Abstract
This is a study in the images of waterfowl and fish in the metal decor of the Sayan-Altai with adjacent territories and the Northern Tien Shan of the late 1st – early 2nd millennium based on the material of horseman’s belt and female accessories ornamentations. Waterfowl motifs include ducks and geese with intertwined necks and images of birds with spread wings. The author considers complex ichthyo-/ornithomorphic compositions in combination with plant decoration. The fish group consists of paired fish pendants including a modification in the specific shape of a needle case/clamp, paired fish in complex compositions and double-sided figurines of paired fish, as well as a single fish motif. An analysis of the distribution and possible sources of infl uence on the emergence of those images makes it possible to state that they could be found to varying degrees in both regions, with rare exceptions. The motifs mainly trace back to the Buddhist tradition, while their iconography – to that in Chinese art. In the Sayan-Altai, finds are represented by both imported high quality items, and replicas. The author notes the development of the paired fish motif associated with Buddhist symbolism, which is realized in the specific shape of double-sided hollow items of various designs – needle case/clamps and sculptural figurines that could be used as needle case/pendants. The Tien Shan finds are distinguished by the obvious creative potential of local craftsmen with an average level of quality in decor execution. The auspicious symbolism of the images brought from outside was accepted in both regions, however, the motifs did not become widespread in small metalwork. No mutual infl uences were identified.
Keywords
Sayan-Altai and adjacent territories, Northern Tien Shan, small metalwork, decor, ichthyomorphic and ornithomorphic motifs, late 1st – early 2nd millennium AD.
Galina G. Korol
Institute of Archaeology Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Akishev, K.A. (ed.). 1987: Arkheologicheskiye pamyatniki v zone zatopleniya Shul’binskoy GES [Archaeological Sites in the Flood Zone of the Shulbinskaya Hydroelectric Power Station]. Alma-Ata.
Arslanova, F.Kh. 2013: Ocherki po srednevekovoy arkheologii Verkhnego Priirtysh’ya [Essays on Medieval Archaeology of the Upper Irtysh Region] (Materialy i issledovaniya po arkheologii Kazakhstana [Materials and Research on the Archaeology of Kazakhstan] III). Astana.
Badmayev, A.A. 2023: Utka v mifologicheskikh vozzreniyakh buryat [Duck in the mythological views of the Buryats]. Tomskiy zhurnal lingvisticheskikh i antropologicheskikh issledovaniy [Tomsk Journal of Linguistic and Anthropological Studies] 4 (42), 76–83.
Bayaliyeva, T.D. 1972: Doislamskiye verovaniya i ikh perezhitki u kirgizov [Pre-Islamic Beliefs and Their Survivals among the Kirghiz]. Frunze.
Baypakov, K.M., Ternovaya, G.A., Goryacheva, V.D. 2007: Khudozhestvennyy metall s gorodishcha Krasnaya Rechka (VI – nachalo XIII veka) [Artistic Metal from the Krasnaya Rechka Fortified Settlement (the 6th – early 13th Century)]. Almaty.
Bichurin (Iakinf), N.Ya. 1950: Sobraniye svedeniy o narodakh, obitavshikh v Sredney Azii v drevniye vremena [Collection of Information about the Peoples who lived in Central Asia in Ancient Times] I. Moscow.
Bir, R. 2013: Tibetskie buddiyskie simvoly. Spravochnik [Tibetan Buddhist Symbols. Reference Book]. Moscow.
Borgoyakov, M.I. 1980: Ob odnom drevneyshem mifologicheskom syuzhete, yego evolyutsii i otrazhenii v fol’klore narodov Yevrazii [On One Ancient Mythological Plot, Its Evolution and Reflection in the Folklore of the Peoples of Eurasia]. In: A.I. Martynov (ed.), Skifo-sibirskoye kul’turno-istoricheskoye yedinstvo [Scythian-Siberian Cultural-Historical Unity]. Kemerovo, 272–277.
