XII. Fifth century B. C. D. 1-64 in. 4-15 cm. Weight 160 grains. This object is probably for fastening a garment, but more adapted for attachment to straps or bands on harness or accoutrements than to garments. The lion’s head occurs in a stylized form in the Altai (Borovka, Scythian Art, pis. lx and lxii). It is also found on bracteates from South Russia (e. g. Compte rendu , 1880, pp. 225 and 235-6, from a grave, south of Kerch). 41. Another ; head of a beardless man. The hair is curly, the face and nose long, and the cheeks full. Border of dolphins. At back a wire as in preceding number. Plate XII D. 1-64 in. 4-15 cm. Weight 197 grains. The border has been clipped. The dolphins may indicate Greek influence. - y gM /'! '* v- 42. Another ; a grotesque head with human face, bull’s horns, very large projecting ears, and two projecting tusks. The ears and part of the field ornamented with punched dots. At the back a wire as before. Plate XII D. 1 - 62 . 4-1 cm. Weight 166 grains. This type sometimes resembles the head of such a monster as that seen on an embossed gold plaque from the Chertomlyk tumulus in South Russia. The monster is a winged quadruped with horned human head and projecting ears ; and the style of the work suggests influences from the art of Mesopotamia and Persia (Kondakov, p. 309, fig. 270). Projecting tusks were a feature of the early type of Gorgoneion which occurs upon gold bracteates intended for sewing on garments, and found in the Graeco-Scythian tombs of South Russia, e.g. Minns, fig. 106 on p. 208; Compte rendu , 1880, Atlas, pi. iii, fig. 9. Other plaques of the same character, also from the south of Russia, have horned human heads {Compte rendu, 1879, Atlas, pi. iii). Both the bull’s head and the horned human head were regarded as amu- lets (ibid., text, p. 144). There may be some connexion between these facts and the custom of wearing horns upon the head, which in Asia, as in other parts of the world, has been practised both in ancient and modern times. The Chinese pilgrim Hiouen Thsang in the seventh century noted that the women of Badakshan affixed long horns to their heads ; while modern travellers relate that the women of the Siah Posh Kafirs still wear horned head-dresses. m \ sm v.V.O Fig. 50. No. 43. 43. Hemispherical button, with stout loop in the interior for attachment. It is embossed with two figures of boars lying down and two wild-goats’ heads. See fig. 50. i8 THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS D. 17 in. 4-3 cm. Weight 345 grains. Perhaps used in the same way as nos. 40-2. Here again there is barbaric influence. For a gold ‘ button ’ from Siberia in the Hermitage with an elk and tiger or panther on the sides see Borovka, Scythian Art , pi. lv, no. 5, and Kondakov, Tolstoi, and Reinach, p. 398. 44. Horse, embossed from a thin plate. The mouth is open and the head somewhat grotesque: the mane is gathered into a plume on the forehead. The con- ventional markings indicating muscles upon the legs are punched. The indication of muscles follows oriental traditions. Plate XIII. L. 1-42 in. 3-6 cm. Weight 28 grains. 45. Another, rudely embossed from a thin plate ; the muscles indicated by punched marks. The mouth is pierced to receive a rein formed of a flat strip of gold, and affixed to a bifurcating wire applied to the neck is a fragment of a yoke, from the centre of which rises a circular disc. Plate XIV. L. 2-12 in. 5-4 cm. Weight 80 grains. This horse evidently belonged to a model chariot. Compare the fragments of harness with no. 7. 46. HORSE, embossed and cut out, the details indicated by punching. To a girth passing under the body is attached a large circular ring surmounted by a flower- like ornament, perhaps for the reins to pass through. The mane is gathered into a plume between the ears, and the mouth is pierced with a hole, probably to receive applied wire reins now missing (cf. no. 8). Plate XIII. Fifth century B. c. L. 2-4 in. 5 5 cm. Weight 139 grains. This horse is of a more massive build than some of the others, and recalls the chariot-horses upon the sculptures at Persepolis (F. Sarre, Die Kunst ties alien Persien, pi. 26). It resembles these in the freedom of its style, and has none of the conventional markings representing muscles seen on nos. 44 and 45. On Persian horses see above, p. xx and no. 24. 47. Narrow PLAQUE, serrated along the top : broken into two parts. I11 the centre is a palmette, on either side of which is a pair of geese confronted, but with averted heads, and separated by a vertical line of punched dots. Plate XIII. Fifth century B. C. L. 4-38 in. ii-i cm. Weight 153 grains. The palmette may be compared with the examples upon'glazed bricks at Susa (figs. 48 and 51), and with the ‘Ionic lotus’ figured by Goodyear ( Grammar of the Lotus, pi. xii, fig. 4), though here it terminates at the base in a different way, recalling in this respect the palmette upon the Chertomlyk dagger-hilt (fig. 6), which is also an example of Persian work. The birds are described as geese because of their straight beaks ; otherwise they might represent eagles. Cf. the embossed quiver-ornaments found in the fourth of the Seven Brothers tumuli in South Russia, ascribed to the fifth century ( Compte rendu, 1880, Atlas, pi. ii, figs. 4 and 5; Kondakov, p. 276, fig. 246; Rostovtzeff, Iranians and Greeks, pi. xiii ; Minns, Scythians and Greeks, fig. 112 Fig. 51. Lotus orna- ment from Susa. (After Dieulafoy.) THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS 19 on p. 211). For the association of the goose with the lotus, probably as a solar symbol, see Goodyear, as above , pp. 269 ff. ; for this bird in the art of India and Burmah see J. E. Tennant, Ceylon, p. 484. In the Kassite civilization it was connected with the dog-star, through the god- dess Gula. IV. GOLD PLAQUES WITH FIGURES PUNCHED IN OUTLINE 48. Gold RECTANGULAR plaque, embossed with the figure of a man standing to r., his /. hand by his side, his r. extended and holding a bundle of rods. He wears a hood from which his hair projects both above and below, close sleeves, tunic reaching almost to the knees, confined at the waist with a girdle, trousers, and high boots. His tunic is ornamented with two vertical stripes and has similar bands along the bottom and at the shoulders. From the girdle hangs on his r. hip a short sword in a sheath with a cinquefoil chape and a lateral projection at the upper end. Plate XIV. L. 5-9 in. 15 cm. Weight 23 oz. Cunningham 1 , pi. xiv; Kondakov, p. 187, fig. 177; Minns, Scythians ami Greeks , fig. 174 on p. 255. The figure here represented wears the costume which seems to have been in its essential features common to the Scythians and Bactrians. It is doubtful whether the bundle of rods held in his hand proves him to be a diviner (see p. xxv above, and Kondakov, p. 186) ; it may rather indicate the profession of Mazdaism. In the latter case the bundle would be the baregman or barsom (see p. xxvi), and the holder perhaps a priest of a lower grade ; for in form at least there does not appear to have been any very marked distinction between the garments of such priests and those of laymen. Strabo’s description of the hood-like caps worn by the Magi of Cappadocia at their ceremonies (xv. 733 Tiapas nepiKfiptvoi niKunas KaddKvias (Karepu>6( v pe\P l T °v KaAvn-Ttiv ra ^6i'A>j rar napayvaOibas) applies almost equally well to the head-dresses of Evagoras of Salamis (fig. 1 1 ), of the king or satrap in no. 2, of the huntsmen in no. 24, and of many of the figures upon this series of plaques. If the personage is a layman, as the presence of the short sword at his side perhaps indicates, it becomes more difficult to identify the rods with the barsom, for the allusions to this object in the sacred books seem to describe it as a priestly attribute ; but the silver statuette (no. 1), which appears to be a king, certainly has it, and its use may have been more extensive than there has hitherto been reason to suppose. Among the modern Parsis the barsom, when not held, is touched by the priest with his left hand as it lies in a horizontal position before him, supported upon two small metal stands ntahru (see the photographs and life- sized models exhibited in the Musee Guimet at Paris, and Dieulafoy, Suse, p. 398). The short sword worn by the personage is the Scytho-Persian acinaces familiar to us from the sculptures of Persepolis and other monuments (see p. xxxiv, figs. 10 and 12 and no. 70). The use of this series of gold plaques is not easy to determine. They are too big to have been fastened on garments like nos. 26 ff, and indeed the absence of any holes or loops for attachment in all of them would make their application to anything difficult. They may have had a votive significance : the subjects of some of them appear to be ceremonial. This difficulty in explaining the purpose for which these plaques were made, and the character of some of the figures, which are so rude and grotesque that a child might have designed them, has brought the whole group into suspicion : it has further been argued that so large an amount of pure gold is not likely to have been wasted cn objects of such extreme rudeness by any one except a forger. The very roughness of their execution precludes detailed criticism, for there is so little on which it can be based, and such rude work as this might be done at any period. But G 20 THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS the extravagant use of gold is what might be expected in a region so rich in the precious metal as Central Asia in ancient times, and it need not in itself militate against the authenticity of the plaques. This plaque, and no. 84, which is also embossed, should strictly be included in the preceding section ; but as by their form and subjects they belong more closely to the present series, it was considered more convenient to insert them in this group. 49. Rectangular plaque, with figure of a man standing to r. punched in outline. He is dressed as no. 48 and holds in his r. a bundle of rods, in his /. a con- ventional lotus-flower. Round the edges an embossed pearled border. Plate XIV L. 7-75 in 19-7 cm. Weight 1 oz. 108 grains. See note to preceding number. For the flower see notes to nos. 103 and 188. 50. Upper HALF OF a plaque, with half-figure of a bearded man wearing hood, as no. 48, and long-sleeved tunic. He holds in both hands a bundle of rods. L. 3 in. 77 cm. Weight 325 grains. 51. Rectangular plaque, with figure of a man standing to r. and dressed as before. He holds with both hands a bundle of rods. Plate XV. L. 2-26 in. 575 cm. Weight 35 grains. 52. Another, imperfect, with three-quarter figure of a holding before him with both hands a bundle of rods, but the top of the cap has several vertical creases. L. 2 6 in. 6-55 cm. Weight 101 grains. 53. Another; a man dressed as before, standing to r. and holding a bundle of rods before him with his r. hand. About the centre of each side, near the edge, is a circular perforation. L. 2-8 in. 7-1 cm. Weight 59 grains. 54. Another ; a man dressed as before, standing to r. and holding a bundle of rods in the r. hand. The work very rough and indistinct. L. 2-8 in. 7 cm. Weight 64 grains. 55. Another ; a man dressed as before, standing to r. and holding a bundle of rods before him with both hands. L. 27 in. 6 9 cm. Weight 67 grains. 56 . Another ; a man dressed as before, standing to r. and holding a bundle of rods with both hands. Extremely rough work. L. 2-68 in. 6 85 cm. Weight 72 grains. 57. Another ; a man to r. as before, holding rods in his r. hand. Very rough workmanship. L. 1-64 in. 4-2 cm. Weight 26 grains. man standing to r. and The costume is as before, THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS 21 58. Rectangular plaque ; a man as before, standing to r. and holding rods in his r. hand. L. ri in. 2-75 cm. Weight 10 grains. 59. Another; a man to r. as before, holding rods in his r. hand; rough work- manship. L. 1-66 in. 4-25 cm. Weight 52 grains. 60. Another, terminating in a long strip at base ; a man to r. as before, holding rods in his r. hand. L. 4 4 in. ii-i cm. Weight 45 grains. 61. Another ; a man standing to /. and holding rods before him with both hands. The costume is essentially the same as in the preceding examples, but the tunic is ornamented with rows of punched dots, and the trousers with cross-hatching. At each top corner a circular perforation. L. 3-2 in. 8-3 cm. Weight 88 grains. 62. Another; a man standing to/, holding rods before him. Costume is as before, but the trousers are cross-hatched, and the ends of a fillet project in front of the cap. L. 2-05 in. 5-2 cm. Weight 31 grains. 63. Another ; a man standing to /. clothed as before, but with cap which does not cover the ears. He is carrying a bundle of rods (?) with both hands. L. 1.3 in. 4-55 cm. Weight 31 grains. 64. Another ; a man clothed as before, standing to /. and holding rods in both hands. The upper part of the body and the legs from the knees are in low relief, the rest in outline. Very rough workmanship. L. 3-26 in. 8-25 cm. Weight 257 grains. 65. Another ; a man holding out a bundle of rods(?). Extremely barbarous work. L. 8-55 in. 227 cm. Weight 2 oz. 355 grains. 66 & 67. Another ; in two halves, a man standing to /. clothed as before, but with two circular projections above the front of the hood, and hatched ornament on his trousers. In his /. hand he holds a long spear with leaf-shaped head. On two consecutive sides a border of punched dots. L. 1 in. 3-9 cm. Weight 15 grains. 68. ANOTHER, with an extremely rude and grotesque figure of a bearded man standing to /. He wears a coat like that seen in the preceding number and empty sleeves, closely fitting trousers, and low boots. On his head is a cap(?) with two lobes. In his r. hand he holds up three rods. L. 4-6 in. 11-65 cm - Weight 1 oz. 179 grains. For the costume see p. xxx and note to no. 2. 22 THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS 69. Rectangular tlaque; a man standing to r. In his /. hand he holds up a globular vase with high neck and expanding rim. In his r. he grasps a bundle of rods. He wears a hood, a tunic of which only the sleeves are visible, and a long coat with furred border represented by a band of pounced circles, and empty hanging sleeves. On his feet are low boots. Plate XV. L. 1-95 in. 4-95 cm. Weight 49 grains. For the upper garment cf. the two preceding numbers. 70. Another ; a man standing to r., holding in his /. hand a bundle of rods, in his r. a beaker-shaped cup with cover and handle. He wears a hood with fillet, a girded tunic ornamented with vertical stripes and a border at the bottom, . long trousers and boots. The outside of the right leg shows a design of three super- posed birds facing to right. A dagger or short sword is suspended from the girdle, the cord supporting it passing through the lateral projection at the mouth of the sheath ; a second cord attached to the bottom passes round the man’s leg. Plate XV. L. 2-64 in. 67 cm. Weight 51 grains. For this type of sword cf. nos. 22 and 48, and figs. 10 and 12. For the method of attachment see p. xxxiv. 71. Another; a man standing to /. with his elbows at his sides; the hands, both of which are raised, holding bundles of rods. He wears trousers, a tunic reaching to the knees, and the hood. The tunic is ornamented with dots, and a single long vertical band, and with tasselled cords ; the ends of the girdle hang loose in front. Round the edges runs a line of punched dots. Plate XV. L. 2 64 in. 67 cm. Weight 66 grains. 72. ANOTHER ; a man in a tunic walking to /. His arms are extended and he holds rods (?) in both hands. Very rough work. L. 0 92 in. 2-3 cm. Weight 9 grains. 73. Another ; a man standing to r. and holding a spear before him with both hands : his hood is bound with a fillet the ends of which hang down the back. L. 5 in. 127 cm. Weight 1 oz. 181 grains. 