The Origins Of The “Geometric Style” In Hsiungnu Art
Dr. Sergey Minyaev
Institute of the History of Material Culture
Russian Academy of Sciences
St. Petersburg, Russia
Pieces of Hsiung nu geometric artwork are examined in the following paper. A detailed analysis of these artifacts has identified an evolutionary sequence that sees their origin in the zoomorphic “Scytho-Siberian” representations, and was strongly influenced by Near Eastern art. The “Scytho-Siberian” images underwent a transformation by the Hsiung nu following their conquest of Central Asia. The rapid transformation of the artistic scenes demonstrates that within the framework of Hsiung nu tribal union the Near Eastern artistic and mythological traditions were exposed to a different ethnic, cultural, and possibly linguistic environment (Proto-Mongolian?). This new environment utilized different mythological and epic scenes and images. Some of the prototypical compositions may have been retained possibly due the existence of a certain degree of ideological overlap, but others images became stylized and transformed by the Hsiung nu to conform to their own aesthetic norms.
The so-called zoomorphic bronzes (plaques and buckles of various forms, buttons etc.) which display illustrations of various animals can be considered to be among the most impressive examples of Hsiungnu art. Examples of this artwork have been encountered in the Hsiung-nu sites of Trans-Baikalia, south Siberia , Mongolia and northern China . As a whole, there is no doubt that many of the images of Hsiungnu art, including the decorative bronzes, have parallels with the “Scytho-Siberian Zoomorphic Style”. Consequently, scholars have considered Hsiungnu art to be one of the developmental stages of this style. At the same time, however, a number of other Hsiungnu bronzes can be described using terms derived from a geometric style. These designs include “latticework” or “openwork” which can be found on belt plates, in addition to smaller artifacts including points and buttons. The origins of the geometric component of the art of the Hsiungnu are not entirely clear, since these objects do not find direct analogies among the Scythian cultures of Siberia and Central Asia . A detailed analysis of these artifacts has identified an evolutionary sequence which sees their origin in the zoomorphous “Scytho-Siberian” representations, most of which were strongly influenced by Near Eastern art. The objective of the following paper is to illustrate this origin through an examination of a number of pieces of the Hsiungnu geometric artwork.
Buckle plaques for the upper belt of a dress
It is possible to
most clearly demonstrate the origins of “lattice-work” buckle plates. One of
the most famous compositions of this style is a scene displayed on a gold
plaque from the Peter the Great Collection, which displays fantastic animals
standing beside a symbolic tree (Fig. 1c). The piece is encompassed by a
rectangular frame, positioned on which are leaf-shaped pits for the inlay. The
tree and the animals are well modeled, and the animal heads are quite
realistic. It is probable that plates of this type were the prototypes for
the manufacture of Hsiungnu bronze plaques, but during the course of repeated
copying and re-casting many original details have been lost. The heads of
animals, rendered in the same manner as those on gold plates from the Peter
the Great Collection, are preserved in the frames of a number of bronze
plates; probably the earliest examples of such objects. The composition as a
whole at this stage, however, does not yet display evidence for a geometric
interpretation. The frames of the plates become smoother, the branches of the
tree disappear and it is transformed into broken zigzag lines combined with
animal paws. These zigzags tie the frame of the plate to a direct line in the
center of the piece which may depict the trunk of the initial symbolical tree
in an extremely stylized manner (Fig. 1d). As a result of repeated
reproduction, a stylization of the initial zoomorphic scene is apparent; the
animal heads are now depicted by several pits, but eventually these pits also
disappear. Consequently, the original scene depicting animals stranding
beside a tree has developed into a geometric composition. The latest buckle plates
have the appearance of trapeziums with zigzag edges and have little, if
anything, in common with the original composition (Fig. 1e). The later
craftspeople who moulded the buckles added a number of different details to
the compositions in some cases including “foliage” on the framework of
buckles which display “zigzags” (Fig.
Fig. 1 - Scenes depicting animals standing beside a sacred tree and possible transformations of this scene apparent in Hsiungnu bronzes: (a) Imprint of a cylindrical seal from Susa, (b) Fragment of a pectoral from Ziwiye, (c) Plaque from the collection of Peter the Great, (d-f) Bronze plaques from Siberia and Ordos .