Burnakov, V.A. 2010: Obraz gusya v mifologicheskikh predstavleniyakh khakasov [Image of a Goose in the Mythological Representations of the Khakass]. In: A.P. Derevyanko (ed.), Problemy arkheologii, etnografii, antropologii Sibiri i sopredel’nykh territoriy [Problems of Archaeology, Ethnography, Anthropology of Siberia and Adjacent Territories] XVI. Novosibirsk, 378–382.
Burnakov, V.A. 2024: Ryba v traditsionnom mirovozzrenii khakasov: obraz i simvol [Fish in the Traditional Worldview of the Khakass: Image and Symbol]. Narody i religii Yevrazii [Peoples and Religions of Eurasia] 29, 2, 63–77.
Butanayev, V.Ya. 2006: Khakasy v provintsii Kheyluntszyan [Khakass in Heilongjiang Province]. Abakan.
Dmitriyeva, E.N., Levasheva, V.P. 1965: Materialy iz raskopok sibirskikh bugrovshchikov [Materials from Excavations of Siberian Kurgan Miners]. SA [Soviet Archaeology] 2, 225–236.
Esbergenova, S.Kh. 2020: Verovaniya i obryady karakalpakov, svyazannyye s rybolovstvom [Beliefs and Rituals of the Karakalpaks Associated with Fishing]. Vestnik antropologii [Bulletin of Anthropology] 2(50), 125–136.
Evtyukhova, L.A. 1948: Arkheologicheskiye pamyatniki yeniseyskikh kyrgyzov (khakasov) [Archaeological Sites of the Yenisei Kyrgyz (Khakass)]. Abakan.
Gorbunov, V.V., Dashkovskiy, P.K., Tishkin, A.A. 2004: Issledovaniye pamyatnikov srednevekov’ya na Altaye [Study of medieval sites in Altai]. In: N.V. Lopatin (ed.), Arkheologicheskiye otkrytiya – 2004 [Archaeological Discoveries – 2004]. Moscow, 420–423.
Goryacheva, V.D. 2010: Gorodskaya kul’tura tyurkskikh kaganov na Tyan’-Shane (seredina VI – nachalo XIII veka) [Urban culture of the Turkic Khagans in the Tien Shan (Mid-6th – Early 13th Century)]. Bishkek.
Gudkova, A.V. 1964: Tok-kala [Tok-kala]. Tashkent.
Gyllensvärd, B. 1958: T’ang Gold and Silver. Goteborg.
Ierusalimskaya, A.A. 1972: K slozheniyu shkoly khudozhestvennogo shelkotkachestva v Sogde [Towards the Development of a School Of Artistic Silkworm Crafts in Sogd]. In.: A.A. Ivanov, S.S. Sorokin (eds.), Srednyaya Aziya i Iran [Middle Asia and Iran]. Leningrad, 5–56.
Ilimbetova, A.F. 2015: Kulʹt ptits u bashkir v svete dukhovnogo naslediya narodov mira [The Cult of Birds among the Bashkirs in the Light of the Spiritual Heritage of the Peoples of the World]. Ufa.
Ilyushin, A.M. 1999: Mogil’nik Saratovka: publikatsiya materialov i opyt etnoarkheologicheskogo issledovaniya [Saratovka Burial Ground: Publication of Materials and Experience of Ethnoarchaeological Research]. Kemerovo.
Ivanov, S.V. 1954: Materialy po izobrazitel’nomu iskusstvu narodov Sibiri XIX–nachala XX v. [Materials on the Fine Arts of the Peoples of Siberia in the 19th – early 20th Century] (Trudy Instituta etnografii im. N.N. Mikluho-Maklaya. Novaya seriya [Issues of the N.N. Mikloukho-Maclay Institute of Ethnography. New Series] XXII). Moscow–Leningrad.
