The Scythians were nomadic people occupying the steppe lands north of the Black Sea from 900 BC to around 200 BC in what is now southern Siberia. They were reputed to be fierce warriors and were known from ancient Assyrian and Graeco-Roman sources. Herodotus wrote in his book, The Histories, that – ‘None who attacks them can escape, and none can catch them if they desire not to be found.’
Scythian art was primarily decorative in its nature, and the Scythians were famed for their jewellery, which was highly ornate and carefully crafted. This gold zoomorphic mount would have been affixed to garments of clothing as decoration. Such items normally would have been affixed in patterns, with multiple gold mounts on a single item of clothing. Gold was so integral to Scythian fashions that even their horses were richly decorated in gold ornamentation.
To discover more about Scythian culture, please visit our relevant blog post: Scythian Gold.