The same simplification of an initial scene with a gradual disappearance of zoomorphic details is visible on a number of examples of other rectangular plates. Another variant of “lattice-form” plates, which depicts lattice-work emanating from a small rhombus, can be regarded as a result of the reproduction of plates which originally displayed two pairs of snakes. The earliest items are quite realistically designed; even the eyes of the snakes are represented in detail. Later the image gradually becomes less sharp, and eventually it is transformed into lattice-work and no longer resembles the initial scene (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2 - Possible transformations of the scene with four snakes apparent on Hsiungnu plaques.
Such a gradual
simplification of zoomorphic scenes followed by their stylization can be
demonstrated for the majority, if not all, scenes on Hsiungnu buckle plates.
This process may be clearly illustrated, for example, through an examination
of buckle plates which display images of struggling horses (the most frequent
image encountered in Hsiungnu art). The composition is quite realistic on the
earliest plates; the animal's hooves are depicted by small cells; the spaces
over, or in some cases under, the horses are also filled with such cells, and
cells are also often encountered on the buckle frame. Hereinafter the cells
either become less sharp, or disappear entirely. In addition, the animal
figures are represented in fewer details and the overall composition becomes
simpler. The same scene of struggling horses represented on the latest
plates, however, reveals a marked reduction in the size of the plates, and
their weighs decreases from 100-
The same process of simplification of an initial scene with the gradual disappearance of tree and animal body parts is very marked on some examples from Ordos which depicts three mountain goats (Artamonov 1973, 163). A similar developmental sequence has also been observed on belt buckles of other forms, with the exception of rectangular-shaped plates. Three circles which contain depictions of animal heads, for example, have been identified on a pair of buckles from the Ivolga cemetery (Davydova 1996, tab. 36:3-4). In the next stage of buckle stylization the form and size of the objects are preserved, but the animal heads have disappeared. As time progresses the size of buckles eventually decreases, and the quantity of inner circles (a basic component of a buckle) is reduced from three to one (Fig. 3).
Fig. 3 - Possible transformations of belt buckle plaques with rectangular protrusions.
Round openwork buckles of the upper belt
Among round openwork buckles of the upper belt the original “Scytho-Siberian” composition may be seen on a ring from the Peter the Great Collection which depicts a number of birds walking in a row (Fig. 4a). Initially the birds were depicted in a realistic manner but, as was the case for the buckle plaques, the images have eventually become schematized. Firstly, only the heads situated along the edge of the plaque are left while the bodies of the birds have been lost (Fig. 4b). In the following stage the bird heads are transformed into cells situated on the frames of the ring (Fig. 4c), but eventually they also disappear. The initial composition with pictures of birds has therefore been transformed into a geometric pattern comprising two concentric circles (external and internal), which are connected by several radii whose number also diminishes with time (Figs. 4d-f).
Fig. 4 - An assumed transformation of a composition on round openwork rings. (a) - golden ring from Peter Great collection, (b) - bronze ring from Ordos plateau, (c-f) - bronze rings from Minussink museum.
The rectangular plates and open-work rings demonstrate a degree of regularity in the process of schematization; in the initial zoomorphic scenes of the first stage in the development process the animal and bird heads were retained. Eventually, the images became transformed into cells on framework, and finally the frame of the object becomes smooth and the zoomorphic depictions have completely disappeared.
The gold collection of Peter the Great contains a number of buttons which depict a variety of zoomorphic scenes on their surfaces. Similar and identical scenes have also been identifies on bronze Hsiungnu buttons. Again these images are initially depicted in great detail, but eventually the representations become transformed into a geometrical design. A number of stages of this transformation process may be seen in buttons which display images of a sitting bear. Eventually the image became increasingly stylized, and the ears and muzzle of the animal were increasingly depicted as cells, until they were finally transformed into a geometrical composition which consisted of a central circle surrounded by small rings (Fig. 5i-l).