Ivanov, S.V. 1955: K voprosu o znachenii izobrazheniy na starinnykh predmetakh kul’ta u narodov Sayano-Altayskogo nagor’ya [Towards the Question of the Significance of Images on Ancient Objects of the Culture and Peoples of the Sayan-Altay Mountains]. In.: S.P. Tolstov (ed.), Sbornik Muzeya antropologii i etnografii [Collection of the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography] XVI, 165–264.
Ivanov, S.V. 1979: Skul’ptura altaytsev, khakasov i sibirskikh tatar [Sculpture of Altai, Khakass and Siberian Tatars]. Leningrad.
Kamyshev, A.M. 2023: Zoomorfnyye syuzhety v torevtike Prityan’shan’ya [Zoomorphic Plots in the Toreutics of the Tien Shan Region]. Bishkek.
Kaogu. 2011. Iss. 8. (in Chinese)
Kaogu suebao. 1954. Iss. 8. (in Chinese)
Kara, D. 1972: Knigi mongol’skikh kochevnikov [Books of Mongolian Nomads] (Kul’tura narodov Vostoka: materialy i issledovaniya [Culture of the Peoples of the East: Materials and Research]). Moscow.
Kechiyeva, Z.R. 2016: Zoomorfnye obrazy na srednevekovoy torevtike Tyan’-Shanya [Zoomorphic Images in Medieval Toreutics of Tien Shan]. Vestnik NGU. Seriya: Istoriya, filologiya 15, 5: Arkheologiya i etnografiya [Bulletin of Novosibirsk State University. Series: History, Philology 15, 5: Archaeology and Ethnography], 159–165.
Khasenova, B.M. 2016: Obraz ryby v srednevekovom iskusstve kochevnikov Tsentral’noy Evrazii [Image of Fish in the Medieval Art of the Nomads of Central Eurasia]. In: B.A. Baytanaev (ed.), Aktual’nye problemy arkheologii Evrazii [Actual Problems of Archaeology of Eurasia]. Almaty, 717–725.
Khasenova, B.M. 2019: Zhenskiy kostyum stepnoy Yevrazii epokhi srednevekov’ya: simvol gendera i vremeni [Women’s Costume of the Eurasian Steppe in the Middle Ages: Symbol of Gender and Time]. In: A. Ongaruly (ed.), Stepnaya moda: kostyum i tekstil’. Katalog vystavki [Steppe Fashion: Costume and Textiles. Exhibition Catalogue] (Velikaya step’: istoriya i kul’tura [The Great Steppe: History and Culture], V). Nur-Sultan, 114–121.
Khudyakov, Yu.S., Borisenko, A.Yu., Kechieva, Z.R. 2017: Bronzovye blyashki s izobrazheniyami iz Chuyskoy doliny i Issyk-Kul’skoy kotloviny Kyrgyzstana [Bronze Plaques with Images from the Chu Valley and the Issyk-Kul Basin of Kyrgyzstan]. Vestnik NGU. Seriya: Istoriya, filologiya 16, 3: Arkheologiya i etnografiya [Bulletin of Novosibirsk State University. Series: History, Philology 16, 3: Archaeology and Ethnography], 70–79.
Kiselev, S.V. 1949: Drevnyaya istoriya Yuzhnoy Sibiri [Ancient History of South Siberia] (MIA [Materials and Research on the Archaeology of the USSR] 9). Moscow–Leningrad.
Klyashtornyy, S.G., Savinov, D.G. 2005: Stepnye imperii drevney Evrazii [Steppe Empires of Ancient Eurasia] (Istoricheskiye issledovaniya [Historical Research]). St. Petersburg.
Kocheshkov, N.V. 1997: Tyurko-mongoly i tunguso-man’chzhury. Problemy istoriko-kul’turnykh svyazey na materiale narodnogo dekorativnogo iskusstva XIX–XX vekov [Turkic-Mongols and Tungus-Manchus. Problems of Historical and Cultural Connections Based on Folk Decorative Art of the 19th–20th Centuries]. St. Petersburg.
