Of Gold and Grass
A display at the Houston Museum of Natural Science now showing includes many items of Scythian and Nomadic art from Kazakhstan. It is always a pleasure to see hundreds of Scythian and later art pieces in person. Included are a few arrowheads, a sensor of an archer surrounded by bulls. The archer is mounted, making a long draw from right side of a typical Scythian-type bow. He draws to the colar bone with the string clearly passing in front of his face. The manner of draw cannot be detected clearly. There is some suspicion that the archer is a modern addition.
Belt buckles of bronze and gold abound in typical animal style. Wooden carvings of fantastic animals had been covered in thin sheet gold; the carving itself is in a soft coniferous wood, done with a sharp knife without further finishing, The carving style is crisp and confident. My personal favorite was a small cat-man face with large ears with spiraling flurishes and a handlebar moustache; the gold completely missing.
A complete costume was found for a horse which sported life size Ibex horns in zinc and gold, mask, felt embroidered saddle and tail sheath besides many other gee gaws.
The center piece of the display is the golden suit of the "Warrior of Issyk" The origional was a red jacket and pants, boots and tall cap of soft, thin leather to which thousands of tiny gold plaques cover about half the surface.
The main fault with the display is the remarkably poor job of curation. The maniquin on which the Warriors clothes hang is a robust looking person in excess of six feet. The origional warrior was only 5'3" tall and not a man at all but a woman. And the suit on display is not even the origional but a reproduction which is not well announced. The entire horse costume is a copy. Many other items are copies and there is very little explaination of objects and their importance to nomadic lifestyle.
It is also aggravating to read the museum label for items which are not in the case, which happened on several occasions. My only conclusion is that the display was curated in another place where European standards have not totally permeated.
Still. Many might find the opportunity worthwhile for the $14 entry fee, the catalog $29 softbound and $49 hardbound; more ambitious financally than scholarly. -j-
Belt buckles of bronze and gold abound in typical animal style. Wooden carvings of fantastic animals had been covered in thin sheet gold; the carving itself is in a soft coniferous wood, done with a sharp knife without further finishing, The carving style is crisp and confident. My personal favorite was a small cat-man face with large ears with spiraling flurishes and a handlebar moustache; the gold completely missing.
A complete costume was found for a horse which sported life size Ibex horns in zinc and gold, mask, felt embroidered saddle and tail sheath besides many other gee gaws.
The center piece of the display is the golden suit of the "Warrior of Issyk" The origional was a red jacket and pants, boots and tall cap of soft, thin leather to which thousands of tiny gold plaques cover about half the surface.
The main fault with the display is the remarkably poor job of curation. The maniquin on which the Warriors clothes hang is a robust looking person in excess of six feet. The origional warrior was only 5'3" tall and not a man at all but a woman. And the suit on display is not even the origional but a reproduction which is not well announced. The entire horse costume is a copy. Many other items are copies and there is very little explaination of objects and their importance to nomadic lifestyle.
It is also aggravating to read the museum label for items which are not in the case, which happened on several occasions. My only conclusion is that the display was curated in another place where European standards have not totally permeated.
Still. Many might find the opportunity worthwhile for the $14 entry fee, the catalog $29 softbound and $49 hardbound; more ambitious financally than scholarly. -j-