A depiction of the head of an ungulate (possibly saigak) is most commonly present on “spoon-shaped” fastenings. The most detailed initial zoomorphic compositions are to be found in golden fastening from Witzen Collections (Fig. 5a). The animal head depiction is converted into a geometrical ornament that can be observed in reasonable detail. The realistic image of the animal head gradually loses its expressiveness, and as a result the horns, eyes and muzzle are transformed into a series of rectangles and triangles. In addition, the quantity of elements depicted within each shape also decreases (Fig. 5b-d).
One composition more is presented on the “spoon-shaped” fastenings, it depicts a wolf torments an ibex. The detailed initial zoomorphic compositions are to be found in the Peter the Great Collections (Fig. 5e), and on a horn fastening recovered from Sagly-Bazhy (Gratch 1980, tab. 39:11). The transformation of the scene cannot be restored in detail because of a lack of data. It is possible, however, that one of the stages in this process of transformation is reflected in two bronze points recovered from south Siberia . One of these objects was retrieved in the Kosogol Treasure (Naschekin 1967), while the origin of the other piece is not known (it is currently curated in the Krasnojarsk Museum , #122-669). In this case the picture of the animal has lost its horn to the uppermost boundary of the object and the head of a beast of prey has been transformed into a central ring (Figs. 5e and f).
Convincing prototypes of strap buckles are to be found among the collections of Siberian gold as well as early examples of Hsiung-nu bronzes. Four griffin heads are represented on a buckle from the Peter the Great Collection. The heads are paired in such a way that the bottom two heads are a clear reflection of the upper pair. The two pairs are mutually connected by a crosspiece with a prong, and a hedgehog is positioned between the heads of the bottom pair of griffin heads (Fig. 5g). The buckles from Hsiungnu sites with analogous scenes generally display very little detail; the figure of the hedgehog has disappeared. Concomitantly, the remainder of the images on such buckles were gradually transformed into a geometric design (Fig. 5h).
Fig. 5 - An assumed transformation of a composition on: (a-f) “spoon-shaped” clasps, (g and h) belt buckles, (i-l) buttons.
As the analysis has demonstrated it would appear that the various geometrical compositions represented among Hsiungnu decorative bronzes have developed as a resulted of the stylization and repeated copying of original zoomorphous depictions. These zoomorphic images and compositions are related to the “Scytho-Siberian Zoomorphic Style”, firstly all of the gold objects recovered from Scythian period royal kurgans in Siberia assembled in the collections of Peter the Great and Witzen, and more recently those that have been recovered from undisturbed burials during archaeological excavations. Much research has been concerned with the origins and development of major components of both the spiritual and material culture of the Hsiungnu (works of art are the most characteristic types of material complexes). These artistic pieces relate the Hsiungnu to the Scythians of the Sayan-Altai mountains and south Siberia , where the zoomorphic images considered to be the inspiration for Hsiungnu art were widely spread.
The Hsiungnu representations did not result from the evolution of true Scythian art, however, since a number of examples display clear parallels with Near Eastern artistic traditions. The influence which Near Eastern traditions had on Scythian art has been the subject of much debate for many years, but the extent of this contribution has been confirmed in recent years. A scene of a wild boar hunt depicted on the Chalcedony Seal from Iran (Pittman and Aruz 1987, 74), for example, displays notable parallels with a similar but slightly more dynamic scene found on a belt plate in the collection of Peter the Great (Artamonov 1973, 136).
The composition which depicts a number of animals standing adjacent to a symbolic tree, discussed earlier in the paper, can be regarded as a clear example where the relationship between Scythian and Near Eastern art can be examined. This imagery has been used in Near Eastern art from time immemorial, with the earliest known examples represented on cylindrical seals which date to Period C in Susa (Fig. 1a). It is believed that the scene has a religious meaning and that it is a symbol of power and fertility (Porada 1963, 214). Minor modifications disregarded, this scene continued to be popular in the Near East throughout the period between 1500 and 900 BC, when it was depicted on cylindrical seals and bronzes, and even later as evidenced by a fragment of a 9th century BC vessel from Hasanlu. A similar scene is represented on a gold pectoral included in the Sakkyz hoard (Porada 1963, 121), and this finding can be regarded as an intermediate link between Scythian and Near Eastern art (Artamonov 1973). The pectoral displays a schematic tree, but animal (goats) figures are expressed rather realistically with careful attention to small detail (Fig. 1b). It is probable that scenes of this type and those displayed on the objects of Peter the Great's Collection were an inspiration to Hsiungnu jewelers and metal workers who then copied the images.