Korenyako, V.A. 2002: Iskusstvo narodov Tsentral’noy Azii i zverinyy stil’ [Art of the peoples of Central Asia and animal style] (Kul’tura narodov Vostoka: materialy i issledovaniya [Culture of the peoples of the East: materials and research]). Moscow.
Korol, G.G. 2008: Iskusstvo srednevekovykh kochevnikov Evrazii. Ocherki [Art of Medieval Nomads of Eurasia. Essays]. (Trudy SAIPI [Issues of the Siberian Association of Prehistoric Art Scholars] V). Moscow–Kemerovo.
Korol, G.G. 2019: Sostavnye ukrasheniya zastezhki s territorii Sayano-Altaya kontsa I – nachala II tys. [Decorated Composite Clasps from the Sayan-Altai of the Late 1st – early 2nd Millennium]. In.: M.A. Devlet (ed.). Izobrazitel’nye i tekhnologicheskie traditsii rannikh form iskusstva (2) [Iconographic and Technological Traditions of Early Forms of Art (2)] (Trudy SAIPI [Issues of the Siberian Association of Prehistoric Art Scholars] XII). Moscow–Kemerovo, 175–195.
Korol, G.G. 2021: Neizvestnoye v izvestnom: kollektsiya sluchaynykh nakhodok srednevekovoy torevtiki malykh form iz Minusinskoy kotloviny [The Unknown in the Known: A Collection of Random Finds of Medieval Small-Form Toreutics from the Minusinsk Basin]. Problemy istorii, filologii, kul’tury [Journal of Historical, Philological and Cultural Studies] 2, 101–127.
Korol, G.G. 2024: Ornitomorfnyye motivy srednevekovogo khudozhestvennogo metalla Sayano-Altaya i Tyan’-Shanya [Ornithomorphic Motifs of Medieval Art Metalwork of the Sayan-Altai and Tien Shan]. Problemy istorii, filologii, kul’tury [Journal of Historical, Philological and Cultural Studies] 4 (86), 317–337.
Korol, G.G., Kon’kova, L.V. 2009: Srednevekovye remennye ukrasheniya iz Minusinskoy kotloviny: sobraniya XIX v. v kollektsiyakh Ermitazha [Medieval Strap Ornaments from the Minusinsk Basin: XIX c. Collections in the Hermitage Museum]. In: A.A. Tishkin (ed.), Teoriya i praktika arkheologicheskikh issledovaniy [Theory and Practice of Archaeological Investigations] 5. Barnaul, 136–147.
Korol, G.G., Naumova, O.B. 2017: Khudozhestvennyy metall u kochevnikov (Tsentral’naya Aziya rubezha I–II tys.) [Artistic Metal among Nomads (Central Asia of the Turn of the 1st–2nd millennia)]. Moscow.
Kyzlasov, L.R., Korol, G.G. 1990: Dekorativnoye iskusstvo srednevekovykh khakasov kak istoricheskiy istochnik [Decorative Art of the Medieval Khakass as a Historical Source]. Moscow.
Laufer, B. 1912: Jade. A Study in Chinese Archaeology and Religion. Chicago.
Levasheva, V.P. 1939: Iz dalekogo proshlogo yuzhnoy chasti Krasnoyarskogo kraya [From the Far Past of the Southern Part of Krasnoyarsk Territory]. Krasnoyarsk.
Lubo-Lesnichenko, E.I. 1975: Privoznyye zerkala Minusinskoy kotloviny (Imported Mirrors of the Minusinsk Basin). Moscow.
McArthur, M. 2002: Reading Buddhist Art. An illustrated Guide to Buddhist Signs and Symbols. London.
Miller, G.F. 1937: Istoriya Sibiri [History of Siberia] 1. Moscow–Leningrad.
Mogilnikov, V.A. 2002: Kochevniki severo-zapadnykh predgoriy Altaya v IX–XI vekakh [Nomads of the Northwestern Foothills of Altai in the 9th–11th cc.]. Moscow.