74. Another ; a man walking to r. clothed as before, except that his head-dress is a cap rather than a hood. He holds in his r. hand a spear, and in his /. a flower. Plate XV. Weight 48 grains. On the flower see notes to nos. 103 and 208. THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS 23 75. Rectangular plaque ; a man clothed as before, with a single stripe down the side of his tunic, standing to r. and holding a spear with leaf-shaped point. Border of punched dots. Plate XV. L. i-88 in. 4-8 cm. Weight 44 grains. 76. Another ; a bearded man standing to l. and holding a bundle of rods before him. He wears a hood and ear-rings with circular pendants. His costume consists of a long coat reaching to the ankles with empty hanging sleeves, and furred band down the front. Very rough work. L. 27 in. 6-85 cm. Weight 40 grains. For the costume see p. xxxi and note to no. 2. 77. Another ; a man standing to r. with hood, tunic, and trousers as before, but with two stripes down the tunic ; he holds a flower in his r. hand, and an indeterminate object in his /. L. 3-36 in. 8-55 cm. Weight 76 grains. 78 . Another ; a man as before walking to r., holding up a flower in his /. and an indeterminate object in his r. hand. L. 2 in. 51 cm. Weight 57 grains. 79. Another ; a man as before, but with a single stripe down the tunic, walking to r. and holding a flower in his r. hand. L. 2-28 in. 5’S cm. Weight 56 grains. 80. Another ; a man as before, but with a rather different cap, walking to r. He has a flower in his r. hand, and holds his /. arm up. Very rough work. L. 1-04 in. 2-6 cm. Weight 21 grains. 81. Another ; a man as before walking to /. and holding a flower with both hands. L. 1-64 in. 4-15 cm. Weight 15 grains. 82. Another; a man as before, but with head-dress with six short radiating lines as the top. In his /. hand he holds up a flower. Very rough work. L. 1-44 in. 3-65 cm. Weight 62 grains. 83 . Another ; a man standing to r. clothed as before, except that his cap is hemi- spherical at the top and has a band or fillet round it. In his hands he holds an indeterminate object. Border of punched dots. Very rude workmanship. L. 3-16 in. 8 cm. Weight 91 grains. 84. Another, with embossed half-figure of a man to r. holding up in his /. hand a hammer or staff with a T-shaped end and in his r. a spear (?). He is beardless and wears a hood above which is a high plume or horn (?), and a pleated or 24 THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS quilted tunic girded at the waist. Attached to this girdle and slung on the /. side of the body is a bow-case (gory (us). Near the left edge of the plaque are four small perforations in two pairs, one near the top, the other near the bottom. Plate XV. L. 2 3 in. 575 cm. Weight 130 grains. For the gorytus similarly worn see the cylinder figured by Lajard, Culte de Mithra , pi. 52, fig. 2, and the sculptures of Persepolis (e. g. fig. to) ; for the hammer, Flandin and Coste, vol. ii, pi. 109. 85. Rectangular PLAQUE ; a bearded man standing to r. He wears a girded tunic barely reaching the knees, and close trousers ornamented with cross-hatching. On his head is a serrated crown and in his ears ear-rings with globular pendants. He appears to be holding out an indeterminate object. Border of punched dots. The whole design very indistinct. L. 3-8 in. 9-6 cm. Weight 95 grains. The serrated crown is worn by Achaemenid kings on darics and cylinders, and by priests upon coins of the Sassanian period. 86. Another, with nude figure of a man standing to r. holding out a bird by the legs in his r. hand. He is beardless and has short hair apparently curly. Plate XV. L. 2-12 in. 5 35 cm. Weight 50 grains. This plaque may be compared with the silver statuette no. 4, which may also have held a bird. On the bird as an offering to Anaitis see note to no. 103 and cf. a cylinder in the de Clercq collection (fig. 9 ; and Menant, Glyptique orientate, vol. ii, pi. ix, no. 2, and p. 124). 87. Another ; a man standing full face with arms hanging by the sides, and wearing a serrated crown ; the work extremely barbarous. L. 1 84 in. 4 7 cm. Weight 22 grains. 88. Another; a figure in outline standing full face, the head represented by con- centric circles ; the r. hand held up, the /. down, both with fingers extended ; very rude and grotesque. L. 164 in. 4-2 cm. Weight 18 grains. 89. Another; a man standing to r. He wears a skirt the folds of which are represented by three vertical pleated bands, and a jacket with long pendent sleeves : his hair falls in a roll over the neck. In his r. hand he holds out a flower resembling a lotus, while his /., which possibly contains a smaller flower, is held vertically before his face. Plate XV. L. 17 in. 4 35 cm. Weight 37 grains. Cf. no. 38. The costume is in both cases similar, and in spite of its feminine appearance it is probable that this is also a male figure. 90 ANOTHER ; a man (?) standing to /. His costume is similar to that of the preceding number, but he has a circular ornament on the forehead and the cord THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS 25 of a girdle is visible below his sleeve. In his l. hand he holds up a lotus-like flower. Very rude work. L. 3 in. 7-6 cm. Weight 115 grains. 91. RECTANGULAR plaque ; a man (?) standing to /. clothed as the last two numbers. He appears to be holding up a flower: work very indistinct. L. 1-94 in. 4-95 cm. Weight 38 grains. g2. ANOTHER ; a bearded man with long hair falling in a roll on his neck, standing to /. and holding a conventional flower (?) in his l. hand. He wears a tunic or jacket and a skirt reaching almost to the ankles. Plate XV. L. 2-06 in. 5-2 cm. Weight 70 grains. 93. ANOTHER ; a female figure standing to r. Her hair appears to hang in a plait down the back, and she wears a long dress, above which is a broad-sleeved garment hanging down in front like an apron. In her r. hand she holds a flower. Border of punched dots. Plate XV. L. 17 in. 4-35 cm. Weight 23 grains. Cf. no. 103. For the plait cf. the figure on the signet-ring, no. 103. 94. Another ; a female figure standing to r. She is holding up both hands and is nude to the waist, below which is a skirt reaching to the ankles. Her hair is tied in a loose knot at the back of the head and she wears a necklace (?). Round the edge, a border of punched dots. Plate XV. L. 1-54 in. 3-9 cm. Weight 23 grains. 95- ANOTHER ; a man in a girded tunic standing to /. and holding up his r. hand. Grotesque and rough work. L. I -44 in. 3 7 cm. Weight 60 grains. 96. Another, square at one end, rounded at the other, and ornamented with a border of punched dots and a median line of the same. L. i - 22 in. 3- 1 cm. Weight 20 grains. 97. Another, square at the bottom and rounded at the upper end, with a female (?) figure standing full face with the arms by the sides and wearing a long dress. The work is barbarous. L. 2-5 in. 6-3 cm. Weight 61 grains. 98. Another ; the fore-part of a camel advancing to /. The hair on the neck is indicated by a row of small parallel strokes beyond the outline on either side. H. 2-2 in. 5-6 cm. Weight 158 grains. 26 THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS 99. Rectangular plaque ; a horse to /., hammered in outline. Plate XI. L. 4 85 in. 12-3 cm. Weight I oz. ill grains. 100. ANOTHER ; a horse galloping to r. The hind legs are both on the ground and the forelegs extended in the air. Above and below borders of punched dots. L. 075 in. i-8 cm. Weight 11 grains. V. RINGS AND ENGRAVED GEMS (All the rings in this section are of gold.) 101. SlGNET-RING, with plain flat hoop and flat oval bezel engraved in intaglio with two female figures playing astragali , one to r. seated, and wearing a chiton, the other to /. apparently nude and kneeling upon one knee. Plate XVI. Greek, fifth century B.C. D. of bezel, 0-92 in. 2-3 cm. Weight 449 grains. Obtained in Rawalpindi. The hoop is heavy and clumsy in design. It may have been made in Persia. 102. Another, with plain flat hoop and flat oval bezel engraved in intaglio with Herakles walking to r., holding his club in his right hand and the lion’s skin over his extended left arm. Plate XVI. Fifth or fourth century B. C. D. of bezel, 0-94 in. 2-35 cm. Weight 344 grains. Obtained from Rawalpindi. This ring may also have been made by a Greek resident in Persia. Herakles is represented upon a gold ring found in South Russia {Compte rendu, 1882, p. 90, and Atias, pi. iv, fig. 7) ; and appears upon the coins of Tiribazus, Satrap of Sardis (393-381 B.C.) ; see E. Babelon, Les Perses A chimenides, p. xxx. 103. ANOTHER, with plain hoop rounded on the outer side, and flat, projecting, oval bezel engraved in intaglio with a female figure seated to /. on a chair with low back, and holding in her right hand a flower, and in her left a wreath. On her head is an embattled crown, and her hair hangs in a long plait down her back. She wears a long garment reaching to the ankles. Fig. 52. No. 103. Plate XVI. Fifth or fourth century B. C. L. of bezel, 0-9 in. 2-25 cm. Weight 269 grains. The figure upon this ring may be compared with that upon a Perso-Greek cylinder in the Museum of the Hermitage, on which a woman wearing a similar crown, and with her hair dressed in the same way, stands upon a lion, and holds in one hand a staff, in the other a flower {Compte rendu, 1883, p. 86). A burned chalcedony cylinder in the de Clerq Collection (fig. 9; Furtwangler, Antike Gemmen, vol. iii, p. 120, fig. 80 ; Menant, Glyptique orientate , vol. ii, pp. 174, 175, and pi. ix, fig. 2) shows a seated female figure without a crown, but holding a lotus-flower, to whom an offering of a bird is being brought. These figures are considered to be probably the goddess known to the Persians as Anahita (see above, p. xxvii), and to the Greeks as Anaitis. It THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS 2 7 seems probable that on this, and on the following ring, we may have representations of this goddess, whose cult appears to have persisted through the Greek and Indo-Scythian periods in Bactria, and to have been revived in Sassanian times (see note to no. 208). With the figure upon this ring may also be compared that of Aphrodite on coins of Cilician origin (see British Museum Catalogue, Lycaonia, &c., p. xlii, pi. xl, fig. 10, and pi. xix, fig. 14). Lotus-flowers and birds, especially doves, appear to have been regarded as acceptable to Anaitis ; for doves cf. H. Gressmann in Archiv fur Religionswissenschaft , xx (1920-1921 ), pp. 35 fif., 35c ff.); perhaps the flowers held in nos. 89, 93 (pi. xv), and 179 may be offerings to her. The lotus-flower appears in cult-scenes from very remote times, and the two curious bronze bowls, one found at Dali in Cyprus (now in the Cesnola Collection, New York; Ceccaldi, Monuments antiques tie Chyfire , p. 83 and pi. vii ; Odobesco, Le Trtsor tie PRrossa, vol. ii, p. 49), the other known as the ‘ Coupe du Varvakeion ’ (Odobesco, as above, p. 50, fig. 67), afford examples of this. Though, however, the flower would thus appear to be connected with religious worship in Persia, and though it is seen in the hand of the deity (?) on the reverse of a coin of Tiribazus (Babelon, Les Perses Achhnenides, pi. iii, fig. 16), it is unlikely that all the persons on monuments of the Achaemenian period represented with flowers in their hands are to be considered as directly engaged in a religious ceremony. It is probable that in Persia, as in contemporary Greece, the flower had a more general symbolical meaning not connected with the worship of any particular deity. Thus it is seen in the hands of the king and court officials on the sculptures and is also found in scenes from ordinary life. An engraved gem (Furtwangler, as above , vol. iii, pi. xii, fig. 11) shows us a Persian resting on his spear while a woman offers him a flower; and this would seem to be a parallel to scenes represented on Greek works of art. Here the conventional lotus-flower is given as an emblem of youthful bloom and strength to several gods and goddesses, for instance on vases to Hermes and Herakles, to Aphrodite, Hera, Artemis, Hebe, and Demeter. It is also shown in the hands of mortal youths and maidens, and is offered as a reward of valour and victory (L. Stephani, Compte rendu , 1875, pp. 71 ff., apropos of a late silver dish found at Fonzazo in Venetia, also figured by Odobesco, as above, vol. i, p. 1 5 1 ). It would thus appear to be not only a sign of divinity or royal power, but also an emblem of victorious strength which might be transferred from one person to another as a visible expression of hope and gratitude. In the later centuries of its existence the symbol seems to have had chiefly a ceremonial significance. On certain Indo-Scythian coins of Kanerki and other kings it is held in the harid by a female figure which appears to be Nana-Anat or Nanaia (cf. no. 198 below), by some regarded as a later form of Anaitis (see Gazette archtologique, vols. x (1885), pp. 286 ff. ; xi (1886), pp. I ff., 71 ff.) ; and its use upon the silver dish (no. 208), though perhaps merely convivial, may yet mark a ceremonial festivity with which religious ideas were associated. The costume of the figure upon the ring seems to be that of noble ladies as seen upon Persian gems and minor works of art, for in the monumental sculptures women are not represented (cf. no. 93, fig. 19, and a chalcedony scaraboid in the Room of Gold Ornaments and Gems, case 39, row a ; also Furtwangler, as above , vol. iii, pis. xi, xii). The long plait of hair down the back may possibly have been a fashion indigenous to Asia Minor and adopted by the Persians, for it is found in Etruscan art, which is connected with that of Asia Minor (Furtwangler, p. 123). SlGNET-RlNG of similar form engraved in intaglio with a female figure seated to r. on a chair with high back, and holding up a branch for a dove which is perched on her hand. She wears a long tunic without sleeves, and has a bracelet on each wrist. On her head is a crown with five spikes, and her hair hangs in a plait down her back. Plate XVI. Fifth to fourth century B. c. Fig. 53. No. 104. 28 THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS D. of hoop 0-9 in. 2-25 cm. D. of bezel 074 in. 1-9 cm. Weight 275 grains. From the collection of General Sir Alexander Cunningham. Cunningham’, pi. xii, fig. 2. This figure has much in common with that on the preceding ring, and the presence of the crown suggests that the personage represented may be the same goddess. General Cunningham sees here a male figure, but in this he is certainly mistaken. 