The scene which depicts animals standing near a symbolical tree shows very clearly that certain images, which were originally inspired by Near Eastern art, penetrated the Hsiungnu environment via the Scythian World. It is therefore possible that other scenes of Hsiungnu art (both zoomorphic and geometrical) have followed a similar course of development. Consequently, it is possible that realistic details present in Hsiungnu art which at first seem inexplicable and out of place are in fact rudiments of initial realistic images and subjects. These remnants were preserved from the initial scenes, but in a changed form. It is difficult to fully understand the long process which involved the transformation and stylization of the initial images until further analysis has been undertaken. We will now discuss the theories surrounding the development of a number of particular images.
We will begin by considering the compositions depicted on a steatite cup dated to the 2nd or 1st millennium BC that was recovered from Hafaie , Iran (Porada 1963, 28). The picture can divided into three main components which are complemented with various minor details (Fig. 6a). The first part of the scene represents the torment of a bull, which lying on its back is attacked by a bird of prey and a lion (Fig. 6b). Analogous compositions of the scene of torment are widespread throughout both Scythian and Hsiung-nu art, and examples can be found among plates from the Peter the Great Collection (Artamonov 1973, 166), on bronze buckle plaques recovered from the Derestuy cemetery (Talko-Gryntsevich 1999, 106, tab. 2) and from surface finds in Ordos (Fig. 6c; Andersson 1932, pl. XX). A number of differences are apparent between the stylistic interpretations of the animal images depicted in these latter objects and the scene on the Hafaie cup; the images depicted on the Hafaie cup are extremely realistic and there is no doubt as to the types of animals depicted in the scene. The pictures displayed on the gold and bronze plates and buckle plaques appear to be more mythological than realistic in nature, and the depiction of the animals is very characteristic of the “Scytho-Siberian” Style. The general similarity, however, between all of these compositions is doubtless; in all cases a beast of prey and a bird of prey (or griffin in “Scytho-Siberian” art) are tearing up an ungulate. In addition, the image of the bird on the Hafaie cup has been executed in a style almost identical to that apparent in Scythian art. It is evident from this and other examples that gold objects from the Scythian period can act as a link between the scenes depicted on Hsiungnu bronzes and those evident in Near Eastern art.
Fig. 6 - (a) Composition on the cup from Hafaie, (b) Detail of the composition (clawing scene), (c) A similar composition on a Hsiungnu bronze, (d) Picture of a bird of prey on the cup from Hafaie, (e) A figure of a bird of prey from the Kulakovsky kurgan, Ukraine, (f) Figure of a bird recovered from the Thilikta cemetery
The second scene on the cup from Hafaie depicts two lions (or panthers), the heads of which are turned to face opposite directions. A man (or a deity) who holds two snakes in his hands is positioned standing between the two lions (Fig. 7a). Direct analogies to this scene are not present in either Scythian or Hsiungnu art, and the closest parallel to the scene may be found on a bronze plate recovered from the Ivolga cemetery (Davydova 1996 tab. 39:2). The position of the animals (also feline beasts of prey) depicted on this plate are similar to those on the Hafaie cup (Fig. 7b). A series of wavy lines which are present at the top of the plate are unusual for both Hsiungnu art and zoomorphic compositions and are probably rudiments of the bent hands and muscles of the deity initially presented on the Hafaie cup. In addition, the feline beasts of prey with their opposite facing turned heads (Fig. 7c) have stylistic analogies with bronze plates that are frequently recovered from Hsiungnu sites (Fig. 7d, see also Miniaev, 1998, tabl. 6).
Fig. 7 - (a) Detail of the image depicted on the cup from Hafaie, (b) An assumed transformation of this scene apparent in Hsiungnu bronzes, (c) Detail of the composition on the Hafaie cup (lion or panther), (d) A bronze plate recovered from the Derestuj cemetery.
