SCYTHIAN AND SARMATIAN TREASURES FROM THE RUSSIAN STEPPES
October 12, 2000—February 4, 2001
Special Exhibition Galleries, Second Floor
Between 1986 and 1990, hundreds of astonishing objects — ornately carved and decorated in a unique style and covered in gold — were excavated from an archaeological site outside the village of Filippovka, located in Bashkortostan on southern Russia's open steppes. Representing one of the most important caches of early nomadic Eurasian art, these treasures date from the first millennium B.C. and are characterized by the extensive use of animal imagery — most notably that of a deer. This fall, The Metropolitan Museum of Art will present nearly 100 of these dazzling works — none of which has ever been shown anywhere — in a dramatic display, The Golden Deer of Eurasia: Scythian and Sarmatian Treasures from the Russian Steppes, opening on October 12.
The State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg (Russia) will lend an additional 85 spectacular objects from its fabled Gold Room, joining with the Archaeological Museum in Bashkortostan's capital city of Ufa in this unprecedented international exchange. A dozen impressive wooden stags from the new find — almost two feet in height and covered with gold and silver — will be the centerpiece of the exhibition.
The exhibition was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation, and the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography, Center for Ethnological Studies, Ufa Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Bashkortostan, Russian Federation.
"The Filippovka find dazzles us by its beauty," commented Philippe de Montebello, Director of the Metropolitan. "But these newly discovered works also compel us to delve more deeply into their mysterious history. Who were the people who created such astonishing masterpieces? While the question is debated, we are delighted to provide the public with a rare glimpse of the remarkable artifacts created by a little-known, yet highly developed culture of long ago. We look to the Greek historian Herodotus, who suggested that these people — neighbors of the Scythians — may have been Sarmatians, as we display these enigmatic treasures from Filippovka alongside those known to originate in neighboring cultures."
Mr. de Montebello continued: "In drama and grandeur, The Golden Deer of Eurasia will recall another exhibition that also featured the glorious art of the Scythians. The Museum's highly acclaimed and immensely popular exhibition From the Lands of the Scythians — shown in 1975 — was an early indicator of our ever-growing fascination with the art of ancient civilizations."
The Find
Some two dozen kurgans (burial mounds) at the archaeological site at Filippovka were excavated over a period of four years in the late 1980s. Although many of the kurgans had been partially plundered in antiquity, exquisitely worked gold and silver artifacts in large numbers were left behind, indicating the burial of nobles or chieftains. In addition to several dozen magnificent deer, almost two feet in height and some with curving antlers rising above their richly patterned bodies, the excavation yielded several hundred elaborate gold appliqués, chased with figures of animals both natural and fantastic, which once adorned wooden bowls and drinking cups. Many of these will be on view in the exhibition at the Metropolitan.
Scholars believe that the people whose stylistically unique works were recently unearthed at Filippovka were a nomadic tribe that occupied the area in the late 5th to early 4th century B.C. and was associated with the Sarmatian people. The art found here resembles that of other early Eurasian nomadic cultures — specifically in the multitude and variety of animal forms used to adorn every manner of object. Although the people whose works were discovered at Filippovka favored the deer, various animals — including leopards, birds of prey, boars, camels, elk, fish, rams, and griffins (a mythological animal with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle) — are also found. Stylistic affinities lie to the east, where there was a similar use of spiral-shaped ornament on the surface of animal bodies. Certain other characteristics, however, demonstrate cultural connections with the Scythians, who occupied the shores of the Black Sea to the west. The items excavated at Filippovka exhibit the same abundant use of gold as the well-documented Scythian discoveries, although the techniques used to create the objects differ greatly. Finally, objects of foreign origin also unearthed in the tombs link the people of Filippovka with other cultures, as well. Among these remarkable works are gold and silver items that resemble art from ancient Iran. To suggest the complex relationship that appears to have existed among these neighboring cultures in the first millennium B.C., the presentation at the Metropolitan will include gold objects from the Scythian tombs near the Black Sea; textiles, leather, and wooden works of art from Siberia; and gold and bronze pieces from the Caucasus and Central Asia.
Among the most significant works of art coming from the State Hermitage Museum are the golden comb excavated in 1913 in the Solokha kurgan (in the Dnepropetrovsk region, Russia) and the golden vessel discovered in 1830 in the Kul' Oba kurgan (near Kerch, Crimea, Ukraine). These magnificent Scythian works, both of which depict Eurasian nomads, are beautifully modeled and show remarkable realism in details of dress and anatomy.
The art of Iran during the Achaemenid Empire and its relationship to the finds from Filippovka will be illustrated by precious metal vessels from the Metropolitan Museum's collection.
A variety of programs and educational resources will be scheduled in conjunction with the exhibition. These will include a symposium, lectures and gallery talks for general visitors, a family guide, and programs for students, families, and teachers.
The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue, which will be available in the Museum's bookshop. Published by the Metropolitan Museum and distributed by Yale University Press, the catalogue will feature major essays by several noted scholars, including Andrei Alekseev, Ann Farkas, Leonid Marsadolov, and Anatolii Pshenichniuk. In addition, essays by Liudmila Barkova, Liudmila Galanina, Elena Korolkova, and Maria Zavitukhina will provide commentary on the works.
An audio tour, part of the Metropolitan's new Key to the Met Audio Guide, will be available for rental ($5, $4.50 for members).
The Key to the Met Audio Guide program is sponsored by Bloomberg News.
The Web site of the Metropolitan Museum (www.metmuseum.org) will feature the exhibition.
The exhibition is organized at the Metropolitan by Joan Aruz, Acting Associate Curator in Charge of the Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art. Exhibition design is by Michael Langley, Exhibition Designer; graphic design is by Barbara Weiss, Graphic Designer; and lighting is by Zack Zanolli, Lighting Designer, all of the Museum's Design Department.
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May 8, 2000
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