105. Signet-ring, with stirrup-shaped hoop thicker at the back than at the shoulders, which expand towards a flat oval bezel with slightly projecting edge. The bezel is engraved with a winged bull having a bearded human head with crown. In the field above is an inscription in Aramaic characters ; before the bull’s breast is a sign resembling the top of a caduceus placed horizontally. Plate XVI and fig. 57- Fifth or fourth century is. C. U. 0-9 in. 2-25 cm. L. of bezel o-68 in. 17 cm. Weight 180 grains. P. Gardner, in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of London , 2nd series, viii, pp. 374 ff. ; Cunningham 1 , pi. xvii, fig. 6; G. F. Hill, ‘Andragora’, in Atti e Memorie dell' Istituto Italiano di Numisniatica (Rome, 1919), p. 29. This ring has generally been regarded, for reasons based upon numismatic evidence, as dating from shortly after the time of Alexander (P. Gardner, Numismatic Chronicle, 1879, p. I, and 1881, p. 8, Proceedings of Soc. Ant. of London , as above, and Coins of the Greek and Scythic Kings of Bactria and India (British Museum Catalogue, 1886), p. xix ; Sir A. Cunningham, fourn. of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (1881), p. 1 7 1 ; G. F. Hill, in Atti e Memorie , as above, who resumes all the evidence with full references). The sole ground for the attribution appears to be the identity of the name inscribed in Aramaic characters upon both ring and coins. But in the present case the identity which matters is that of style, and this is lacking. The formation of the letters of the name is not exactly the same on coins and ring, the divergence being sufficiently marked to allow the inter- vention of a long period between them. The difference between the treatment of the andro- cephalous bull of the ring and the figures represented on the coins is yet more striking ; the style of this bull certainly suggests that of the Achaemenid dynasty in the time before Alexander, and probably in the fifth century. The form and general character of the ring also suggest the Achaemenid period, and would be exceptional for a time later than Alexander. The identity of the name in the two cases has no value against these contentions, since it may be assumed that in ancient Persia, with its feudal tradition, distinguished families were represented in high office generation after generation, just as they have been in the history of mediaeval and later Europe ; the same name would therefore recur again and again, as it might, indeed, even if no relationship were in question. The name has been read by G. A. Cooke asPHS P, or Z H S P (Paha slip, or Zahashp), and was regarded by him as probably Persian ( 1st edition, p. 105). The presence, in association with it, of the crowned bull justifies the inference that the person to whom the ring belonged was a satrap of the royal house, invested with permanent authority. It results from these considerations that the date of the ring should probably be put back a round hundred years, and this signet regarded as contemporary with other Achaemenid objects composing the treasure. The sign d before the bull is that of Taurus. It occurs in the punch-marks of Persian sig/oi dating from the early fourth century, and might doubtless have been used at an even earlier time. There is nothing unusual in the chaiacters forming the name, since the Aramaic alphabet was generally used in Achaemenid Persia, the cuneiform of the great inscriptions of Darius being exceptional, and confined to such commemorative royal monuments as those on which they are seen. THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS 29 106. SlGNET-RlNG, with slender rounded hoop, and pointed oval bezel engraved in intaglio, with two half-figures of bulls back to back. Plate XVI and fig. 55. Fifth century B. c. D. 0-82 in. 2-15 cm. D. of bezel o-68 in. 17 cm. Weight 101 grains. Obtained from Rawalpindi. The subject here engraved is that of the sculptured Persepolitan capitals (fig. 27). The form of bezel is early, and the ring should probably be assigned to the fifth century B. c., but it may be recalled that the tablets dating from as late as the reigns of Antiochus the Great, Seleucus Philopator, &c., found by Loftus at Warka, are sealed with rings of this form engraved with Persepolitan subjects (Menant, Glyptique orientate, vol. ii, p. 182). Fig. 55. No. 106. 107. Another, the hoop slender and pearled, the bezel flat and pointed, oval in shape ; it is engraved in intaglio with a couchant stag to r., and at the back is chamfered round the edge. Plate XVI and fig. 56. Fifth century B. C. D. o-8 in. 2 cm. L. of bezel 0-62 in. i-6 cm. Weight 74 grains. Fig. 56. No. 107. 108. Another, with slender hoop ribbed transversely, and flat oval bezel engraved in intaglio, with a quadruped (lynx ?) running to r. The back of the bezel is chamfered as in the preceding number. Plate XVI and fig. 57. Fifth century B. c. D. 0-84 in. 2'2 cm. L. of bezel 0-46 in. ri cm. Weight 48 grains. From the collection of General Sir Alexander Cunningham. Cunningham 1 , pi. xv, fig. 5. Fig. 57. No. 108. 109. Another, with slender hoop ribbed transversely, and flat almost circular bezel engraved in intaglio with a gryphon to r. The bezel is chamfered round the edge at the back as in the preceding numbers. Plate XVI and fig. 58. Fifth century B. c. D. 0-84 in. 2-2 cm. L. of bezel 0-54 in. 1-250111. Weight 96 grains. Obtained from Rawalpindi. Fig. 58. No. 109. HO. Another, with plain slender hoop, and flat pointed oval bezel engraved in intaglio with a lioq couchant to r. The bezel chamfered at the back as before. Plate XVI and fig. 59 * Fifth century B. c. D. 0-82 in. 2-i cm. L. of bezel 0-64 in. r6 cm. Weight 36 grains. Cunningham 2 , pi. vi, fig. c. Fig. 59. No. 1 10. III. Ring, the flat hoop expanding into a circular bezel in openwork embossed in the form of a lion (?), the legs of which extend round the hoop on either side. In 30 THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS neck and flanks of the animal are sunk triangular and crescent-shaped hollows, for turquoises or other coloured stones. See fig. 60. Fifth or fourth century B. C. (?). D. of bezel 1-4 in. 3 6 cm. Weight 167 grains. This ring belongs to the small Scythic group in the Treasure, best represented by the aigrette, no. 23 (which see). The lion illustrates two characteristic features in Scythic art. The coiled attitude is seen, for instance, in the bronze ornament from the fourth of the tumuli known as ‘ The Seven Brothers ’, in the Kuban (cf. fig. 25, from Compte rendu, 1880, p. 13, and Minns, Scythians and Greeks , fig. 214 ; cf. also Minns, p. 254, and index, s. v. lion, curled round). In the present ring the legs are released from the circle in order that they may ornament the shoulders of the ring. But the position of the joints shows that the hind quarters are impossibly twisted or slewed round, a device frequently adopted by the Scythic craftsmen to represent the writhing of a beast mortally wounded, though sometimes, perhaps, merely to fill a space better. Cf. RostovtzefT, Iranians and Greeks, pi. xxv. Rings have been found in Scythic tombs in the south of Russia and Siberia, the ornamented examples often imitating Greek originals (Minns, as above, pp. 64, 157, 161, 179, 216 ; Borovka, Scythian Art, pi. lv, no. 4). They were worn by both sexes. In the present case the general shape may have been suggested by that of a Greek ring with large round bezel, such as no. 101. Fig. 60. No. 1 1 1. 112. Ring, with plain flat hoop, and flat circular bezel with a sunk surface on which is soldered a cross composed of lozenges and undercut. See fig. 61. D. 0-96 in. 2 4 cm. Weight 138 grains. The bezel of this ring was inlaid with coloured stones cut to the form of the hollows. 113. Chalcedony scaraboid, pierced lengthwise, and engraved in intaglio with a combat between two warriors, one of whom lies naked upon the ground, crouched within his shield and grasping the knee of his antagonist with his right hand. The victor stands to r. with his left knee bent and his foot upon the extended right leg of his adversary, whose hair he grasps with his left hand. In his right hand, which is raised to strike, he holds a spear with the point down- wards, and his left arm is passed through the handle of a circular shield, round the edges of which are a series of loops. He has regular features and long hair, with beard and moustache ; and he wears a short girded tunic and conical helmet with plume. See fig. 62. L. 0-96 in. 2-45 cm. THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS 3i The combatants in this intaglio appear to be Greeks, and the workmanship is Greek, probably of the early fourth century or about the year 400 B. c. The treatment of the hair and of the conical helmet is very like that seen on coins of Ithaca with the head of Ulysses, dating from the fourth century. On the scaraboid form see Furt- wangler, Antike Gemrnen, vol. iii, p. 61. A number of engraved scaraboid gems from South Russia are described by Minns, as above , p. 412. For intaglio gems showing Greek influence found in the North- West of India see Cambridge History of India, vol. i, pi. xxxiii, where the exact type of this gem is repro- duced. 114. Cylinder of chalcedony, engraved in intaglio with two battle scenes in unequal compartments. In the larger, a Persian king wearing a tiara with fillet, with his mantle drawn up so as to leave one knee bare, and falling in a great fold from the shoulder, engages in combat with two barbarians, while on the ground are the prostrate bodies of two others. The king, who has his bow and quiver slung on his back, grasps the wrist of one opponent who has fallen on his left knee, his right being pierced by an arrow. This man wears a jacket or tunic with a girdle tied in front, and high boots tied with cords round the tops. With his right hand the king drives his spear into the shoulder of the u'ounded man, who holds a dagger in his right hand and a bow in his left and looks backward to a comrade standing behind him. The latter, who is similarly clothed but has a bow and arrows slung in a bow-case at his back, raises his left arm and with his right endeavours to lift his fallen comrade ; his high cap with fillet is falling backwards from his head. Between the king and this upright warrior is the winged disc of Ahuramazda, below which is a half-figure of the god (or perhaps of the king) bearded and to r. within a ring. The two prostrate figures are dressed like the king’s opponents. The second scene is similar to the first. The king, attired and equipped as before, grasps his adversary by the beard with his left hand while with his right he drives his spear down into his shoulder. The barbarian whose knees are bent, raises his left hand in a gesture of supplication while his right grasps a straight triangular dagger. In the field above is the bust of Ahuramazda to /. rising from the winged disc, and on the ground is the prostrate figure of another warrior dressed like the first. Plate XVI. Fifth century B. C. L. 1-44 in. 37 cm. The scheme of the king doing battle with his enemies resembles that of the Greek monomachy over a fallen warrior, and is found on other cylinders, notably on an example from Kerch (Antiquittfs du Bosphore Cimmirien , pi. xvi, fig. 3 ; Furtwangler, Antike Geinmen , vol. iii, p. 121, fig. 84), where the Persian monarch is engaging two Greek hoplites. This Kerch cylinder is ascribed by Furtwangler (as above) and S. Reinach (Revue Archlologique , 19CO, p. 248) to a Greek engraver. An onyx cylinder in the British Museum shows an ordinary Persian in combat with a hoplite, and both examples have the winged disc in the field. In the fourth century the combat of Persian and Greek is found not on cylinders but on THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS scaraboids or faceted stones, and the present cylinder must belong to the fifth century, though it is of a less archaic style than that of Darius (fig. 7). It is quite possible that the king’s enemies in the present case are members of some nomadic tribe, though the bow-case is not here worn at the left side as on the Kul-Oba vase (Kondakov, p. 123) or the cylinder [ibid., p. 137), and the high boots are peculiar, rather suggesting those of no. 48. The winged disc was adopted by Persia from Assyria, where it represented the God Ashur. It has various forms, and is sometimes associated with the bust of Ahuramazda, sometimes without it. The bust within a circle disconnected from the wings is seen on the rock-sculptures of Bavian in a gorge of the river Gomel, a day and a half east of Mosul : there, however, it is held in the hand of a deity, and represents the king. A chalcedony cylinder engraved with a horse surmounted by the winged disc was found near Smela in the Government of Kiefif, South Russia (Minns, fig. 85, on p. 193). Although many Persian cylinders are considered to have been engraved by Greek workmen, there seems to be no reason for ascribing the present example to a Greek hand. 115. CYLINDER of wine-coloured sard rudely engraved in intaglio with a deity (?) seated to /. in a chair with straight back and holding up the right hand towards the extended left of a woman standing before him, who appears to be making an offering of a spherical object. Behind the chair stands a zebu. The deity wears close-fitting garments, as also does the female figure, whose long hair is indicated by a line of dots. In the field are four Aramaic characters. The cylinder is considerably worn. See fig. 63. Sixth century R. C. L. 1-5 in. 3 8 cm. The inscription has been read by G. A. Cooke 13331 , Rababath, a well-authenticated Aramaic proper name originating in the first instance in South Arabia (cl. G. A. Cooke, Text-book oj North- Semitic Inscriptions, no. 140 A, and note on p.303; also Corpus Inscr. Sem., vol. iv, p. 233, where the Himyaritic (or Sabaean) form actually occurs on this cylinder). The name may be that of a woman (as in C. /. 5 ., iv, p. 233), perhaps that of the woman here represented in the act of adoration. To judge from the form of the letters, the cylinder should be ascribed to the sixth century B. C. VI. ARMLETS AND TORQUES All these objects are of gold unless it is otherwise stated. Some of the examples now in spiral form were probably once penannular torques or collars like that discovered by the French Delegation at Susa ( Gazette des Beaux-Arts , 1902, p. 32), and worn like that shown in fig. 13, which is from the Mosaic discovered in the House of the Faun at Pompeii. When found they were doubled up and twisted out of shape; and their present symmetrical form was given to them subsequent to their discovery. 116. Gold ARMLET, penannular, the hoop almost solid at the back and tubular THE TREASURE OE THE OXUS towards the ends, which are in the form of winged monsters like those of figs. 4, 5, and 26. the hind quarters and legs being represented in relief upon the surface of the hoop. The horns of each monster are chiselled on cither side into a series of deep square settings close together, and the ends are cup-shaped ; the neck and breast, the outer side of the wings, and the back are ornamented with fine applied cells or cloisons, which in the first two cases simulate feathers, and on the back are in the form of broad circumflex accents placed one above the other across an oblong sunk panel (fig. 64). The face, body, and limbs are deeply chased with hollows following the lines of the monsters’ forms and emphasizing them in a bold conventional style : these hollows, like all the applied cells and chiselled settings, have been filled with an inlay of shaped stones, only one of which remains between the wings of one monster. Plate 1 ( Frontispiece ). Fifth century B.C. H. 5 in. 12 3 cm. B. 4-5 in. 1 1-5 cm. Weight 12 oz. 370 grains. Archaeologia (published by the Society of Antiquaries of London), vol. lviii, pi. xv i ; F. Sarre, Die Kunst ties alien Persien, pi. 50. The companion armlet now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington, which purchased it from Captain Burton (see above, p. xiv), was reproduced in The Graphic , November 26, 1881, p. 537. The monster here represented is a type borrowed in the main from Assyria and Babylonia, though this precise combination of limbs and features is peculiar to Persia. Babylonia had known the winged lion with long pointed ears, and eagle’s legs and tail ; Assyria had occasionally substituted for the lion’s head that of a crested eagle. Persia employed both varieties, but added a new feature in the horns which we here see, and sometimes changed the short feathered tail of the bird to that of the scorpion. The wings, with their full curve and fine conventionalism of design, perhaps reveal the influence of the early Greek art which penetrated Iran. This form of wing first appeared in the seventh century, lasting through the archaic Greek period, eventually yielding to the type with a more pointed tip. For the horned lion-gryphon, which is also a characteristically Persian monster, see under no. 23, and for all varieties, Furtwangler’s article Llryps, in W. H. Roscher’s Ausfiihrliches Lexicon tier griechisclien innl romischen Mythologie. In Persia, as in Babylonia and Assyria, composite monsters of this kind were representatives of daemonic powers, and were often depicted in such symbolic combats as that seen in fig. 26, which has a religious significance. But even in Assyrian times a tendency to a purely decorative treatment had begun, while in Syrian and early Greek art there had arisen a new conception of the gryphon as a symbol of divine power, or as a watchful guardian, which was ultimately to bring this monster into a special relation to Apollo. The massive splendour of this armlet and of its companion at South Kensington makes it probable either that it 'was worn by a person of very high rank, or that it is a ceremonial object of the type referred to in the note to no. 208. The incurved form of the hoop is common to a number of early armlets (figs. I— 3), especially the ornaments known as ‘ Schwurringe ’ belonging to the European Bronze Age and best represented by finds in the Swiss Lakes ; and this would seem at first to confirm the theory of a ceremonial use ; but it is clear, from a study of the Frieze of Archers from Susa now in the Louvre, that the bowmen consklered by M. Dieulafoy Fig. 64. Detailof no. 116. (From Archaeologia , vol. lviii, p. 250.) 