The third scene on the Hafaie cup depicts two bulls with their heads turned in opposite directions. A man (or perhaps the same deity depicted in Scene 2) is positioned on the croup of one of the bulls, and this figure holds bunches of wavy lines in his hands. The lines pass between the horns of the bulls as far as the ground and finish in the symbolical depiction of a tree (Fig. 8a). Porada (1963, 28) is of the opinion that these lines represent a jet of water, and that the deity depicted in the scene was a god of nature. No direct analogy of this scene can be found in either Scythian or Hsiungnu art (it has been too extensively transformed), but it is still possible to assume that rudimental details of the scene are preserved in Hsiungnu art in the form of depictions of bulls on plates (Fig. 8b). These plates display scenes in which the same wavy lines are positioned between the horns of the bulls, and this motive would appear to bear no relationship to the zoomorphic subject of the Hafaie scene (Fig. 8c and d).
Fig. 8 - (a) Detail of the composition displayed on the cup from Hafaie, (b) Hsiungnu bronze plaque from Ordos, (c and d) Details of the images apparent on the Hafaie cup and the Ordos plaques.
In addition to
the three main scenes we should also take note of a series of other essential
details apparent on the Hafaie cup. Firstly, positioned between the scene of
torment (Scene 1) and the image of the possible deity seated on a bull (Scene
3) is a portrayal of two fantastic animals standing beside a tree. This image
is very similar to the scene discussed earlier apparent on a gold plaque from
the Peter the Great Collection. In addition, the depictions of the animals
(Fig. 11e) are very similar to zoomorphic figures displayed on a number of
Hsiungnu bronze plaques considered to have been depicted in the “Ordos Style”
A further interesting detail, which may provide an insight as to the possible sources of the scenes depicted in Hsiungnu art and add support to the theory discussed in the current paper, can be found in a set of plates which would have been added to the upper belt of dress: an example are bronze plaques from Minussinsk museum. A pair of bulls; a common motif among Hsiungnu bronzes is depicted on these plates. This particular design, however, displays a number of features which do not find parallels in Hsiungnu plates; a pair of bird heads are positioned between the horns of the bulls and the birds have seized part of the back of each bull with their beaks (Fig. 9b and d). It is possible to assume that the initial scene which inspired this particular design could have originated from a number of different depictions which included ungulates and two large birds, or ungulates and a fantastic two-headed bird-monster. Possible prototypes include a composition displayed on an electrum cup recovered from Iran (Fig. 9a) (Porada 1963, 88), or a scene on a sacrificial ax recovered from northern Afghanistan which dated to the 2nd millennium BC (Pittman and Aruz 1987, 35). Both of these objects depict a fantastic monster with bird feet, human hands and two bird heads. On the cup the monster held two ungulates in its hands, while on the ax it is struggling against the other animals. The composition and style of this scenes as a whole have no parallels in the designs depicted on Hsiungnu bronze plates. In the context of a process of artistic transformation, however, it is possible to assume that the Hsiungnu motif which depicts two bird heads positioned over bulls is all that has remained of the original scene after the bird-monster has been simplified.
Fig. 9 - (a) Electrum cup from Iran, (b) A Hsiungnu bronze plaque from south Siberia, (c and d) Details of the compositions on the Iranian cup and the Hsiungnu bronze plaque.
The analysis of samples of Hsiungnu decorative bronzes has demonstrated that they (both zoomorphic and geometrical compositions) are the result of a multi-stage process which saw the transformation of an older original design. On the one hand it would appear that these scenes were formed under the obvious influence of Near Eastern artistic traditions (Rostovcev 1929; Artamonov 1973; Raevsky 1985). The craftspeople of the Scythian period had also been influenced by Near Eastern artistic traditions, but they had subjected these images to a certain degree of stylistical processing. Artistic scenes characteristic of Near Eastern art penetrated the various regions of the steppe zone, including Siberia and Central Asia through the Scythian cultures (and cultures of earlier periods), and the artistic works have a widespread distribution in these areas.
