A Scythian Vial

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A Scythian VialAuthor(s): Erkinger Schwarzenberg

Source:East and West,

Vol. 44, No. 2/4 (December 1994), pp. 439-445Published by: Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente (IsIAO)

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A ScythianVial

by Erkinger Schwarzenberg

This note is about a smallmetal vessel ? 15 cm high? said to have been found in the

Russian steppe (Figs. 1-6). Its purpose is unclear. The mouth is too narrow for a cup and

the lips too wide tomake drinking easy. Nor can it be called a bottle, since bottles have

cylindrical necks designed to secure the stopper. The rosette impressed on thevessel's bottom

prevents it from standing firmlyupright. It does not have a handle or even loops, but mayhave been suspended by a cord passing around its neck.

Although no measure to the thirstof a warrior or herdsman, anything largerdanglingfrom a buckle would have proved cumbersome on horseback (*). Ifwe could be sure that it

had originally served a strictly functional purpose, we would name it after the shape that it

resembles most, a tumbler perhaps or a beaker. But since we are not, we are free to call it

by a name that doesn't suggest a known type of container. I propose theword vial, since

it derives from thegreekphiale. Herodotus uses theword todescribe ithanging froma Scythian

girdle. Scholars disagree about itspurpose and its shape, pointing out that,unlike thedrinking

horn, itmay well be pre-Scythian (2).The vessel, be it a vial or not, displays a scene?

subject A ? borrowed fromGreek

art,made for the Scythian market and representing Scythians. Now Herodotus' Scythianswere no better than other barbarians in one respect: theyprotestingly yielded to civilization;

they thought theywere refusing the culture thatwas influencing them thewhile. As for

Herodotus himself, he was no better than other, later historians: he took the Scythians at

theirword and constructed an image of what they ought to have been, a useful model for

Greeks to follow. He would have considered our vial, thatwas in factmade about a centuryafter his death, bastard Scythian work. A true Scythian object would have been made out

of pure gold (3).The vial was made either bywrapping a heated bronze sheet around a resiliant bituminous

core and hammering around the outline so as tomake theplanche buckle back, or simply by

pressing into a crude mould. Details were punched or engraved and the bottom added after

removal of the core.

This technique recalls the finebeakers thatwere made in or after the 10th century B.C.in the area around Kirmanshah inwestern Iran (4).Moreover subject B was copied fromone

(*)Herodotus, Histories, IV 10.

(2)H. Kothe, 'Der Skythenbegriffei Herodot', Klio, 51, 1969, p. 80.

(3) Histories, IV 71: silver or bronze vials were banned from royal kurgans.

(4)P. Calmeyer,Relie?ronzen inbabylonischemtil,einewestiranische erkstattdes 10Jhdt. .Chr.,M?nchen 1973.

[1] 439

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Fig.cythianvial',ropertyfheuthor.rawingy.randis.







Figs. 2-6 -ScythianVial', propertyof, and photographsby the author.

of these Transcaucasian imports. On the other hand, the shape of our vial suggests a non

metallic prototype, such as clay or leather, and does not depend from the earlier beakers, with

their drawn-in walls and drop-shaped bottoms.

The grooves? there are nine of them, covering the neck and shoulder?

appear to be

theonly local contribution to a decoration blending Assyrian and Greek motifs. The guillochethat runs around the rim is common to both cultures.

The frieze consists of two scenes each composed of three figures. Subject B is centeredon the figureof a flower made up of two leaves and a bud, derived from the lotus, a motif

common toNear-Eastern art (Fig. 9) (5). The palm-tree growing out of a jar occurs on the

Luristan beakers, upon which two streams ofwater appear to gush out of the rosette resting

on the vessel's rim (Figs. 7a, b, c) (6). The tree reproduced on the vial bears onlya

faintresemblance to a palm, having six frondsdisposed inpairs on three tiers.Moreover, theScythiancraftsman mistook thewavy bands ofwater flowing out of the jar for the sides of amound,

(5) Cf., e.g., an ivory from Nimrud in Baghdad, Inv. 7919. M.V. Seton-Williams, Les tresors de

Baby lone,Luxembourg 1981, p. 159.