34 THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS to be Immortals wore armlets having this peculiarity, and the incurved form need not therefore be regarded as incompatible with actual use (fig. 28 taken from Dieulafoy, L' Acropole de Suse, pi. viii, opposite p. 294). Prototypes of Achaemenid armlets are seen on Assyrian sculptures. A fragment of the stone with which this armlet was inlaid (one large piece between the wings still remaining in position) was analysed by Prof. Church, F.R.S., who stated that it was probably lazulite. The inlay was a stone and had certainly never been fused in the form of enamel ( Archaeologia , as above, p. 521). This object may well be assigned to the fifth century, and in any case can hardly be later than the first half of the fourth. 117. COLLAR OR SPIRAL ARMLET, the whole surface transversely ribbed except the ends, which terminate in lions’ heads, and were ornamented on the upper surface for the space of two inches with inlaid stones to represent the manes. The Fig. 65. End of no. 1 17. Fig. 66. End of an inlaid gold collar from Susa. (After De Morgan.) actual necks of the lions were covered with very fine applied cloisons, of which only flattened fragments remain ; the rest of the portion, once inlaid, is cut out into larger cells, the divisions between which are reserved in the metal, the series terminating in a small drop-shaped cavity. Nearest the neck these larger cells are rectangular, the remainder are arranged on either side of a median ridge and terminate in volutes as shown in fig. 65. See fig. 65. D. 4-1 in. 10-35 cm. Weight 8 oz. 140 grains. This object is ornamented in the same style as the large collar and armlet (figs. 1 and 66) found by the French Delegation in the bronze coffin of a woman at Susa, and now in the Louvre (see Ministere de 1 ' Instruction publique et des Beaux- Arts : Mimoires publics sous la direction de M. J. de Morgan, viii, Recherches archiologiques, 3™* slrie (1905), pp. 76-82, and pis. v, vi; J. de Morgan, La Dlligation en Perse , Paris, 1902, pp. 95 and 97, and for the collar E. Pottier, Gazette des Beaux-Arts, 1902, pp. 20 ff. : fig. on p. 32). These objects, with which were also ear-rings and a necklace, all inlaid with coloured stones, chiefly turquoise and lapis lazuli, are proved to belong to the late fifth or early fourth century B. c. by their association with two coins of Aradus in Phoenicia dating from that period (de Morgan, as above, p. 95). Susa is a not unlikely centre for the manufacture of jewels of this character. The brilliant glazed tiles which were made there, with their raised ridges separating the different colours after the fashion of cells, appeal to the eye on a large scale much as inlaid jewels on a small ; and the revival of the old prosperity of the city of Achaetnenian times probably implied a renaissance of the goldsmith’s art. Greek influences must also have been present here, as in other Persian cities where the court resided (see Collignon, Sculpture grecque, vol. i, p. 252, and E. Heuzey in Rescue politique et litteraire , 1886, p. 661); and though in the case of these ornaments they have not modified native taste to any great extent they may be responsible in some degree for the restraint and the refinement of much of the work. A Greek necklet, found at Kul-Oba, near Kerch, has ends with lions’ heads, on the necks of which enamel takes the place of coloured stones (Minns, Scythians and Greeks, fig. 90 on p. 197). THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS 35 The importance of the Susa discoveries with regard to the history of orfei>rerie cloisonnie or inlaid jewellery is apparent. The flat circular ear-rings in the Louvre (de Morgan, as above, p. 93) have a distinct analogy in the method of their ornamentation to the inlaid brooches and other ornaments of the Teutonic kingdoms in Europe from the fifth to the seventh century. 118. Collar or SPIRAL ARMLET of two coils, almost identical with the preceding number, but without any remains of the fine cloisons upon the lions’ necks. Plate XVII. D. 4-4 in. 1 1 • 1 cm. Weight 7 oz. 384 grains. 119. End OF a collar or SPIRAL ARMLET, similar to the ends of the two preceding numbers. The remains of the fine cloisons upon the lion’s neck are crushed flat ; the larger cells cut in the metal are simply pointed at the lower ends, and do not terminate in volutes as in fig. 65. All the inlay lost. Plate XXI. L. 1-8 in. 4-5 cm. Weight 340 grains. Cunningham 1 , pi. xvi, fig. 12. 120 . PENANNULAR ARMLET, the slender hoop transversely ribbed, the ends in the shape of lions’ heads. They have no fine cloisons but a series of rectangular cells cut in the metal. All the inlay lost. Plate XVIII. D. 2-5 in. 6-3 cm. Weight 450 grains. Gold penannular armlets terminating in lions’ heads were worn by the Scythians of South Russia, but they may have been suggested from Greek as well as Persian sources (Bobrinsky, Kurgans of Smiela, vol. ii (1894), p. 132, fig. 15). The Smiela example is not inlaid. (Cf. note to no. 1 17.) 121 . End OF A PENANNULAR ARMLET, terminating in a lion’s head. The mane is represented by punched volutes on either side of a median line and in form resembling those seen in no. 117 or fig. 65. The portion of the hoop that remains is spirally fluted. L. 1-66 in. 415 cm. Weight 183 grains. 122. End of a COLLAR with deep spiral fluting and terminating in a lion’s head, Plate XVIII. L. (to the bend) 5-05 in. 12-8 cm. Weight 3 oz. 330 grains. 122 a. End of a collar, similar, but thinner. L. 2 in. 5 cm. Weight 398 grains. 123. Penannular armlet, the hoop transversely ribbed, the ends in the form of lions’ heads with their necks channelled longitudinally. D. 3-12 in. 7-9 cm. Weight 1 oz. 144 grains. H 36 THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS 124. Another, the hoop transversely ribbed, the ends in the form of lions’ heads, from the mouth of each projects the end of a wire which issues beneath the chin and is wound seven times round the neck. Plate XIX. D. 3- 1 in. 7 9 cm. Weight 1 oz. 266 grains. 125. Spiral armlet of three coils, the ends in the form of lions’ heads. The hoop, which is slender and transversely ribbed, does not belong to the heads and is probably modern. D. 2-52 in. 6 - 4 cm. Weight 2 oz. 166 grains. 126. Ends OF a penannular ARMLET, each terminating in a lion’s head ; the hoop plain. L. 1-62 in. 41 cm. Weight 251 grains. L. 13 in. 3 25 cm. 127-130. Four fragments, each probably an end of a penannular armlet. Each is thick and tubular, and cast to represent a lion’s head, the extremity being quite flat and not modelled in the shape of a muzzle. The longest has upon the neck drop-shaped cells of applied wire in two rows, probably intended to contain stones now missing. Plate XXI. L. 11 in. L. 0.7 in. I.. 0 68 in L. 0 68 in I 3 I- P ENANNULAR ARMLET, the ends (of gold) in the form of lion-gryphons; the hoop is of twisted silver wire and modern. Plate XVIII. Cunningham 1 , pi. xvi, tig. 10. D. 2 52 in. 6-55 cm. Weight 421 grains. For the lion-gryphon see nos. 14 and 28 and note on no. 23. 132. COLLAR OR SPIRAL ARMLET, transversely ribbed and terminating in rams’ heads- The necks are covered for the space of o-8 in. with four parallel rows of rectangular applied cells, terminated towards the hoop by a transverse band of triangular cells, all now empty but formerly containing coloured stones. Plate XX. D. 3 4 in. 8 55 cm. Weight 7 oz. 49 grains. On the popularity of the ram’s head in Greek jewellery see Furtwangler, Der Goldfund von Vettersfelde, pp. 29 and 30, and cf. fig. 30. It is found in Graeco-Scythian goldsmith’s work in South Russia ( Anliquiies du liosphore Cimmcrien , pi. xxvi, fig. 1, and pi. xxxvi, fig. 4; Compte rendu, I S69, p. 130, and 1880, p. 225, &c. ; and cf. Minns, as above, index, s. v. Ram), in Ionian metal-work, and on coins of Cyprus. The ram was probably considered to have an amuletic power to avert evil, and on the necklace from the Taman peninsula ( Compte rendu, 1869, as above) rams’ heads seem to have been amulets. 2 8 cm. * 175 cm. f ,. 7 cm (-Weight I oz. 465 grains. . 17 cm. J THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS 37 133. PENANNULAR ARMLET, with plain rounded hoop, each end terminating in a ram’s head. The necks of the animals are ornamented with applied cells in the same manner as no. 132, but the transverse cloisons are wavy instead of being straight. A number of the cells still contain table turquoises, and the same stones were also set in cavities in the eyes and ears ; only eighteen stones now remain. Plate XIX and fig. 67. D. 7-25 cm. Weight 1,026 grains. Archaeologia , vol. lviii, pi. xvi, fig. 3. 134. PENANNULAR ARMLET: the ends, which are in the form of goats’ heads, being of gold and ancient, the plain silver hoop modern. The eyes of the goats are circular cells of applied wire ; in the centre of the forehead of each is a triangular cell of the same, and on the neck a band of drop-shaped cells, all intended to contain coloured stones now missing. Plate XVIII. Cunningham 2 , pi. xvi, fig. 6. D. 2-54 in. 6-8 cm. Weight 357 grains. 135. ANOTHER, with similar modern hoop, and ancient ends in the form of goats’ heads. In the heads, necks, and horns of the goats cells are deeply cut for the reception of coloured stones now missing. Plate XVIII. D. 2-5 in. 6-3 cm. Weight 1 oz. 17 grains. Cunningham 1 , pi. xvi, fig. 9; Kondakov, p. 339, fig. 300. 136. End of a PENANNULAR ARMLET, terminating in a wild goat, the hind legs of which are extended along the hoop, the forelegs bent. Cavities of various forms cut in the body of the animal* were once filled with coloured stones now missing, as also were the rectangular cells upon the upper surface of the hoop formed by thick applied gold wires (five transverse forming arches and one longitudinal). Plate XX. L. 2-22 in. 5*6 cm. Weight 432 grains. The conventional representation of the muscles on this goat resemble those seen on the armlet (no. 116) and the rhyton (no. 178). 137. PENANNULAR ARMLET, the slender hoop transversely ribbed. Each end is in the form of a winged goat with bent forelegs, and hind legs extended upon the hoop ; the heads are turned backwards. The hair on the necks is indicated by punched circles with dots in the centres, and the wings are also represented by punched lines. Plate XX. D. 3-26 in. 8-3 cm. Weight 1 oz. 421 grains. The winged goat was familiar to Graeco- Persian art, and examples from silversmith’s work are the two handles at Paris and Berlin mentioned in the note to no. 10. Cf. also Compte rendu, 1880, pi. 1, fig. 5. Fig. 67. End of no. 133. (From A rchaeologia , vol. lviii, pi. xvi.) THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS 38 138. Collar or SPIRAL armlet of three coils, with deep spiral fluting, the ends in the form of goats’ heads. Plate XVII. D. 3-4 in. 8-6 cm. Weight 7 oz. 196 grains. 139. Another, similar. D. 4 in. 101 cm. Weight 7 oz. 351 grains. Cunningham’, pi. vii, fig. 3 ; Kondakov, p. 341, fig. 302. 140. Penannular ARMLET, with plain rounded hoop, the ends in the form of goats’ heads. Plate XIX. D. 2-92 in. 7-45 cm. Weight 2 oz. 416 grains. 141. Another, with slender hoop transversely ribbed, the ends in the form of the heads and shoulders of bulls, the forelegs being bent. One head and part of the hoop modern. D. 2 2 in. 5 55 cm. Weight 41 7 grains. Cunningham 1 , pi. xvi, fig. 11. On the bull’s head as an amulet see Compte rendu , 1863, p. 114. Cf. also Rostovtzeff, Iranians and Greeks , p. 105 ; Minns, Scythians and Greeks, fig. 106 on p. 208, fig. 294 on p. 401. 142. Another, with plain hoop of triangular transverse section, end terminating in a duck’s head. Plate XIX. D. 2 94 in. 7-5 cm. Weight 1 oz. 1 1 7 grains. The duck’s head was a favourite motive in Greek and Roman art, but also occurs in Persia, the ends of the bow of Darius’ attendant at Behistun terminating in this way. A good example (the handle of a vessel) from South Russia is figured in the Atlas to the Compte rendu of 1879, pi. iv, fig. 11. (For other examples (on ladle and colander handles) of the fourth century from the Kuban district see Materials, 1894, pi. vi, figs. 2 and 3.) 143. End OF an ARMLET, the hoop triangular in transverse section, and terminating in a grotesque head with raised circular eyes formerly containing coloured stones. L. 2-53 in. 6-4 cm. Weight 156 grains. The head somewhat recalls that in Furtwangler, Der Gold/und von Vettersfelde, pi. i, fig. 4. 144. 145. Pair of massive penannular armlets, almost triangular in section. Each is cast and chased to represent two animals with their tails interlocked at the back of the hoop, while their heads form the ends. Plate XX and fig. 68. D. 3-15 in. 7-9 cm. Weight 4 oz. 226 grains, and 4 oz. 246 grains. A comparison with no. 23 suggests that the creatures here represented are lion-gryphons. The horns and wings are still visible in rudimentary forms ; the eyes are triangular; the shoulders and ribs are similarly treated in each case. These armlets perhaps belong to the Scythic art of THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS 39 the Jaxartes, which we assume (p. lii) to have been related to that of Western Siberia. The debasement of the forms suggests a later date than that of no. 23, but it is not necessary to carry it down below the third century, for objects showing similar elongations and degeneration of form from Siberia and the Government of Stavropol (in the south-east of Russia, east of the Kuban) are provisionally assigned to that date (Borovka, Scythian Art , pi. xxxvi ; pi. lii, fig. 2). The gold collar from Stavropol on pi. xxxvi shows degenerated bears ; but gryphons on the pierced plaque from Siberia in the same plate have the square muzzles like those upon our armlets. Borovka’s plate xx, fig. 1, may also be compared. In the debasement of forms observed in these we note tendencies later characterizing the early Teutonic art of Europe, which, as we know, was influenced by that of the Scythic area. Fig. 68. Ornament of no. 144. VII. MISCELLANEOUS SMALL OBJECTS. (Except where it is otherwise stated all these objects are of gold ) 146. Stud, with flat circular top and rectangular openwork base. See fig. 69. D. 0 96 in. 2-4 cm. Weight 101 grains. The form suggests that this object may have been intended to receive two straps crossing each other at right angles. Fig. 69. No. 146. 147. Pendant in the form of a bird, perhaps a parrot. It is hollow, the eyes and feathers being embossed, and the feet and legs not articulated. On the back a ring for suspension. Plate XXI. L. 11 in. 27 cm. Weight 43 grains. Cunningham 1 , pi. xv, fig. 2. 148. Diminutive BIRD (eagle or hawk), the upper part of the wings ornamented with punched circles, the lower with engraved parallel lines. H. 0-64 in. 1-65 cm. Weight 2.7 grains. Cunningham 1 , pi. xv, fig. 2. 149. Diminutive cup, beaker-shaped; round the rim is a pearled border, and on the sides are three inverted triangles of applied pellets. At the bottom are two small circular bosses. D. 0-28 in. 7 cm. Weight 9 grains. This cup recalls the tiny gold vessels forming pendants to Greek ear-rings found at Kerch. 150. Bell-shaped pendant, made from a thin plate of metal horizontally channelled ; at the top a loop for suspension. Plate XXI. H. o-88 in. 2-4 cm. Weight 29 grains. THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS 40 151 - 155 . Five PENDANTS, each consisting of a short piece of chain of herring-bone pattern, from which hangs a plain bell-shaped ornament. Plate XXI. L. 1-6 in. 4 cm. Weight of the five, 155 grains. 