The aesthetic language of art encompassing a vast historical period is very complex and can be difficult to read. In order to understand those artistic facets that make jewelry art from IV BC-IV AD unique we will utilize the following tools:

1. 1. A set of major concepts used in applied art (i.e. a type of “dictionary”)1
2. 2. A set of rules that define how these concepts can be blended and transformed within the “text” of the aesthetic language (i.e. “grammar”)

We will use this “dictionary” of concepts to identify, compare and contrast the artistic features of IV BC - IV AD art, as well as their refractions, “citations”, blending and transformation in the monuments of Central Asian jewelry art.

To identify the unique artistic features of the jewelry of a given time period, it is necessary to define already known styles and conventions (e.g. established schemes of form organization). Artistic style reflects the fundamental values of society2 and serves as a technical tool to convey the canons of universal artistic traditions3. We begin with what is known as the Achaemenian style, characteristic to the art of ancient Iran during the period of Achaemenian rule. Bactria, being one the Achaemenian satrapies (territories), fell under a strong cultural influence of this style. In some instances, this style is referred to as the “imperial” style, thus underlying its ideological significance.

The architecture and decorations of the grand palaces constructed in Pasargadi under Kir, and in Souza and in Persepol under Darii I, reflect the blend of artistic traditions from the conquered countries: Mesopotamia, Egypt, Anatolia and even Asian Greece. Such artistic amalgamation, ordered by these great monarchs, resulted in the creation of monuments meant to provide a framework for the “universal,” supra-national authority received by the above rulers from king Akhuramazda.4

To recreate such stylistic compositions in jewelry the presence of a center and a border are essential, because they represent the artistic ideals of classical art with its hierarchical ideology. An additional characteristic of this style is the emphasis on the flatness of surface. The image is spread on the surface almost like a relief, reflecting not only ideological influences, but also the diffusion between -and interaction with- other types of art, in this case relief, as well as sculpture, and architecture. Architectural decorations of palaces and temples from that time period are dominated by relief, and that is why not only principles of expression, but also entire scenes, were transferred from architectural decorations onto jewelry articles. Since the ideological circles and interests of ancient jewelers and contemporary architects and sculptors were closely related, their crafts show similar reflections of ancient culture, ideology and customs.

Among the most common motifs in jewelry articles of the given period (e.g. disks, brooches) are the images of lions and lion-gryphons, in some cases with a raised right paw and a turned-back head. The figures were arranged in a circle or were portrayed in pairs in a heraldic scheme, compositionally placed into an elongated rectangle - freeze. The above mentioned characteristics of the achaemenian style found their reflection in adornments from the Treasure of Oxus, e.g. bracelets, decorative disks and votive plaques that date back to IV-III centuries BC.

Man was portrayed by the ancient jewelers, both on separate adornments and on votive plaques, usually in profile (in the pose of a donor). The figures were sketched using flat contour lines. Most of the images were identical, the only exceptions being figures portrayed face front. The donors are portrayed in a variety of poses accompanied by their sacrifices. A man is portrayed holding a vessel in his left hand (the left hand was considered sacred in contrast to the right hand),5 another figure is shown holding a goblet with a vertical handle and a conical top; many other figures hold spears. The donors belong to different ethnic and social groups, conveyed by their clothing and hair styles. In some cases, the clothing is decorated with jewelry, which is represented by dome-shaped circles (possibly brooches and buttons). However, there are also figures in the nude.

No two plates are identical. Even in the presence of general similarities, the plates are very distinct in their details, allowing to examine the variety of artistic methods used to execute an existing canon. The poses and identities of the donors parallel those from a Persepol relief, on which the donors of the great Achaemenian empire can be seen. It is as if some of these donors “stepped onto” the votives of the Treasure of Oxus. It is possible that these images were executed by several masters, using various artistic styles and methods, even though the achaemenian style, which absorbed into itself artistic and cultural elements of ancient East, Asia Minor and Greece6 remained dominant, dictating its artistic vocabulary throughout the empire. The images were not just decorative, but carried a specific meaning, in accordance with the historical and cultural context of the given period. As a whole, the act of sacrifice shown on such plates represented the personification of the customer in the eyes of the donor. A miniature carriage from the Treasure of Oxus (a figure of a rider and a horse) could also be related to the votives, based on a comparison with an identical bronze carriage from Bisenzio (VII BC).7

It is interesting to note the parallels that exist between the articles from Treasure of Oxus and Etruscan Art, for example, in two golden heads from the treasure.8 In Etruscan art of the VII BC man was portrayed with high likeness to reality and despite the existence of a stylized canon, the images had portrait features.9 The aspiration of the ancients for realistic art can be also seen in the heads from the Treasure of Oxus. The face of the first, as O.Dalton writes10 resembles that of the inhabitants of Pamir and pre-Pamir area. Similar facial features are still present on the territory of modern Tajikistan. E.V. Zeimal states,8 that the technical, typological and chronological links that exist between the two heads suggest that they were made outside the achaemenian style and were probably brought into the temple of Oxus by native citizens.