(6)Calmeyer, op. cit.,A 13 (NewYork,Metr. Mus.); G 3;H 10.

[3] 441







Fig. 4 Fig. 5

despite thewriggly lines suggesting a liquicriversof the great plains may never have seen

Fig. 6

(') Calmeyer, op. cit., pp. 62 f. = H 4.

.content. An artist familiarwith the sluggishamountain and a springof freshwater. He was

unaware of themeaning of the life-giving

fountain, later tobecome a central theme in

Persian art.

He repeated themotif of themount on

theopposite side of the 'lotus', but replacedthe sacred treeby a curious bird, having a

beak and a comb but no claws. It holds its

wings as if theywere human limbs and sitson itsrump as a person would, spreading out

its tail as if toprevent crushing its feathers.

This weird creature fills in the outline of one

of the eagle-headed daemons occuring on thebeakers where theyare shown fertilizing the

palm-tree. The pair of guardian spirits

flanking theholy palm-tree on the beaker in

Dumbarton Oaks is similarly engaged

(Fig. 8) (7). The artists of the Luristan

beakers may not have been fully ware of the

442 [4]







significance of that ritual, for thewinged daemons are occasionally replaced by sphinxes or

wild goats (8). A craftsman living far away and, possibly, centuries later did recognize the

eagle-half of the nishrokhon thebeaker, but transformed its lower parts, themighty lion-paws

into a cloddy mountain, replacing the streams of paradise gushing out from under the life

giving tree.

The nishrokh apparently did not remind the Scythian artisan of the griffin, the keeperof the sun's gold,which is a four-leggedcreature, at least inGreek mythology. He transformed

instead its upper half into a bird-man. Shamans disguise themselves into birds in order to

express their ability todepart from theirown bodies and travel abroad, faster than awinged,

Scythian arrow. So swiftlydoes the soul of these medecine-men fly that ithas been known

to appear in two places at practically the same time.

Many myths and fairy-tales, reaching back to the 2nd millennium B.C. and still alive,until recent times at least, describe these imaginary trips (9). The hero becomes a crow and

flies north to bring back the sun's golden rays. He crosses the land of theArimaspians and

themountains guarded by griffins. He reaches the ever-greening grove of the god worshippedby theHyperboreans, whom theGreeks called Dionysus or Apollo.

Drugs much older thanwine sped the shaman to the god's magic mountain, called meru

by vedic authors. As for theplant fromwhich themagic potion was brewed, it is called soma

in theRgveda (10). Our vial may on occasion have contained something stronger thanwater

or milk.

The persons belonging to scene B wear long hair, leather trousers and a sleeved tunic,fastened at ankles and wrists. They are in fact dressed as Scythians. The principal figureis sittingon a grecian throne,with lion-feetrestingdirectly on the floor,unlike those ofAssyrianfoot-stools (n). A second figurekneels in front ofwhat must be themaster of the household

or, perhaps, theking. It isdemurely extending itshands, putting themunto his. Unfortunatelythe particulars of itsdress are not rendered sufficiently accurately to distinguish it from the

other two figures and mark itas definitely female. The sleeves are there,but not the trousers,the feet and toes being hidden by what appears to be a broad-belted skirt.

The clothes of the weaker sex would appear to have been suited to its domestic

chores (12):Herodotus' Scythians were sufficientlyhellenized tobe attracted by theAmazons,

(8)Cf. theCleveland beaker (Calmeyer, p. cit.,pp. 68 f. = H 10) and theone in theKoutoulakis

collection (ibid.,pp. 58 f. = G 3).

(9)One of the strandsmaking up the tale of theArgonauts appears tobe Scythian. The sisterof

Medea Circe is supposed tohavemarried a ScythianKing. Diodorus, LibraryofHistory, IV 45,4 and

47,5. The Scythian word for river danu survives in thenames

of the Danube and of theDon

that theheroes are said tohave rowedup (IV 56,3). In fact theywould have followed theDniepr

? thedeepriver ?

and the Dvina?

these names have a familiar ring? to reach the Baltic at Riga.