Napolskikh, V.V. 1990: Drevneyshiye finno-ugorskiye mify o vozniknovenii zemli [The Most Ancient Finno-Ugric Myths about the Origin of the Earth]. In: I.N. Gemuyev (ed.), Mirovozzreniye finno-ugorskikh narodov [Worldview of the Finno-Ugric Peoples]. Novosibirsk, 5–20.
Plotnikov, Yu.A. 1987: Skul’pturnyye izobrazheniya ryb v pamyatnikakh srostkinskoy kul’tury [Sculptural Images of Fish in Sites of the Srostki Culture]. In: Yu.S. Khudyakov, S.A. Gladyshev (eds.), Novyye pamyatniki metalla na Srednem Amure [New Metal Objects on the Middle Amur]. Novosibirsk, 110–120.
Polidovich, Yu.B., Malyuk, N.I. 2016: Obraz ryby v iskusstve skifo-sarmatskogo vremeni [Image of Fish in the Scythian-Sarmatian Art]. In.: L.T. Yablonskiy, L.A. Kraeva (eds.), Konstantin Fedorovich Smirnov i sovremennye problemy sarmatskoy arheologii [Konstantin Fedorovich Smirnov and Recent Problems of Sarmatian Archaeology]. Orenburg, 209–216.
Sagalaev, A.M. 1990: Ptitsa, dayushchaya zhizn’ (iz tyurko-ugorskikh mifologicheskikh paralleley) [Bird That Gives Life (from Turkic-Ugric Mythological Parallels)]. In: I.N. Gemuyev (ed.), Mirovozzreniye finno-ugorskikh narodov [Worldview of the Finno-Ugric Peoples]. Novosibirsk, 21–34.
Snesarev, G.P. 1969: Relikty domusul’manskikh verovaniy i obryadov u uzbekov Khorezma [Relics of Pre-Muslim Beliefs and Rituals among the Uzbeks of Khorezm]. Moscow.
Sokolovskaya, L.F. 2001: K izobrazheniyu ryb na srednevekovoy keramike Afrasiaba VII–XIII vv. [Towards the Image of Fish on Medieval Ceramics of Afrasiab of the 7th–13th cc.]. In: T.Sh. Shirinov (ed.), Istoriya material’noy kul’tury Uzbekistana [History of Material Culture of Uzbekistan] 32. Tashkent, 164–169.
Spasskiy, G. 1818: O sibirskikh drevnikh kurganakh [On Ancient Siberian Burial Mounds]. Sibirskiy vestnik [Siberian Journal] 2, 20 (147)–50 (177).
Tabaldiyev, K.Sh. 2011: Drevniye pamyatniki Tyan’-Shanya [Ancient Sites of the Tien Shan]. Bishkek.
Terentyev-Katanskiy, A.P. 2004: Illyustratsii k kitayskomu bestiariyu «Mifologicheskiye zhivotnyye drevnego Kitaya» [Illustrations for the Chinese Bestiary «Mythological Animals of Ancient China»]. St. Petersburg.
Torgoev, A.I. 2010: Patritsy s izobrazheniyem cherepakhi i zhuravlya iz Chuyskoy doliny [Patrices with Images of a Turtle and a Crane from the Chu Valley]. Rossiysaya Arkheologiya [Russian Archaeology] 3, 160–163.
Vaynshteyn, S.I. 1974: Istoriya narodnogo iskusstva Tuvy [History of Folk Art of Tuva]. Moscow.
Wenwu. 1987. Iss. 11. (in Chinese).
Wenwu. 1996. Iss. 1. (in Chinese).
White, J.M., Bunker, E.C. 1994: Adornment for Eternity. Status and Rank in Chinese Ornament. Denver.
Williams, C.A. 1960: Encyclopedia of Chinese Symbolism and Art Motives. New York.
Zabiyako, A.P., Van Tszyan’lin’ 2015: Naskal’nye izobrazheniya Severo-Vostochnogo Kitaya [Rock Art of Northeastern China]. Blagoveshchensk.