The “zoomorphic style” was the other widespread artistic style of the ancient period and its manifestations can also be seen in the jewelry art of Central Asia. Even O. Dalton noted the non-homogeneous composition of the Treasure of Oxus, attributing its various articles to different time periods. Tolstoy and Kodak distinguished several articles in close relation to art of the Skiffs, also known as the “zoomorphic style”. The zoomorphic style represented the unity of aesthetic, social and religious values and was characterized by expressive portrayal of animals, with emphasis on fitting all the details into a given geometrical shape, i.e. circle, square, rectangle, semi-circle. This style existed in parallel with the achaemenian and went in two directions of improvement and development: the ancient East and the skiffs of the Black sea region.

V.A. Ilyinskaya states that it is hard to find researchers who would refute the significance of ancient Eastern art in the development of the zoomorphic style in the art of skiffs from the Black sea region. This influence manifests itself in the emergence of such motifs as a mountain goat with a turned-back head and tucked- under legs (as well as other animals found in similar positions: horses, elks, etc.); the motive of the gryphon and other sincretic beasts; heraldic lions, and birds spreading their wings.11 The “zoomorphic style” is also characterized by scenes of animal “torture”, conveying the battle between light and darkness, goodness and evil. In most depictions, the eyes of predators have an elongated shape, while the fish and the birds have round eyes. The ears are short and round in representations of some animals; they are long and pointed, sometimes curved at their ends in other animals (mostly the predators). The shape of the body is conveyed using “dots and comas,” the horns are shown by crossing and etched lines.

Composition symmetry, especially mirror-symmetry, is typical of this style, because the aspiration for symmetry is one of the major defining characteristics of ancient Central Asian art. This phenomenon may be explained either in terms of the continuous search for balance between two extremes, that permeates myth and traditions,12 or by the presence of dualism in the mentality of the period. This balance results in amalgamation of two things into one whole. A great example of the “zoomorphic style” is the egret from the Treasure of Oxus. The egret is a convexly-bend plate in the form of a stretched out lion-gryphon. The legs are tucked under, the body rendered in profile, while the head faces forward with open jaws. On both sides of a massive neck are raised wings (with bent ends), prolonged ears with sharp ends and bent-back horns with golden spheres at their ends (similar spheres can be found at the base of the ears). The tail is twisted into two loops and ends with a large “leaf”. The egret, a head adornment worn by men, was a symbol of strength, power and fearlessness. The expressive manner in which the lion-gryphon is portrayed resembles articles from the Siberian collection of Peter the Great.13 The fusion of a variety of artistic principles and methods in one article (motive of a lion-gryphon and a deer, the use of relief and round sculpture; emphasis of the “node” points of the body in metal, incrustation and filigree) suggest that the egret could have only been made on the verge of epochs and diverse artistic traditions.14

It is possible that the egret was an article of the Bactrian school, established on symbiosis of ancient artistic traditions. Analogies to the above depiction of a beast exist in a temple suspension (V BC) found in Cyprus, confirming the widespread use of established traditions.15 The egret from the Treasure of Oxus is distinct in its greater amount of decorations, while the egret from Cyprus has delicate modeling (the whiskers are indicated by thin lines, while the whiskers on the egret from the Treasure of Oxus are ornamental). Given a predetermined form, the jeweler had to place the image of the animal into a “framework”, for example a disk with a relief image of two lying boars and two wild goats is a semicircle, where the figures of the animals are placed together in mirror-image symmetry. Here again we see the use of cross-etched horns, made with a chisel.

Aside from the above mentioned style, the art of the given period is also permeated by Greek influence. A combination of the zoomorphic and Hellenistic styles can be seen in the figure of a wild goat from the Treasure of Oxus, its front legs tucked and leaning on a bent plate (attached to a vessel and decorated on the outside with engraved palmetto - a Greek element), while the back legs are attached to the body of the vessel. The fleece of the goat is conveyed by gold coating and engravings: a wide line on the back and the chest, arched lines on the shoulders, and closely situated and symmetrical locks on the forehead. The horns are coated with gold and are divided into six parts by crossing relief girdles. Gold-plated circles on the hips and drop-like gold ornaments with split ends above the knees of the front legs are made in low relief. The ribs are indicated by a series of parallel lines on the sides. The ears, eyes and hoofs are also gold-plated. The depiction of the body resembles images on the stamps from Mokhendjadaro and Kharrapa,16 as well as the beasts from the Persepol relief, the well-known sources of the “zoomorphic style” in ancient East.