Jason transferred his prophetic and shamanic powers to the Argo, that flew faster than an arrow

when heading north. The powersofAristeas (Histories,V 14 f.) and ofAbaris (IV 36) canbematched

with those of contemporary African medicine-men. M. Eliade, Le Chamanisme, Paris 1968.

(10)G.M. Bongard-Levin& E.A. Grantovskij, De la Scythie llnde, Paris 1981, pp. 88 f., 95.

(n) H. Kyrieleis, Throne undKlinen, Berlin 1969, pp. 14 f.

(12)Histories, IV 114.

[5] 443







Fig. 7-Details from Iranian beakers, after Calmeyer, op. cit.y H 10, G 3, A 13.

while remaining true to theirnomad way of life. Those who succombed to their fateful ttraction

reverted to a barbarous primitivism and became Sarmatians. But even those Scythians who

stopped shortofmarryingAmazons tried to imitate them in theirmartial ways, and wore tightsleeves and narrow trousers (13). The Amazons appear to have been personifications of the

Scythian ideal, as conceived by theGreeks. Sixth-century attic vase-painters represented them

clad in the uniform worn by Scythian archers (14).The gesture of the kneeling figure is reflected in feudal practice (15) As a token of

voluntary bondage, the vassal placed his joined hands into those of his lord. On the vial athird person is seen approaching from the left, arms clasped to chest. Folding ones handsover the breast ingreeting is a custom stillcommon on theAsian continent. Subject B enablesus to add two signs, asmute as they are eloquent, to the Scythian language or to the culture

called Scythian by Herodotus.

Much ofwhat we know about the early history of southern Russia is due toHerodotus,whose curiosity and open-mindedness led him to get interested in barbarians for their own

sake, and not just as defeated enemies. They could henceforth be represented engagednot only in battle but living and resting in their own surroundings. A genre, which mayhave originated inAthens afterHerodotus' visit there,was taken up by the goldsmiths of

Panticapaeum or some other colony producing luxurywares for the Scythian princes. Scene B

deserves tobe taken intoaccount, along

with themoreprecious Tolstaja Mogila pectoral,

the

Gaimanova cup, theVoronezh vase, theChertomlyk amphora, theKaragodevasch ornament,

(13)Histories, IV 116.

(14)Exhibition-catalogueGold derSkythen us derLeningrader rmitage,Wien 1989, pp. 253, 257.

(15)On vassalage among theScythians,G. Dumezil, Romans de Scythie td'alentour,Paris 1978,p. 199; J. Le Goff, Corrieredelta Sera, 15.02.1991.

444 [6]







Fig. 8 -Scene from an Iranian beaker in the Dumbarton Oaks collection. After Calmeyer, op. cit., H 4.

and the KuT Oba finds, as evidence for Scythian culture (16).A crude copy of a Greek design of the late 5 th or 4th

century B.C. was combined on the vial with a motif that

can be traced back to Babylon (17). The roughworkmanship

suggests a place ofmanufacture equally distant from theCrimea

and fromwestern Iran, possibly the Kuban.

Fig. 9 -Lotus motif on Nimrud ivory. After Seton-Williams, op. cit.y p. 159.

(16)M. Rostovtzeff, ranians ndGreeks inSouthRussia,Oxford 1922, pp. 108 f.;T. Talbot Rice,The Scythians, ondon 1957, pp. 66 f.;Gold derSkythen, at. No. 57; Exhibition-catalogue L'Oro di

Kiev, Firenze 1987, No. 20.

(17)Upon drivingtheCimmerians as far s lakeVan inthe7thcentury .C. theScythianshad come

into ontactwith theKingdomofUrartu. TheCambridgencient istory,1976 Italian dition, ol. Ill, p. 582.

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A Scythian Vial