During the late 3rd and early 2nd centuries BC the Hsiungnu led a powerful alliance of stock-raising tribes and conquered a number of the provinces of the Scythian World in Central Asia and Siberia . At some stage the Hsiungnu came into contact with compositions of Near Eastern art, and these images were adopted to their art. In some cases the scenes were mechanically copied, while in others they were stylized to form geometrical compositions. The rapid transformation of a number of the initial zoomorphic scenes into geometric compositions may indicate that the Hsiungnu craftspeople did not understand the content and meaning of the scenes. Consequently, they simplified the images and eliminated many of the details which were unfamiliar to them, while they retained or realistically enriched those scenes which were more easily understood; namely those depicting animals. It would therefore seem that Scytho-Siberian artistic traditions were radically altered by the Hsiung nu. This finding enables us to assume that the decorative art, which was probably of major significance to the spiritual beliefs of Hsiungnu society, was predominantly formed without influence from the “Scytho-Siberian World”.
Many scenes of the “Scytho-Siberian Zoomorphic Style” of art underwent a major transformation when they were introduced into the Hsiungnu environment. We should stress that artistic compositions which were transformed by the Hsiungnu in Central Asia, have existed for a long time in the zone of the initial formation of the Near East . Such pieces were known in this area until the Middle Ages; the scene of the two animals standing adjacent to the sacred tree discussed earlier in the paper, for example, is presented in an almost identical manner in Bronze Age and Medieval Near Eastern art (Porada 1963). Other examples may be found in representations of belt plates which depict a ram's head. Such plates were generally stylized in Hsiungnu art (Fig. 10a-c), but at the same time they preserved all the original details in regions that were under the influence of Near Eastern art (Fig. 10d, see Seyrig, 1952).
Fig. 10 - (a-c) Assumed stages of evolution of Hsiung-nu bronze plaques with rectangular protrusion, (d) A gold plaque recovered from the Emez cemetery.
Fig. 11 - (a and b) Heads of the deities displayed on the Hafaie cup, (c) Detail of the saddle from Hunovka displaying the head of a horseman, (d) The head of the hero depicted on the Hsiungnu bronze plaque from Ordos, (e) An animal on the Hafaie cup, (f) An animal (dog?) depicted on a Hsiungnu bronze plaque.
It is quite probable that Hsiungnu art did not originally include scenes characteristic of the “Scytho-Siberian Zoomorphic Style”. A number of researchers are of the opinion that scenes which depict struggling horses (very typical of Hsiungnu art), for example, are illustrating an Indo-Iranian mythological story which may relate to the ancient period of Indo-Iranian unity (Belenizky 1978, 37; Kuzmina 1978, 108). It is possible that during the early stages of its development the art of the Hsiungnu was very different both technically and stylistically to its later form; the images may have been applied more frequently to organic materials including bone, horn and minerals. Such representations which are in sharp contradiction to the “Scytho-Siberian” genre have been recovered from numerous Hsiungnu sites (Davydova 1995, tab. 183:2; Davydova and Minyaev 1975, 198).
I have deliberately excluded discussion of the semantics of the images in the current article since this is a separate topic for research. I have only noted that the majority of researchers consider these images to be scenes of heroic epos. A number of different theories have been proposed relating to the ethnic environment in which these episodes were created (Postovtzeff 1932; Gryaznov 1961; Artamonov 1973; Belenizky 1978; Kuzmina 1978). It is my opinion that the majority of the early scenes discussed above are reflections of Near Eastern myths or epic legends. The long-standing preservation of these scenes in Scythian (including “Scytho-Siberian”) art may be explained as one aspect of the ethno-cultural and linguistic unity of the Scythians and other Iranian speaking peoples. This unity has been previously noted by a number of researchers (Bongard-Levin and Grantovsky 1983, 177).
The rapid transformation of the artistic scenes (note that before the Hsiungnu conquest of Central Asia and Siberia the artistic traditions remained generally stable over several millennia) demonstrates that within such a framework of Hsiungnu tribal union the Near Eastern artistic and mythological traditions were exposed to a different ethnic, cultural and possibly linguistic environment (Proto-Mongolian?). This new environment utilized different mythological and epic scenes and images. Some of the prototypical compositions may have been retained possibly due the existence of a certain degree of ideological overlap, but others images became stylized and transformed by the Hsiungnu to conform to their own aesthetic norms.
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UNESCO COURIER 1976