156 . Hollow king, embossed on the outer surface with transverse parallel bands. It is penannular, but the space between the two ends is closed by a fastening working upon a hinge and formerly secured by a pin (now lost) which passed vertically through three loops, two of which are on the end of the ring, the third upon the fastening. Plate XXI. IX i- 1 in. 2-8 cm. Weight 43 grains. 157. RING of pearled wire. IX o*86 in. 2-15 cm. Weight 32 grains. 158. E AR-RING (?), consisting of a plain wire bent into a circular hoop with a loop at the top, and a projection in the interior on which was probably once set a pearl. Plate XXI. D. 0 76 in. 1-9 cm. Weight 22 grains. 159. HOLI .OW RING facetted on the outer side, with a loop for attachment. It opens upon a hinge and is fastened by a pin. Plate XXI. D. 0 5 in. 1-25 cm. Weight 35 grains. 160. PLAQUE, somewhat in the shape of a vase with a high foot. It is bordered by a pearled wire, which at the top extends over the field, forming two divergent curves. Above is soldered a loop of similar wire. On the back are four small loops for attachment. Plate XXI. L. 146 in. 3-65 cm. Weight 66 grains. 161. CROSS of thin gold foil with rounded ends, each of which is perforated. L. 0 84 in. 215 cm. Weight 7 grains. Cf. similar objects from South Russia ( Antiquities of the Scythia of Herodotus, pi. ix, figs. 9, 10, 12, and 13. St. Petersburg, 1866, in Russian). 162. Thin DISC, punched with a rosette of eight petals; border of punched dots. Plate XXI. D. 07 in. 175 cm. Weight 5 grains. 163. Another ; the design, if any, obliterated. D. 07 in. 175 cm. Weight 10 grains. THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS 4i 164, 165. Two BEADS, barrel-shaped, with embossed ornament, consisting of a broad central band of parallel diagonal lines, and two external bands resembling an egg- and-tongue moulding. At each end a raised pearled border. Plate XX r. L. o-66 in. 1-65 cm. Weight of each 31 grains. 166-170. Five FRAGMENTS of thin copper rod transversely ribbed and overlaid with a thin plate of gold. L. (of the largest) 3-45 in. 8-65 cm. 171-174. Four FRAGMENTS of iron rod plated with gold and ornamented with furrows forming a design. L. (of the largest) 2-2 in. 5-5 cm. 175. Plain cylindrical beads, two hundred and thirty-seven in number. L. (of each) 0-27 in. 6 mm. 176. Cylindrical beads transversely channelled, thirty-one in number. L. (of each) 0-4 in. 1 cm. 177. Daric, having on the obverse a king with serrated crown, armed with bow and spear, on reverse a rectangular incuse depression. Plate XXI. L. o-66 in. 165 cm. Weight 131 grains. B. OTHER EARLY METAL-WORK I. SILVER VESSELS FROM ARMENIA 178. Silver rhyton, parcel-gilt, the bowl horizontally fluted. The lower end terminates in the forequarters of a horned and winged gryphon (cf. no. 116), and round the rim is an ornamented band in relief, composed of palmettes and lotus-buds, every alternate flower being gilded ; between the forelegs of the gryphon is a small hole serving as an outlet for the wine. The gilded parts of the monster are the tips of the ribbed horns, the wings, the crest, the raised band passing from the ears across the forehead and that crossing the beak, the cheeks, the mouth, the conventional marks representing the muscles on the forelegs, and the raised necklet supporting a pendent jewel now lost. The feathers of the w'ings are executed in punched lines, and punched dots cover the front of the head and the cheeks. The eye-sockets, now empty, once held gems, and the upright mane or crest, now missing, was held in the deep channel formed by the two ridges on the neck. The rhyton is in two parts, the fluted bowl fitting into the body of the gryphon. Plate XXII. Persian, fifth century b.C. H. 9-88 in. 25 cm. Franks Request, 1897. Found at Erzingan, Armenia. F. Sarre, Die Kunst des alien Persien , pi. 47 . This vessel should be compared with that found in one of the ‘ Seven Brothers ’ tumuli upon the Kuban river, reproduced in Covipte rendu, 1880, Atlas, pi. i, fig. 5 ; Minns, Scythians and Greeks, p. 197 ; Rostovtzeff, Iranians and Greeks , pi. xii and p. 53. The latter rhyton, which terminates in the forequarters of a winged wild goat, shows similar Persian affinities, and also has round the upper part a band of palmette ornament, differing from that here seen, but pro- ducing the same thin and somewhat jejune effect (Minns, as above, fig. 114). T^ie monster is the same as that of the armlet (no. 116). PERSIAN 43 For the monster cf. also the example representing a subject from the sculptures of Persepolis (tig. 26), and the small relief illustrated by fig. 5. The conventional division of the face by raised lines may be especially compared with that seen on the armlet and on the Susa example ; the tips of the horns are, however, in the present instance rounded off instead of terminating in cups or being twisted at the points. The crest may have been formed by a series of cut gems. For the conventional indication of the muscle of the foreleg compare nos. 1 16 and 136. The lotus ornament round the rim is related to the types which first appeared in late Assyrian art (E. Curtius and Fr. Adler, Olympia , Berlin, 1890, pi. xlii, figs. 738, 739). The rhyton form of cup, derived from the primitive drinking-horn, survived to a late period, and was popular within the limits influenced by Greek or Hellenistic culture ; it is represented in use upon the silver dish from India (no. 204, pi. xxxiii, and fig. 70), where it is held high above the level of the mouth, the wine or other liquid pouring from a small hole and being thus absorbed without contact of the lips with the vessel. This method of using a drinking-horn lasted among the Georgians until modern times (cf. A. Odobesco, Le Trcsorde Petrossa, i, p. 497). A rhyton with ribbed upper part terminating in a winged gryphon of later style formed part of the treasure found at Tuch el-Karamus in the Nile Delta (Jahrb. des K. Deutsch. Arch. Inst., xxi, 1906, Arch. Anzeiger, p. 138, fig. 8). The heads of various animals were used as termina- tions for rhyta, e. g. rams (Rostovtzeff, as above, pi. xii, no. 2, and Minns, as above, fig. 121) and bulls. An earlier rhyton than the present example, the upper part of plain silver, terminating in a gold bull's head, and said to have been obtained in Syria, is in the Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities in the British Museum, and this termination appears to have been used in the case of rhyta used for sacred rites among the Scythians (Rostovtzeff, as above, pp. 105-7). Another rhyton from Armenia with a wild goat’s head is represented in Les Arts , Jan. 1902, p. 18. The horizontal fluting of this example is characteristic of Achaemenid goldsmiths’ and silver- smiths’ work. Cf. nos. 17 and 179. 179. Cylindrical silver box, with flat lid, the sides horizontally fluted. The lid, which revolves upon a vertical pin passing through the interior, had on the top five marks of applied ornamental bosses now missing, while on the under side are scratched two standing figures of a man and a woman (fig. 19). The man wears the hood, covering the ears and the chin (cf. nos. 2 and 45), a long coat with furred border (cf. no. 2 and fig. 17) and pendent sleeves, trousers, and boots; his projecting left arm shows the striped or pleated sleeve of his tunic. In his /. hand he holds a bow, and in his r. a flower (?). 44 OTHER EARLY METAL-WORK The woman wears an upper garment with pendent sleeves and a long skirt ; her feet appear to be bare. Her hair hangs down her back, and she wears loop ear-rings. Both her hands are raised ; the r. is empty, but with the /. she holds up a flower. See figs. 19 and 71. Persian , fifth century B. C. D. 5 in. 127 cm. Franks Bequest, 1897. Found near Erzingan, Armenia. The figure of the man, which resembles those on more than one object in the Oxus Treasure, may also be compared with a man engraved on one face of a carnelian cylinder mounted in a ring found in a tumulus of the early third century B. c., ten versts north of Anapa ( Compte rendu , 1882, p. 62, and Atlas, pi. v, fig. 1): this figure also wears a hood, and carries a similar bow. For the female figure cf. nos. 103, 104, 89, and 93 ( Plate xv), and see note to no. 103. 180. Silver dish with embossed ornament consisting of radiating stems terminating in lotus-flowers ; between each pair of flowers is a lobe reproducing on a larger scale the central portion of the flower. Plate XXIII. Persian , fifth century B. C. D. 10 in. 25-3 cm. Franks Bequest, 1897. Found near Erzingan, Armenia. A similar dish, also from Armenia, is in the Louvre ( Lcs Arts, Jan. 1902, p. 18). Radiating designs derived from the lotus are found on early Greek pottery (e. g. Rhodian plates), and in consequence of their suitability to the decoration of a circular surface are found in numerous variations down to a late period. In metal-work examples occur in the tombs of South Russia, as at Prokhorova (Rostovtzefif, as above, pi. xxiv and p. 123, where the examples bear Aramaic inscriptions). Bronze dishes of the type have been found in Tomb-group no. 7 at Carchemish (now in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, British Museum), and at Gezer in Palestine (Palestine Exploration Fund, Quarterly Statement, 1905, pi. vi, fig. 4). Examples are also in the Cairo Museum, and of these a silver disc from the breast of a warrior in a kurgan of the fifth or early fourth century B. C. may be specially mentioned, though the arrangement of the lobes and the flowers is not identical (Compte rendu, 1877, Atlas, pi. iii, fig. 5!. The ornamentation of the remarkable embossed gold disc from Kul-Oba (Kondakov, p. 85, fig. 1 14), covered with masks and barbarians’ heads, is also based upon a lotus design ; and as an instance of the last stage of its degradation may be mentioned the silver dish from Perm now in the British Museum (J. R. Aspelin, Antiquitts du S'ord Finno-Ougrien, fig. 614, r- 144). 181. Shallow silver dish, with flat narrow border; without ornament. The interior is discoloured with a radiating design, probably from the previous plate having been lying within it when found. Persian , fifth century B. C. D. ir6in. 30 cm. Franks Bequest, 1897. Found near Erzingan, Armenia. 182. Plain silver bowl, the lower part hemispherical, broad expanding lip, and slight shoulder at junction. Persian, fifth century B. c. D. 2 in. 46-2 cm. Franks Bequest, 1897. PERSIAN, BACTRIAN, SCYTHIC, AND INDIAN 45 This and the following two bowls are not very different from those carried by men in the sculptures of Persepolis (Flandin and Coste, vol. ii, pis. 105- 108). Cf. also the vessel held by the figure on the gold plaque, no. 69. An example in bronze was found at Gezer (Quarterly Statement , as under no. 180, above). Other bronze examples discovered in graves at Carchemish (Deve Hiiyiik) ascribed to the period between the sixth and fourth centuries B. C. are in the British Museum (Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities). Fig. 72. No. 182. 183. Plain silver bowl, identical. Franks Bequest, 1897. 184. Another, similar. D. 6-9 in. 17-5 cm. Franks Bequest, 1897. 185. Silver scoop, the sides vertically channelled, the upper end depressed in two lobes. Closed end embossed on base in an outline somewhat resembling that of a peach. Plate XXIII. L. 9-8 in. 2-47 cm. Franks Bequest, 1S97. 186. Another, precisely similar. II. SILVER VESSELS AND OTHER OBJECTS FROM PERSIA, BACTRIA, SIBERIA, AND N.-W. INDIA 187. Bronze disc, bearing on one side in relief an eagle displayed, with the head facing. Persian, fifth century li.c. D. 1-55 in. 3-95 cm. 1925. The treatment of the eagle, with the exception of the head, recalls that of no. 33. 46 OTHER EARLY METAL-WORK 188. Penannular BRONZE armlet, the ends terminating in animals’ heads. Persian, fifth or fourth century 1?. C. U. 4- 12 in. 10-5 cm. Given by C. H. Read, Esq., F.S.A., 1907. The provenance is unknown, but the type resembles that of no. 140. 189. Another, similar. D. 3 06. 7 8 cm. Given by C. H. Read, Esq., F.S.A., 1907. This example has been bent, so that the ends overlap, but was never large enough to match the other. 190. Gold ornament, perhaps a button, hemispherical, made of a thin plate of metal embossed with the figure of a long-necked winged monster crouching with the body curved so that the head almost touches the hind legs. From its head rises a plume-like tuff. In the ear, wing, flank, and hind quarters are cavities once containing inlay of coloured stone. A foliation appears below the body. See figure. Scythic , fourth century 15. C. I). o-8 in. 2 cm. 1920. Hemispherical or concavo-convex gold buttons of a larger and coarser kind than this beautiful example are represented by nos. 40 fF. , no. 43 having a symmetrical arrangement of boars’ and wild goats’ heads. Examples, from Siberia, in the Hermitage are illustrated by Borovka, Scythian Art , pi. lv, nos. 8-10. The appearance of foliate ornament is a mark of foreign, usually Greek, influence. In Russia palmette motives are clapped on or interpolated in Scythic animal motives without any regard for congruity. (Rostovtzeff, Iranians and Greeks, p. 54, and index: Animals combined with floral motives; Borovka, as above , pi. viii, no. I.) The foliation in the present case is introduced in a more harmonious way. 191. Bronze PLAQUE, cast in openwork, the parts in relief concave at the back. It represents an antlered quadruped with mane and long tail, attacked by a much smaller quadruped which bites its foreleg. The antlers are decoratively treated, diverging from the skull both upward and backward along the neck, and downward to the hind quarters of the attacking animal, the whole presenting a tree-like appearance, though the tips of the sinuous tines end in beak-heads. Plate XXIV. Scytho-Siberian. About the beginning of our era. L. 4-7 in. 1 1-8 cm. Given by Louis C. G. Clarke, Esq., F.S.A., 1916. The surface has a smooth green patina. The lower part of the larger animal’s tail is broken : not far above the fracture is seen the cross-bar left by the caster to prevent such accident ; a similar strengthening bar rises vertically from the back of the attacking beast, joining the main stem of the antler above. A hook for attachment projects at the back from the curve above the smaller beast’s tail. C. H. Read, Man, xvii, 1917, no. 1, p. 1. Figured full size (back and front) in F£ng Yiin PERSIAN, BACTRIAN, SCYTHIC, AND INDIAN 47 P’eng, Chin Shih *0(1823), vol. i, ch. 4, where it is treated as currency, and called a ‘horse- coin ’, the smaller animal being regarded, like the larger, as of the horse family. This Chinese figure is reproduced by S. Reinach to illustrate his article Le galop volant in Revue Archio- logique (19CO-1901), p. 43, and by Minns, Scythians and Greeks, p. 251. Another example of a somewhat similar type, from Verkhne-Udinsk, is in the Hermitage, but is made of gold (Kondakov, Tolstoi, and Reinach, Antiquites dc la Russ/e Mt'ridionale , fig. 348 on p. 389 ; Minns, as above, fig. 197 on p. 275). A similar motive also occurs in a ruder and simpler form on a wooden plaque from Siberia in the Rumiantzov Museum at Moscow (Kondakov, Tolstoi, and Reinach, rtf above , fig. 328 on p. 375 ; cf. alto G. Borovka, Scythian Art, pi. 49, fig. 2). The general type was evidently old, widely diffused, and produced in all the materials accessible to the artists. The gold example, illustrated by Borovka, is in the collection brought from Siberia in the time of Peter the Great, and now in the Hermitage. In that collection such plaques are represented in pairs. Perhaps the broad ends confronted each other, as they might do upon the front of a girdle ; such an arrangement, rising towards the middle, might explain the peculiar contour common to so many of these objects, and lending the single plaque an eccentric appearance. It is unnecessary to attempt the identification of the animal species. The larger creature is one of the hybrids adopted by Scytho-Siberian art for decorative reasons. The Chinese describer may be correct in thinking primarily of a horse, though the tail, when complete, would have rather resembled that of a lion ; Scythic art has, indeed, left an example of a leonine beast with antlers (Borovka, as above, pi. 20). But the main object being decorative, we need not speculate too far on the intentions of the artist, who subjected nature to the needs of his orna- mental system. To this subjection may be attributed the snout-like muzzle curving up above the neck of the smaller creature ; it probably received this form that it might better fill a void space. The termination of antler-tines in bird-heads is a common decorative motive; in Scytho- Siberian art we need only cite the couchant deer on the gold plate from Axjutintsy in the Government of Poltava (E. H. Minns, Scythians and Greeks , fig. 75; cf. also his index, s.v. ‘ Beak-heads’). For Scythic hybrids in general cf. Introduction, p. lv. The pear-shaped cavities for inlay of stones, seen upon the antlers, are of the kind frequently found on the gold ornaments from Siberia, and on those of earlier Scythic and Persian tradition (cf. nos. 23, 1 16). P'or other Siberian bronze plaques of similar character see Minns, as above, figs. 195 ft".; G. Borovka, Scythian Art , pis. 46, 48, 50. Examples continue to reach Europe from China and Central Asia ; the type is represented in the collection of O. C. Raphael, Esq., F.S.A. 192. Bronze, pierced plaque with figure of a quadruped standing to r. attacked by an eagle. The bird bites the creature’s neck, standing in front of it, and thrusting its talons against its foreleg ; the quadruped in its turn bites the eagle’s body. See fig. 74. Scytho-Siberian. L. 4-8 in. 12-2 cm. Given by Louis C. G. Clarke, Esq., F.S.A., 1916. C. H. Read, Man, 1917, no. 1. In this plaque the wings and tail of the eagle are conventionally treated with the object of producing a contour of the above-mentioned type. We may compare the wings of the eagle on a Siberian gold plaque in the Hermitage (Kondakov, Tolstoi, and Reinach, fig. 354 on p. 393 ; Minns, as above, fig. 199 on p. 276). The quality of the work, inferior to that of the previous number, has given rise to a suspicion that this plaque may be a reproduction from a finer original, such reproduction of Siberian plaques having been reported. 