|
Variety of forms and designs is an identifying
feature of ancient Chinese jewelry. The major types of adornments that
existed during the given time period are distinguished by principles of
wearing, resulting from ritual and socio-cultural peculiarities of the
given type of article. Thus, classification of ancient Chinese jewelry
depends on direct connections with the conventions of social etiquette
and the aesthetic forms of everyday behavior, hence we distinguish:
head, temple, ear, neck, chest, hand, and foot adornments, as well as
sew-on pieces, and finally votive plates and small articles. Let us
consider the most frequently found types and forms of jewelry.
Head adornments: diadems, crowns, fillets jewelry
In the ancient Chinese jewelry world,
headdresses determined the social status of the wearer. This aspect is
made clear by gold votive plates with depictions of donors from the
Treasure of Oxus. Beginning with the Hellenistic epoch the headdress
served solely as a socio-ideological sign could have been used as an
adornment for a headdress. Symmetry of the design is achieved by the
alternation of a pair of birds and by a dividing line of salient dots.
The composition can be completed by repetition of this pattern, thus
allowing restoring missing adornment parts. The top edge of the plate is
jagged, similar to the headdresses of the donors on votives, as well as
the men (of royal origin) found on finger rings.
A diadem from the IVth burial consists of two
combined elements: the lower part -a fillet with rosetts, the top part a
tree with birds (Sarianidi, Bactrian gold, p. 254-259). Analogies
to this diadem exist in Korean and Chinese art (Gluhareva O.
Iskusstvo Korei, M. 1982).
In the early middle ages a different type of
headdress, resembling a nomadic abode (a yurta) became wide spread. In
separate details (a rim with cylindrical ringing pendants) it is similar
to the diadems described above, thus confirming the existence of
cultural relations and exchange of traditions.
Head and forehead adornments and jewelry are
also known through wall paintings, sculpture, relief and pottery. For
example, a picture of a woman with a forehead fillet adorned with
“precious” stones in its center, is as found on a jug that dates to the
Kushan period. The head of a goddess from a wall-painting in Dilberdjin
is crowned with a diadem that is slightly dilated in its central part
and gradually narrows on both sides, like a pediment, it’s painted in
yellow ocher- the color of gold. The next stage of coloring consisted of
the placement of an ornament of circles and stretched rectangles with
the use of dark brown color. Head fillets of the I-II centuries found on
sculptures from Dalverzin (“the hall of tsars”) (Pugachenkova G.
Dalverzin-tepe, Tashkent, 1978, p. 207) can be identified as Greek,
due to their form : one of the fillets is richly decorated with oval
semi-precious stones, while the other has a multi-petaled rosette, with
traces of gilding in the center. An analogous type of forehead
adornments can be found on relieves from Airtam.
It should be noted that constructive
peculiarities in jewelry art relate it to architecture. Hence, it may
not be mere chance that the bottom of a crown was treated as an element
of architectural decoration, where décor was based on the rules of free
composition with repetition of elements or group elements. Thus, head
adornments not only served as elements of distinction and indication of
social strata, but also played a major role in artistic completeness of
an image; a man –like an architectural form, gained the significance of
a closed aesthetic system.
Temple pendants
Often, head fillets and diadems were
supplemented by temple –pendants. In a manner similar to porticos in
architecture, they carry the construction of the diadem; subject
compositions could be placed within the pendants (Tillya-tepe). Most
temple-pendants are of a rectangular or a square shape. Such types of
adornments are absent from the Treasure of Oxus.
Apparently, this type of temple pendants became
widespread on the verge of the new era, for similar temple pendants are
known to us through the findings of Tillya-tepe.
Scenes, that fill the space on temple-pendants
changed in the early middle ages. The “new’ pendants have the following
characteristic features: fractionality, strict vertical lines and one
multipartite (Pamyatniki kul’turi I iskusstva Kirgizii, p. 46).
