Barakat Gallery
Skip to main content
  • Menu
  • Home
  • Artworks
  • Exhibitions
  • About
  • Contact
Menu
  • Menu

Scythian Art

  • All
  • Masterpieces of Near Eastern Art
  • Achaemenid Art
  • Assyrian Art
  • Babylonian Art
  • Bactrian Art
  • Cuneiform Tablets
  • Elamite Art
  • Hittite Art
  • Luristan Art
  • Parthian Art
  • Sassanian Art
  • Scythian Art
  • Sumerian Art
  • Urartian Art
  • Near Eastern Bronze Age
  • Near Eastern Iron Age
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Scythian Gold Bracelet, 500 BCE - 400 CE

Scythian Gold Bracelet, 500 BCE - 400 CE

Gold
Diam. 7.9 cm
Diam. 3 1/8 in
FJ.6596
Enquire
%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22title_and_year%22%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_title%22%3EScythian%20Gold%20Bracelet%3C/span%3E%2C%20%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_year%22%3E500%20BCE%20%20-%20%20400%20CE%3C/span%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22medium%22%3EGold%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22dimensions%22%3EDiam.%207.9%20cm%3Cbr/%3E%0ADiam.%203%201/8%20in%3C/div%3E
'Scythian' was the name used by ancient Greek writers to describe the various nomadic tribes of southeastern Europe and Asia who dwelled north of the Black Sea, between the Carpathian...
Read more
'Scythian' was the name used by ancient Greek writers to describe the various nomadic tribes of southeastern Europe and Asia who dwelled north of the Black Sea, between the Carpathian Mountains and the Don River, in what is now Moldova, Ukraine, and western Russia. The name was also more generally applied to all the nomad tribes who inhabited the steppes eastward from what is now Hungary to the mountains of Turkistan. Scythians kept herds of horses, cattle, and sheep, lived in tent-covered wagons, and fought with bows and arrows on horseback. They developed a rich culture characterised by opulent tombs, fine metalwork, and a brilliant artistic style.

The excavations of royal burial-sites have provided the most complete record of the jewellery of the Scythians. Typical art objects were in the form of stags or other animals, hammered or stamped out of gold and often inlaid with coloured stones or glass. Through their trading contacts with settled peoples to the south, they obtained a great deal of gold that was elaborately worked into small and large ornaments and personal objects such as drinking bowls and daggers. This gold bracelet is one such example that attests to the Scythians mastery of metalworking. The sloping curve of the bracelet ends with two finely crafted leopard heads. Snarling and growling, mouth agape and ferocious fangs exposed, these cats are clearly not pets but wild beasts. The heads are joined to the bracelet by bands decorated by a series of leaves. The sheer elegance of this gold bracelet would most likely have been reserved specifically for a king or noble.
Close full details

Provenance

Dr Leo Mildenberg. Zurich. 1968
Share
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Email
Previous
|
Next
7 
of  8

London

48 Albemarle Street,

London, W1S 4JW

info@barakatgallery.eu 

 

       


 

CONTACT | TEAM | PRESS 

 

Seoul
58-4, Samcheong-ro,
Jongno-gu, Seoul
+82 02 730 1949
barakat@barakat.kr
             

 

Los Angeles

941 N La Cienega Blvd
Los Angeles CA 90069
+1 310 859 8408

contact@barakatgallery.com

  


 

 

Facebook, opens in a new tab.
Instagram, opens in a new tab.
Send an email
View on Google Maps
Manage cookies
Copyright © 2025 Barakat Gallery
Site by Artlogic


Manage cookies
Accept

Cookie preferences

Check the boxes for the cookie categories you allow our site to use

Cookie options
Required for the website to function and cannot be disabled.
Improve your experience on the website by storing choices you make about how it should function.
Allow us to collect anonymous usage data in order to improve the experience on our website.
Allow us to identify our visitors so that we can offer personalised, targeted marketing.
Save preferences
Close

Join our mailing list

Sign Up

* denotes required fields