193. Ceremonial bronze axe composed of the figures of three animals, tiger, boar, and wild goat, in one group. A cutting-edge is suggested by the back of the 4 8 OTHER EARLY METAL-WORK boar which is biting the hind quarters of the tiger, but no attempt has been made to grind or hammer it into a serviceable state. The tiger has his claws in the flanks of the wild goat ; the heads of both beasts are reverted ; below their bodies are flanges, forming a socket for the haft, which was secured by rivets. The stripes of the tiger are represented by inlay of silver. Plate XXIV. Baciriau, fifth to fourth century B. C. L. 7 in. 17-8 cm. Given by Henry Oppenheimer, Esq., F.S. A., through the National Art Collections Fund, 1913. Obtained in the North-West Provinces, India. C. H. Read , Man, 1914, no. 11 and Proceedings of the Soc. of Antiquaries in London, xxv, p. 56; M. Rostovtzeflf, Iranians and Greeks in South Russia, p. 59 and pi. xi, fig. A. The absence of a real cutting-edge, and the awkwardness of the form for practical use, lead to the conclusion that this object belongs to the class of votive or ceremonial axes, represented by Fig. 74. No. 192. various ancient examples, and chiefly associated with Hither Asia. An ancient example is the fine axe-head, with butt in the form of a leopard, found in the Minoan palace at Mallia, East of Knossos, and dating from not later than about 2000 B C. This has Anatolian affinities ; it was in a deposit of ceremonial objects apparently used by a priest-king (A. J. Evans, The Times, Dec. 24, 1925). Less elaborate examples than the present are represented by bronze specimens from Van, Hamadan, and Khinaman in the British Museum (C. H. Read, as above ; Rostovtzeflf, as above ; W. Greenwell, in Archaeologia, lviii (1902), pp. 8-10; P. Sykes, History of Persia, 1921 pp. 184-5). The conjunction of three animals attacking each other ( sytnplegma ), like the reverted position of the heads, is found in Ionian and Scythic art. But just as the latter feature occurs in the work of a much older civilization, so the complex attack of animal upon animal goes back to the ancient arts of Hither Asia. For instance, there is a type of archaic cylinder, represented by examples found at Susa, in which two lions erect, and with their bodies crossing each other, attack a deer and an antelope respectively, while a third lion rests his forepaws on the back of the deer, the PERSIAN, BACTRI AN, SCYTHIC, AND INDIAN 49 head of the latter being reverted (Musee du Louvre : Cat. des cylindres, cachets , et pierres gravees, by L. Delaporte, i, p. 52; no. S. 410 reproduced on pi. 30). We have here an animal tnelee capable of development in various directions by the art of later times and peoples. The ‘con- tinuous attack ’ of a line of animals following each other is illustrated by the Sumerian mace-head discovered by de Sarzec in Chaldea; round this object are carved six lions in relief, each gripping the hind leg of the beast in front of him, and biting him between the shoulders (L. Heuzey, Dicouvertes en Chaldee par E. de Sarzec, Paris, 1894-1912, pp. 223 ff., and pi. 1 ter.). The method of inlaying one metal in another, as here exemplified, was employed in very ancient times in Mesopotamia and was transmitted to Iran from that region. The technical treatment, like the conception of the design, is Asiatic rather than Greek, and the object should date from the period before the invasion of Alexander. 194. Bronze figure of a lion-gryphon, cast and chased. The monster stands in a threatening attitude with open mouth and ears pointing forward. The neck and breast are covered by foliation, and the upper part of the tail is also foliated. Plate XXV. Bactrian, fourth century B. C. H. 9-8 in. 24'9cm. Given by the National Art Collections Fund, 1 9 1 3. Annual Report of the National Art Collections Fund, 1913 ; C. H. Read in Essays and Studies presented to William Ridgeway, Cambridge ( 1913), p. 261. This fine bronze figure is said to have been found near the river Helmund. Although some- thing in the firm and natural pose may suggest an indirect Greek influence, yet the monster is essentially Iranian in feeling and convention. The application of leaf-forms to animal figures began in Scythic art through contact with Greece (p. lvi), and in Persian Bactria the same cause may have been operative ; the logical arrangement of the foliations, so different from the random treatment observed in Scythic ornaments from Russia in which they are introduced, may perhaps be traced to Greek influence. But as a whole, and in its dominant features, this is an Iranian work. The impression of ferocity created by the open jaws recalls that of the lion- gryphons on the gold collar or necklet from Siberia (fig. 34), which, if not of Achaemenid Persian workmanship, comes very near to it in spirit. 195. Bronze figure of a Goat, cast hollow ; only one leg remains, and a projection beneath the hoof shows that the object was fixed to a base or stand. The animal is represented running. Plate XXVI. Fourth century B. c. L. 6-6 in. 167 cm. Franks Bequest, 1897. The modelling of this goat is free and naturalistic ; though not actually of Greek workmanship, it suggests Greek inspiration. 196. Thick SILVER dish with the Triumph of Dionysos in relief. The god is drawn in a car by a figure wearing a long tunic, escorted by a taller figure of a youth with a nimbus, similarly clad but with a mantle which hangs from his right shoulder. His head is turned backwards toward the god, who is seated in a half-recumbent attitude holding out a hemispherical bowl in his right hand, and nude but for light drapery on which he sits, part of which is drawn across his loins, while another part covers his legs below the knees. His left elbow appears to rest on the shoulder of a diminutive female figure (Ariadne), seated on the edge of the chariot, and draped only over the lower limbs ; her right arm rests for support upon the bottom of the car. On the forepart of the chariot a small winged 50 OTHER EARLY METAL-WORK genius stands erect, holding out a vessel with handle, as if in the act of pouring. Behind the car moves Herakles with his left leg raised as if running ; his uplifted right hand holds his club over his shoulder, his left arm is partly covered by the lion’s skin. Behind him is a conventional tree, perhaps intended for a vine, the upper part of which bends over, its clusters of fruit or leaves forming a canopy for the head of Dionysos. In the air above, flies a winged genius holding a fishing-rod, the line of which is grasped for support by the other genius standing on the front of the chariot. A third genius kneels behind the wheel. The Triumph proceeds upon an exergual line, below which is seen a panther with his head in a wide-mouthed vase, between two conventional plant-forms. Plate XXVII. About A. D. 200. B. 8-9 in. 22-6 cm. Transferred from the India Office, 1900. Down to 1829, this" dish formed part of the treasure of the Mirs of Badakshan. In 1838 it was acquired by Ur. Lord, and presented by him to the old India Museum. G. Bird wood, Industrial Arts of India, p. 147 ; J. J. Smirnov, Oriental Silver , no. 35 ; Vincent Smith, History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, pi. Ixxvi, p. 361. The subject of this dish imperfectly reproduces the Triumph of Dionysos as represented on a well-known gem of the early second century A.D., in the Museum at Naples, or a variant of the same scene. The cameo (Furtwangler, Antike Gemmen, pi. lvii, no. 15) shows Dionysos and Ariadne side by side in a car drawn by winged figures driven by a small genius standing on the front rail. Their wings, in contour re- sembling those of Psyche, may have been misunderstood by the craftsman, who in error added a nimbus in the case of the foremost figure, and placed a vessel in the driver’s hand (fig. 75). The gem shows a small genius behind the wheel, but no figure seated at the back of the car, no Herakles, and no hovering genius with fishing-rod. The exergue is also left plain, so that the panther with his head in the vase has been borrowed, like the genius, from the common stock of Graeco-Roman art, perhaps from a representation on another stone. The car is distorted, and suggests a couch of the type upon which oriental kings recline (cf. no. 21 1) rather than a vehicle ; the wheel is a disc with a rosette upon it, and it seems doubtful whether its true function is understood. We may perhaps infer from such treatment that the craftsman may have worked from already degenerated copies of the designs on late- classical gems. The ample proportions of the god compared with the diminutive size of Ariadne may perhaps be asciibed to the general oriental custom of representing a divine or royal figure on a larger scale than others about him. On the Graeco-Roman gem, Dionysos and Ariadne are seated side by side ; the equality thus indicated may have offended eastern sentiment. The method of producing the reliefs, by cutting the figures from a thin sheet of silver, embossing them, and then soldering them to the surface of the dish, is that usually adopted by Sassanian silversmiths (p. 60). But it does not appear to have originated with them, for a similar process is used in the reliefs representing the Labours of Herakles, &c., upon the silver border of a dish at Athens which dates from the second half of the second century A. D. (G. Matthies, in Athenische Mittheilungen, xxxix (1914), p. 104). It is not easy to say where this dish was made. In the second century a. d. the Graeco- Buddhist art of Gandhara was flourishing (p. lxiii), and Bacchic subjects are occasionally found Fjg. 75. Triumph of Dionysos, from a gem at Naples. (After Furtwangler.) PERSIAN, BACTRI AN, SCYTHIC, AND INDIAN 51 among the stone reliefs (A. Foucher, 1 ! Art Gr^co-Bouddhique du Gandhara , i, fig. 129 on p. 261). But the Gandhara sculptures are executed in a more practised and fluent style, and, as we should expect, the vine with its grape-bunches represents the natural species ; the clumsy heavy-featured figures of the dish are no less alien from Gandhara types than the strange plant- forms behind and below the misrepresented car. Further, the technical method above described is probably to be connected with Mesopotamia and Persia, rather than with Gandhara or India. It therefore seems more likely that the work was executed west of the Hindu Kush. Any Greek craftsmen remaining in Bactria under the Kushan dominion (p. lxii) would probably have treated the subject in a style approximating to that of Gandhara ; they would also have avoided the oriental method of applying silver reliefs. No such clumsy rendering of a classical subject could have been produced in Syria or Asia Minor; and if the date is about A. D. 2CO, an origin in some part of the Parthian Empire may be provisionally suggested. 197. DISC of soft greenish serpentine, the central part dished, and having in relief a male figure riding a sea-monster. He wears only a mantle fastened on the right shoulder, and flying in the wind behind him. The monster has a leonine head and forequarters, like those of the Persian lion-gryphon, but a dracon- tine tail ; engraved lines occupy the field below, perhaps suggesting water. The rim has a cable border. Plate XXVI. First or second century A. D. (?) D. 5-05 in. 12-8 cm. Franks Bequest, 1897. This object probably dates from the early centuries of our era ; we may compare the repre- sentations of sea-monsters and tritons of Hellenistic descent in the art of Gandhara (Foucher, L' Art GrecQ-Bouddhique du Gandhara , i, figs. 119-23. A marble disc, of the same shape as the present example, and found at Akra in the Punjab, is in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities ; it bears the subject of Diana and Actaeon, and is superior in execution. A bronze statuette shortly to be published by Professor RostovtzefT represents an Indo-Scythic king riding a lion-gryphon. 