The Curved Bowbag
I started a new topic to separate from the Birch bark Quiver topic.
I looked up Tang dynasty, 618-907. I found this mural from Old Penjikent, Near the Silk Road, is of similar date, my photo from the museum. Invading Arab armies burned the town in 752 so the mural is just previous to this date. This was a Sogdian town with a prominent fire temple in the middle.
Copies of murals like this were made by putting thin paper over the originals and tracing the outlines. Then were painted as the originals. Details were included that the artists did not understand, and did not need to. The details are there. A thin sword overlays the bowbag, a hand holds the reins.
About five murals have the knight carrying two bows in the bag. One may show three. They project well above the opening of the bag. The bow itself was long and assymetric.
I looked up Tang dynasty, 618-907. I found this mural from Old Penjikent, Near the Silk Road, is of similar date, my photo from the museum. Invading Arab armies burned the town in 752 so the mural is just previous to this date. This was a Sogdian town with a prominent fire temple in the middle.
Copies of murals like this were made by putting thin paper over the originals and tracing the outlines. Then were painted as the originals. Details were included that the artists did not understand, and did not need to. The details are there. A thin sword overlays the bowbag, a hand holds the reins.
About five murals have the knight carrying two bows in the bag. One may show three. They project well above the opening of the bag. The bow itself was long and assymetric.
We can see that the murals on the Arab warriors bowstring arch is not installed.
Chiron,
The warriors are Iranians not Arabs. As Jack wrote, they could have been Soghdian speakers. String bridges are not known before the 1330s. These people were dead 600 years before that.
The warriors are Iranians not Arabs. As Jack wrote, they could have been Soghdian speakers. String bridges are not known before the 1330s. These people were dead 600 years before that.