198. Embossed silver roundel. A goddess is seated on a chair with a high back, on the corners of which are perched two birds ; the side and top bars of the chair-back are ornamented with wavy lines flanked by groups of dots, probably intended for vine-scrolls ; on the r. side of the disc is seen a moulded leg of the chair, ornamented below with a pendent fringe. The goddess wears a high head-dress, of which all the central part is lost ; the sides have raised circular ornaments, one resembling a rosette, and from these hang down on either shoulder, pendants formed of overlapping discs, the lowest in each case engraved with concentric design, and having three pointed stones (?) hanging from its pearled edge ; behind that on her /. shoulder hangs a long outer pendant formed of two rows of smaller discs side by side, terminating in a pair of tassels. Round her neck is a very high and broad collar of horizontal bands, the lower border edged with gems or large pearls. She is clad in a short-sleeved upper garment reaching to the hips, where it has a border apparently of gems; a row of similar gems runs down the front between the breasts, where the fabric is ornamented with several horizontal bands of zigzag. Below this is a loose skirt reaching almost to the ankles, which are covered by high anklets of coiled wire bordered above and below by bands of gems or beads ; the feet are bare. On her forearms she wears long armlets of coiled wire. Her /. arm lies upon her 1 52 OTHER EARLY METALWORK thigh ; the r. is extended, and holds a large bunch of grapes. Beneath, holding up with both hands a bowl towards the grapes, is a diminutive female figure in a long tunic of many folds, and with an ear-ring in her ear. To the r. of the chair, but not obviously connected with it, is a raised circular ornament with concentric decoration of the surface. Plate XXVIII. Second century a. r>. D. 2 94 in. 7-48 cm. Obtained, with nos. 199 and 200, from Rawalpindi, 1922. M. Rostovtzeff, Sarrnatian ami Indo-Scythian Antiquities , in Recueil d'etudes dediees d la memoir e de N. P. Kondakov, Prague, 1926. The metal is thin, and the reliefs are embossed. The edge of the disc shows in high relief remains of a reel-border, much of which has been lost, beyond this there may have been a lotus-border similar to that of the next two numbers. The figure represents the goddess Xanaia, also known as Ardochsho, represented on coins of Kushan kings (P. Gardner, Coins of the Greek and Scythic Kings of Bactria and India in the British Museum, 1886, index, s. v. Xanaia). A gold coin of one of the later kings shows her under the name of Ardochsho, seated, and holding up a bird (?) in her r. hand (Cunningham, in Num. Chron., 1893, pi. viii, no. 1) ; we may compare the much earlier gold ring (no. 104) in the present catalogue. Nanaia and Anahita are both probably forms of the ancient mother goddess of Western Asia, represented in Babylonia by Ishtar. The birds associated with the goddess are probably doves. Those in terra-cotta discovered on the site of the Temple of Ephesus have rather .1 hawk-like appearance, which might be explained by the identification of the mother goddess with Artemis in that city (D. G. Hogarth in British Museum, Excavations at Ephesus (190S). PP- 327 , 336 - 7 '- The heavy armlets and leglets worn by the goddess suggest Hindu influence, as do the lotus- borders of the two following numbers, obtained with the present example and probably of the same date. For Hindu influence upon art under the Kushan cf. Introduction, p. lxiii. For phalarae applied to the trappings of horses cf. Rostovtzeff, Iranians and Greeks, index, s. v. Phalarae, And his bibliography, p. 232. 199. EMBOSSED SILVER ROUNDEL : three figures riding an elephant to r. The foremost carries a goad ( ankus ) ; the person in the middle holds up an umbrella ; while a third figure rides behind, holding a standard or emblem of authority (?), the end of a fly-whisk appearing above his head. The body of the elephant is covered by a long housing over which passes a great belt or girth ; a stout plaited cord or rope runs from one tusk through the forelegs, and is apparently fastened to the girth. The ground is conventionally represented. The border of the phalara is composed of a pearled band, beyond which is a band of formal lotus-leaves. Flute XXVIII. D. 2 -S 2 in. 7 ' - cm. Obtained with nos. 198 and 2CO. Part of the border on the left side is broken away. Elephants, used in India in ceremonial and in war long before the time of Alexander, were after his time employed in the armies of Seleucid kings. Elephants were sent from Bactria to help Antiochus I in his struggle with Ptolemy Philadelphos 1274-273 is. C.) ; Euthydemus, king of Bactria, who died about 190 is. c., lent Antiochus the Great all his war elephant? for an invasion of India (Cambridge Hist, of India, i, pp. 437, 442). Stout bands or chains, like that here seen, surrounding the elephant’s body, may represent a Bactrian usage : coins of Ap ollodotus, dating from about 150 15 . C., show elephants girded in much the same way, but without housings. A less familiar feature is the rope running from the tu r ,k to the girth which would perhaps control any violent movement of the beast’s head ; but both may have continued to a later time than that of the Bactrian kingdom, and a chain round the body was used in India (cf. the colossal elephant at Konarak, V. Smith, Hist, of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, fig. 141b The three roundels PERSIAN, BACTRI AN, SCYTHIC, AND INDIAN 53 (nos. 198-200) seem to be all of the same date; and, as noted above, no. 198 suggests the Kushan period. The Indian influence, noted under that number, is here seen in the lotus border, which recalls those of sculptured medallions on the rails of the early Buddhist stupas , especially of that at Amaravati. 200. Another; similar to the last. The elephant moves to /., ridden, as before, by three figures, holding an ankus (not wholly preserved), umbrella, and emblem or standard. The housing of the elephant has a richer border, and is ornamented with a large rosette. 1 here is a similar external girth or band, perhaps of leather covered with silver plates, with which a rope attached to the tusk may be connected. The elephant’s trunk appears to be covered with bindings. The subject was once enclosed in a double border, consisting of an inner cable- band within a broad band of formal lotus-leaves. Plate XXVIII. 1 J. 2-96 in. 7-5 cm. Obtained with nos. 198, 199. The phalara is damaged so that the figure of the foremost rider and the elephant’s head and trunk have suffered loss. Two-thirds of the border have been broken away. 201. Silver BOWL, thick, and almost hemispherical, the exterior ornamented with subjects in relief, concentric from the base. Within a small circle about the centre is the bust of a beardless man in profile to /., rising from two divergent wings, or formal leaves resembling wings ; he has short hair, and wears a plain tunic cut low at the neck. A zone of ornament surrounding this bust consists of three crested birds with long necks ; only the head, neck, and a single leg in each case resemble nature, the bodies going off into rich foliate scrolls. This is enclosed by a broader zone extending almost to the rim and containing the main subject, four mounted figures hunting wild game. Round the rim is a narrow- band of ornament, a continuous waved stem from which leaves issue at every bend, above and below. The four horsemen are engaged in the chase of boars, lions, wild goats, and tigers. The hunter in the place of honour above the head of the central bust is riding to r., thrusting a spear into the head of a boar almost immediately beneath him, while another boar dashes away to r. (pi. xxx). This personage, who is beardless, has a head-dress suggesting royal rank ; its central part consists of a crescent containing a sphere, with scrolled projections on both sides. He wears a long-sleeved coat or tunic, confined at the waist by an ornamented girdle and reaching almost to the knees, where it approaches the tops of his high boots. In his ear is a ring or other ornament. His horse, the mane of which is hogged and the tail knotted, has a plume on the forehead ; it is caparisoned with a simple headstall and reins and quadrangular saddle-cloth from which a strap passes under the tail. Two of the balloon-like objects mentioned below, note to no. 207, fly over the hind quarters. Between the retreating boar and the horse’s head a growing plant is incised on the background of the bowl. 1 he second horseman (pi. xxx) is riding to the left, but turns back to meet the attack of lions behind him. He is dressed like the previous figure, but his head-dress is not the same. In his left hand he holds up a bow with two curves, 54 OTHER EARLY METALWORK evidently of the ‘ composite ’ type (cf. p. xxxvi) ; with his right he pierces the neck of the foremost lion, the forepaws of which rest upon the quarters of his horse. His straight sword has a hilt of unusual length, like that of a two-handed weapon. Two other lions are seen, one behind, the other below the first ; of the latter, only the forepart of the body is represented in relief, the rest not being apparent. A tree divides this scene from the third (pi. xxxi), in which the mounted figure rides to r. in pursuit of wild goats, similarly equipped, but with a pointed cap, and wearing an ear-ring. He holds a bow with double curve, the string of which he has drawn to his ear ; a long straight quiver hangs down to his r. foot, by which the ends of two streamers are seen engraved on the background, near them a growing plant with three stems ending in trefoil leaves or flowers. Behind the rider’s horse float two of the balloon-like appendages described above. Of three goats, two are attempting to escape; a third has fallen wounded or dead. The fourth rider (pi. xxxi), whose horse gallops to /., turns backward to discharge an arrow at a tiger springing up behind him ; a second tiger with reverted head leaps away, its body crossing that of the first. The rider is without head-dress; he has short wavy hair and is clean-shaven. In addition to his bow he carries a long straight sword with the long hilt mentioned above. In the field on either side of his head (four on one side, one on the other) are five Brahmi characters punched in dots (fig. 76). Plates XXIX-XXXI. Fourth , or early fifth century A. I). D. 6-o in. (168 cm.). H. 2-25 in. (57 cm.). Weight 26 oz. 190 gr. Troy. Given by Max Bonn, Esq., 1912. Said to have been washed out of the bank of the Swat river during a flood. C. H. Read, Archaeologia, lxiii, 1912, pp. 251 ff. ; F. Sarre, Die Purist ties alien Persien , Fig. 76. Inscription on no. 201, enlarged to twice natural size. (From Archaeologia , lxiii, p. 254.) 1922, pis. 1 14, 115 and p. 65. For bowls of similar form cf. Smirnov, Oriental Silver, pi. xxxviii, no. 67 ; xxxix, no. 68 ; cxii, no. 283 ; cxiii, no. 284. The method of executing the reliefs is not easy to determine. The bowl may have been cast and chased, or, as Sir C. H. Read was inclined to think, it may have been hammered. Another suggestion is that the reliefs were sculptured from the solid metal, the whole ground being cut away round the figures. The simplicity of the form and the thickness of the metal suggested to Sir C. H. Read that cups of this kind were carried about on journeys, in such leather cases as an example from Ferghana, illustrated by him ( Archaeologia , as above, p. 256, fig. 2). The inscription is described by Mr. J. Allan as belonging to the north-western variety of the Brahmi alphabet used beyond the Hindu Kush as far as Kashgaria; the characters closely resemble those of the Bower MSS. brought from Kashgar in i89o(Buhler, Indische Paldographie, pi. vi, i-iv). Uncertainty is caused by the use of punched dots in place of engraved lines, but the reading suggested is : Id h a n tin ttgaka , or Khambhinugaka , presumably a name. PERSIAN, BACTRI AN, SCYTHIC, AND INDIAN 55 The various influences apparent in the subjects and art of this bowl render it difficult to assign a provenance and a date. The whole conception of the hunting-scenes is Sassanian, and so are many details : the streamers flying from the head-dresses and ankles of the riders, the character of some of the head-dresses, the balloon-like objects attached to the horses, and the fashion in which the bodies of the lions cross each other as on the silver ewer from the Soltykofif collection in the Cabinet des Medailles at Paris (Smirnov, no. 85). The manner in which the bust at the bottom of the bowl rises from two divergent leaves (or wings?) recalls a similar feature in the sculpture of the Mshatta fagade. But the beardless, short-haired riders do not resemble Sassanian Persians ; nor do the pointed cap worn by one of them, and the elongated sword-hilts, appear to be Persian. The high boots reaching above the knees recall those worn by Kushan princes ; they are also seen on a silver dish in the Hermitage (Smirnov, no. 61), where other features in costume and equipment are analogous, though the hunter there represented rides with stirrups. We are perhaps in presence of a Central Asian type. A bowl of similar form, bought at Bokhara and now in the Antiquarium at Berlin, has at the bottom a bust within a small circle resembling that of the present example; but the sides are covered by Bacchic scenes set in large convolutions of foliage (Smirnov, no. 283, pi. cxii), and there is an evident classical influence. Other bowls were formerly in the Stroganov collection at Leningrad (Smirnov, nos. 67, 68, pis. xxxviii, xxxix) ; the second of these, found in Perm, shows mounted horsemen hunting lions, the bodies of which in one case cross each other; but though the riders are beardless, they wear trousers of Sassanian character, and their heads are bare. A fourth bowl from the province of Turgai, north of the Aral Sea, has scenes in a style indicating some Greek influence, but relating to a barbaric mythology (Smirnov, no. 284, pi. cxiii). This bowl is now in the Hermitage. The influence of Indian art is seen in the treatment of the phoenix-like birds in the zone surrounding the bust at the bottom of the cup. These show a close resemblance to birds painted in Caves I and II at Ajanta(J. Griffiths, The Paintings in the Buddhist Cave Temples of Ajanta, 1896, ii, pis. 104, 8 d ; 107, ya, ye) ; the type is that which travelled to China, and, as the phoenix, remained a permanent feature in Chinese ornament. The paintings in Caves I and II are attri- buted to the sixth or early seventh century, but the style of bird-ornament there seen may have begun at an earlier period. The most prominent artistic influence visible in the bowl is Sassanian ; Indian influence is definitely present, Greek influence is inconspicuous. If the persons represented are not Persians, but are rather of Central Asian origin, we are led conjecturally to attribute this vessel to the Kushan (p. lxii), neighbours and feudatories of the Sassanian kings, and rulers cf Gandhara and the Punjab from the first century a. D. until the invasion of the Huns in the middle of the fifth century. Until defeated by Ardashir, the first Sassanian king, in A. D. 225, they had also held Bactria for more than three hundred years, and as they were not exterminated in that country, they may well have imitated Sassanian fashions there, as well as on the far side of the Hindu Kush. The Brahmi inscription is ascribed to A. D. 400-450 (Archaeologia, as above, p. 256), the half-century immediately preceding the inroad of the Huns, and to about this period it seems reasonable to ascribe the bowl, assuming that phoenix-like birds like those of Caves I and 1 1 at Ajanta already formed a current motive in art long before these caves were painted. 202. Shallow silver bowl without foot, much damaged. The exterior is ornamented in relief with four medallions containing figure-subjects. From the central space at the bottom of the bowl radiate four long leaves, each passing between two medallions, and surmounted by two divergent stems with scrolled ends; from each stem issues a smaller lateral stem similarly scrolled, the two meeting and enclosing an independent leaf. The four long leaves rise from stems meeting at right angles, and forming a cross between the arms of which are four C-scrolls. 5 6 OTHER EARLY METAL-WORK 1. (At the top, in the illustration.) A beardless figure in a long mantle reaching to the ankles, one end of which hangs free at the back, stands to r. before an altar or pedestal, the /. foot resting upon a spherical object. In the /. hand the figure holds a cylindrical vessel ; the /-. hand is extended, holding some object to the bird. 2. (On the left in the illustration.) A similar figure stands to /. before a \ertical rod (?), behind which is a floral scroll apparently composed of palmette elements ; the /. arm is held to the side, the forearm being raised ; the r. arm is extended downwards with the palm open. 3- (At the bottom.) Little here remains, but the head and bust of a similar figure arc visible, with the r. hand, which holds a shallow bowl. Before the figure rises part of a tall plant. 4. A bearded man in a short girded tunic and skull cap moves to /., carrying a basket in his /. hand, and holding in his r. a long thick staff with curved end. Before him is a hare of disproportionate size in a crouching attitude ; it is represented not lying on the ground but high in the field of the medallion, the line of its body being parallel to the man’s staff. Flute XXXII. Fifth century a. i>. D. 6 in. 15 2 cm. H. 15 in. 190'S. A hole has destroyed the right-hand bottom corner of the altar in the first medallion. The space between the second and third medallions, with a large part of the latter, are broken away, a hole having been enlarged by the cutting away of a portion of the rim. The subject of medallion no. 4 recalls the Sasa Jataku , in which the Bodhisatva, in the form of a hare, is visited by Sakka, King of Heaven, disguised as a brahmin in quest of food after a long fast. Other creatures had offered him food, but the hare offered its own body ; it leapt into the fire, which, however, had no power to consume it (E. B. Cowell, The Jataka, or stories of the Buddha s former births , Cambridge, 1897, vol. iii, no. 316, pp. 34 fif.). Though nothing more is represented than the confrontation of the two figures, the probability that a Jataka story may be intended is increased by the nature of the subject in medallion no. 1, which may well be connected with the Mora Jataka (Cowell, as above , ii, no. 159, pp. 23 fif.). In this story, the Bodhisatva, in the form of a golden peacock, is brought to the palace of the King of Benares, where a seat is prepared for it. A dialogue ensues between the peacock and the king, who proposes to eat of its golden flesh in the hope of thereby obtaining immortality. It is true that the subjects in the two medallions are so abridged as to be susceptible of other interpretations; but the suggestion of the two Jataka stories may be something more than a coincidence. If the subjects are not connected with the Jatakas, they may possibly represent survivals of old cults beginning in ancient Mesopotamia and persisting as elements of popular religion in parts of Hither Asia far removed from their place of origin. There is certainly a resemblance between the scene of no. 1 and such representations of bird-cults on engraved neo-Babylonian cylinders reproduced by O. Weber ( Allorientalische Siegelbilder, in Der Alte Orient , published by the Vorderasiatische Gesellschaft of Berlin, years 17 and 18, vol. i). The closest parallel is seen in his fig. 463 a, where a worshipper stands before a plinth upon which stands a crested bird, in this case a cock (cf. his fig. 493). In his fig. 463, the worshipper stands before a sacrificial table, behind which is the sickle of the moon on a high pyramidal structure, and behind it, again, the dove, as symbol of the moon goddess ; it may be noted that the position of the arms in medallion no. 2 recalls an ancient attitude of adoration. A lobed vessel of post-Sassanian date at Cracow, found in the Government of Kielce, shows a PERSIAN, BACTRIAN, SCYTHIC, AND INDIAN 57 draped figure offering a cup to a crested bird, which drinks from it (Smirnov, Oriental Silver , no. 77). The subject seems related to that of medallion no. I, though the vessel in question is later in appearance than the present bowl ; other vessels reproduced by Smirnov (nos. 79-81 on plates xli, xlvi, and xlvii) may be compared, the peacock appearing on no. 79. As noted above, the bird worshipped in Mesopotamia was sometimes the cock, which occurs on a vase figured by Smirnov (no. 288), and is found upon Sassanian figured silks. The supposition that ancient cults may have survived, outwardly little changed for very long periods, is as credible in regard to Hither Asia as in regard to any part of the world, this being a region of intense conservatism in the preservation of old custom ; such bird-cults as, for example, that of the Yezidi (A. H. Layard, Nineveh and its remains , i, pp. 269 ff.; W. B. Heard, Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, xli, 1 91 1, p. 208) have the appearance of great antiquity. Even if the subjects upon this bowl may be traced to the Jatakas, the forms given to individual scenes and figures may retain features derived from old Mesopotamian tradition. The style of the foliate ornament between the four medallions is reminiscent of Sassanian forms ; the feathery treatment of the large leaves is also a Sassanian characteristic, though considered by Strzygowski, on the evidence of leaf ornament on the stupa- rail at Sanchi, to be of Indian derivation ( Altai-Iran und Volkerwanderung, p. 72). 203. Deep SILVER BOWL with plain sides ; at the bottom is a four-armed god within a wreath, hammered up in relief from the back. The deity, who is seated, facing, upon a recumbent lion, has long hair and a high crown with crenellations and an ear-ring in the left ear. He wears a tunic with loose sleeves, ornamented about the wrists with cross-hatching, and down the front with a vertical band in a similar style ; over his shoulders is thrown a mantle, which also covers the knees ; round his neck is a necklet or gorget with a single pendant. The two lower arms hold a hemispherical bowl and a sceptre; the two upper, the disc, and crescent of the sun and moon ornamented with lines radiating from a central circle. Round the outside of the bowl, immediately below the rim, runs an inscription in a Pehlevi character (see fig. 8 1 , on p. 67). Plate XXXII, and fig. 81. Fifth century A. D. D. 5-02 in. 127 cm. H. 17 in. 4-3 cm. 1877. The bowl was purchased from the Princess C. Gagarine, and was said to have been found in the ancient province of Sogdiana, though there seems to be no certain foundation for the statement. Smirnov, Oriental Silver , no. 43, pis. xviii, xix ; J. R. Aspelin, Antiquites du Nord Firtno- Ougrien (Helsingfors, 1877), p. 147, where it is described as having been bought at Nijni Novgorod. Cf. L. Stephani in Compte re?idu for the year 1878, p. 158, who mentions two deep bowls with inscriptions in characters based on Pehlevi, belonging to Count Sergei Stroganov, one found on his estates in Perm in 1878. Smirnov (pi. xviii, no. 44) reproduces a bowl with fluted sides, having a deity seated upon a lion in the interior ; though only the lower part of the figure remains ; this bowl was found at Kovina in Perm in 1840, and in 1909 was in the Stroganov collection at Leningrad. He reproduces a third bowl (no. 42), again with fluted sides, having in the interior a crowned, four-armed deity seated upon a high seat, or throne, and holding the disc and crescent in the two upper hands ; this bowl was also found at Kovina (in 1845 or 1846), and belonged to the Stroganov collection. Stephani (as above , p. 159) states that one of the bowls mentioned by him was found with Sassanian coins. The inscription on the present bowl (fig. 81) has not yet been deciphered ; Prof. Herzfeld describes it as written Arsacid Pehlevi. Though the multiplication of the arms is a sign of Hindu influence, this figure has features which distinguish it from Indian work. The expression is different ; and details of costume 53 OTHER EARLY METAL-WORK and ornament are not Indian in character. The crenellated crown points to Sassanian influence, though the bowl cannot be of Persian origin. YVe have perhaps to deal with a foreign repre- sentation of the Hindu god Siva. During the period when the Kushana ruled in Bactria and Gandhara, there was a penetration of their dominions by Hindu religious ideas. Though the kings became nominally Buddhists (cf. Introduction, p. lxii), the coins show that side by side with deities of Iranian origin, Indian gods were given their place. Siva had attracted even the Greeks of Bactria while their kingdom still survived ; Heliodorus of Taxila, envoy of Antialkidas, in the inscription on the column which he set up at Besnagar, not far from Sanchi, applied to himself the epithet M ahesvara (Foucher, L'Art Grlco-Bouddhique de Gandhara , ii, p. 746). At a later period, Vima Kadphises, the second Kushan king, described himself as a Sivaite upon his coins (Foucher, as above , pp. 191, 457, 5S8 ; and cf. P. Gardner, Catalogue of the Greek and Scythic Kings of Bactria and India , index, s. v. Siva). Other gods than Siva appear in Gandhara : an intaglio gem from that region shows a four-armed Vishnu (Cunningham, Num. Chrcn., 3rd series, xiii, pi. x, fig. 2). The position of the deity seated on a lion recalls a type found among Gupta coins. Facts of this nature suggest the conditions rendering possible the production of such figures as that here seen, and those of the similar bowls mentioned above. The general style of the figure suggests a period not earlier than the fifth century. As in the case of the dish found at Tank (no. 204), the reliefs are beaten up from the back, and not soldered to the upper surface in the manner usually adopted by Sassanian silversmiths. 204. SILVER DISH, formed of a thin plate embossed in the centre with two figures enclosed within curving vine-branches, the whole upon a medallion surrounded by wavy flutes increasing in width toward the circumference. The principal figure within the medallion is a man seated, apparently on the ground, in a state of almost complete nudity; a loosened waist-band or loin-cloth lies across his thighs, but apai. from this he wears only a pair of buskins with curled points, reaching to the calf of the leg. He has thick hair and a curled moustache. On his head is a wreath of vine-leaves and grapes; he wears ear-rings in the form of bunches of grapes ; round his neck is a flexible necklace, and on his wrists are plain bracelets. In his left hand he holds a wineskin across his knee; his raised right hand holds up a lhyton terminating in a deer’s head with antlers, from the mouth of which wine flows into his mouth. Seated on his right hand is a much smaller figure of a woman with her hair hanging in a plait down her back, wearing a mantle fastened at the neck, and a twisted waist-band from which drapery falls to her feet which it covers. She further wears a bead necklace, ear-rings, and bracelets. Her face is turned to the man, and in her left hand she holds up towards him a wine-cup ; in her pendent right hand she holds a wreath. Plate XXXIII, and see fig. 70. Third or fourth century A. D. D. 9-9 in. 25-1 cm. Given by M. Longworth Dames, Esq., formerly Divisional Judge at Jhelum, 1897. C. H. Read, in Archaeotogia, lv (1897), p. 534 ; Vincent Smith, History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon , p. 363 ; J. J. Smirnov, Oriental Silver, pi. xvii, no. 41 ; A. Foucher, L'Art Grico- Bouddhique de Gandhara , ii (1918), fig. 390 on p. 17 1. The dish is made from a plate of silver, the figures being beaten up from the back and finished in front by chasing ; the presence of much green oxide suggests an alloy of copper. It was found in August 1892 near Buddigharra, about four miles west of Tank, in the Dehra Ismail Khan district of the Punjab. A Hindu discovered it on one of the mounds common in the district after the fall of heavy rains, which may have washed away the covering earth. PERSIAN, BACTRI AN, SCYTHIC, AND INDIAN 59 The letting fall of the waist-cloth by the personage here represented finds a parallel, as V. Smith remarks (p. 362), in the representation of a yaksha, or semi-human spirit, of the kind which played a large part in popular Buddhism. The figure may possibly be Kuvera, king of the Yakshas, who in Gandhara is represented drinking, waited upon by a woman (cf. V. Smith, as above , fig. 81). Bacchanalian scenes are found not only in Gandhara (A. Foucher, as above , i, p. 231), but in sculpture from Mathura (V. Smith, pp. 134 fif.). The name of Dionysos had been known in the extreme north-west since the time of the Bactrian Greek kings, and Dionysiac practices may have been transferred to the Yakshas in the part of India nearest to the countries where the vine was cultivated. The style and the treatment of the subject are Indian ; the moustache upon the face is a Hindu characteristic. Where Western influences appear, they are superficial, and concern external features such as the rhyton and the buskins. The dish may have been made in the Punjab itself. 205. HEMISPHERICAL silver bowl, the exterior ornamented with five medallions in low relief, each containing a male bust, the interspaces being filled with floral scrolls. The background is gilded throughout. The persons represented are all dressed alike in tunics, and mantles with the ends tied at the neck ; on their heads are conical caps, with ribbons tied at the back, and in their ears are ear-rings with double pendants. Their hair is long, and apparently gathered up under their caps, round which it appears on all sides. Two have pointed beards, the others are beardless. Plates XXXIV and XXXV. First half of the seventh century. D. 5-35 in. 13-5 cm. Franks Bequest, 1897. From Northern India. The style both of the busts (see figs. 38 and 77) and of the scroll designs (see fig. 78) so closely resembles that of the frescoes in the great Cave no. 1, at Ajanta (see above, p. lxv), that there can be little doubt that the bowl is of the same date, namely, the early seventh century. As the persons at Ajanta wearing similar head-dresses and with similar types of countenance are con- sidered to be undoubtedly Persians, it may be assumed that the men here seen are of that nationality. In both cases conical caps with ribbons and ear-rings are found, while the presence Fig. 77. Figures from Cave no. 1, at Ajanta. (After J. Griffiths, The Paintings ... of Ajanta , ii, fig. 8, pi. civ.) Fig. 78. Scroll design from Cave no. 17, Ajanta. (After Griffiths, ii, pi. 144.) of the beard is a further indication of Iranian origin. Conical caps with ribbons are seen on the silk textile of Sassanian affinities in the church of St. Cunibert, Cologne, which Dr. Lessing reproduces in Die Gewebesammlung des K. Kunstgewerbe-Museums, and associates with Bahram Gur : the textile is also figured by F. Fischbach, Die wichligsien Webeornawente bis zuin 19. fahr ■■ 6o OTHER EARLY METAL-WORK hundert, Series I, pi. vi. It is perhaps vain to speculate as to the identity of the figures on this bowl : their costume does not prove that they are kings or princes, but rather nobles or important persons in a private station. In the scenes upon the ceiling of the Ajanta cave, one of which is reproduced in fig. 83, the principal personage appears to be a noble or chief taking his ease among his own people. Unfortunately there are no accessories to give an indication of the particular occasion which this beautiful object was made to commemorate. The chief subject in the cave appears to represent an embassy from Chosroes II, of Persia, to Pulikesin II, King of the Deccan, in return for one received from that king (Vincent Smith, 7 he Early History of India , 1904, p. 325, and History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon , 1911, p. 289). The bowls or cups held by the persons at Ajanta appear to be about the same size as the present example, but mostly to be of a more conical form. 206. SILVER DISH or shallow bowl, parcel gilt, with a royal hunting-scene in relief. The king from the form of his head-dress, a crenellated crown surmounted by a sphere, is presumed to be Sapor II ( 7 GOLD CHARIOT Plate V Plate VI GOLD FISH AND DEER ; SILVER GOOSE Plate VII GOLD JUG Plate VIII SHALLOW GOLD BOWL Plate IX GOLD SHEATH (a) as received (b), (c) reverse & front view after restoration Plate X SILVER DISC Plate XI 99 GOLD PLAQUES Plate XII GOLD PLAQUES Plate XIII OBJECTS OF GOLD Plate XIV GOLD PLAQUES Plate XV 51 84 GOLD PLAQUES Plate XVI ENGRAVED CYLINDER & GOLD RINGS Plate XVII 138 118 Plate XVIII GOLD ARMLETS Plate XIX GOLD ARMLETS Plate XX 137 136 GOLD ARMLETS Plate XXI VARIOUS GOLD OBJECTS Plate XXII OO r- SILVER RHYTON Plate XXIII SILVER DISH AND SCOOPS Plate XXIV SIBERIAN PLAQUE AND BACTRIAN AXE Plate XXV BACTRIAN LION - GRIFFIN Plate XXVI BRONZE GOAT AND STONE RELIEF Plate XXVII SILVER DISH FROM BADAKSHAN Plate XXVIII SILVER RELIEFS Plate XXIX 201 QTI VPR ROWL Plate XXX DETAILS OF BOWL, PLATE XXIX Plate XXXI DETAILS OF BOWL, PLATE XXIX Plate XXXI 1 SILVER BOWLS Plate XXXI II 204 SILVER DISH Plate XXXIV 205 SILVER BOWL Plate XXXV SILVER BOWL : TWO OTHER VIEWS Plate XXXVI SASSANIAN SILVER DISH Plate XXXVII 207 SASSANIAN SILVER DISH Plate XXXVI 11 208 SASSANIAN SILVER DISH Plate XXXIX SILVER DISH AND VASE Plate XL SASSANIAN SILVER DISH 124098. Gold figure of a Persian horseman. Height, 3 ins 132256. Persians in a chariot. Height 3.5/6 ins. ADDITIONS TO THE TREASURE OF THE OXUS IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM GETTY CENTER LIBRARY 3 3125 00930 0324