Hair adornments and jewelry- pins, bronze
pivots crowned by disks with miniature flowers, relate to the same
article group. It is the most ancient type of head adornments, common
not only to Central Asia, but in a later time also in China (Hermitage
collections)
Earrings
Earrings are one of the most popular types of
ancient Chinese jewelry of all times. The variety of form and design
that exist in their representation are sticking. On the relieves from
Persepolis, among tributaries, a Bactrian is portrayed with a
drop-shaped earring in one ear confirming the assumption that earrings
were worn by men (Schmidt. E. Persepolis, Chicago, vol. 1,
1953; vol. 2, 1957, vol. 31969). An analogous type of earrings can
be found among articles of the Treasure of Oxus. This type of earrings
is wide spread even in our time.
It may be concluded that in contrast to women,
men wore only one earring. Supporting evidence for this conclusion can
be found in ethnography. The diversity of material used to make earrings
suggest that earrings were a popular adornment in all levels of society,
therefore archaeologists are able to uncover not only gold and silver
earrings, but also bronze, brass, iron and copper.
For example, in Tulkhar burial earrings that
resemble a bird in their shape were found alongside an earring with an
amphora shaped pendant. The handles of the amphora are shaped as bent
stylized dolphins. This once again notes the diversity of images used in
adornments, especially earrings. The appearance of amphora and dolphins
indicate the presence of Greek influence that spread on to the territory
of Central Asia during II BC-I AD. These motifs became widely used in
the first centuries AD. In a Ksirov’s burial (II BC), for example we’ll
see the cockerel-shaped earrings with moonlike pendants were discovered,
the other ones were “pepper”-shaped with pendant and gold disk.
Neck adornment
Let us now turn to the neck adornments. This
category includes necklaces, beads, torques, pectorals, etc. Some
articles served only as adornments, while others carried magic or
utilitarian functions. For example, torques held cloaks and protected
from arrows in a battle. In Central Asia and Persia, the torque was a
sign of army rank.
M. Gorelik states that a hammer notch can be
seen on a torque from the Tolstaya burial; its common use is confirmed
also by the restorations done in ancient times. The spiral-shaped,
bracelets from the Treasure of Oxus could have been torques, twisted
into spirals. Having zoomorphic ends, the torques composed an ensemble
with the bracelets. Lion head ends are very common. In Siberian
collection, we find a Scythian torque with lion head ends; a torque
found next to Archangelsk is also decorated with lion heads.
An enormous diversity of torques is found on
relieves from Airtam. These torqueses are more massive when compared to
earlier examples. A torque with bracelets from Dalversin has heavily
flared ends.
Pectorals are another type of a neck adornment
shaped like a chain with a cameo in the center. Pectorals were probably
meant to convey social status, for such adornments were worn by members
of the upper class or by representations of gods (Pugachenkova G.
1979i, p. 189). A pectoral from the IVth (male) burial (Tillya-tepe)
consists of a wide chain with eight loops and a center cameo. Analogies
exist in Parthian art: a silver plaque (I century BC) (Pugachenkova
G. 1979) portrays a Parthian king wearing a diadem and a pectoral
with a center cameo. Pectorals from Dalversin also date to the I century
BC. (Pugachenkova G, 1978, ill. 76). One of these consists of two
concentric halves joined by their ends, in its center - an intaglio with
a representation of Heracles.
The gemma was probably added to the pectoral
much later, since the representation is horizontal. Figures from the
Airtam relieve wear similar pectorals (Trever C., 1940, table 45-46).
Analogous pectorals can be also found in relieves from Palmyra -female
representations- (Shlumberje D, 1985, ill. 82). A pectoral also
decorates the statue of a “general” from Shami ( (Pugachenkova G.
1979, p. 148). R. V. Kinjalov notes the similarity between the
portrayal of the Parthian king on the silver plaque and the sculpture of
the “general” from Shami (Kinjalov R. Serebryannaya plastina s
izobrajeniem parfaynskogo zarya, Sovetskaya Arheologiya, 1959, #2, p.
197-205). In the form of a pectoral is another necklace from
Dalversin. It consists of five cords, weaved into a braid of eight
strings that are fastened to the openings of two hollow, bent cylinders
with precious stones; the centerpiece has been lost. G. A. Puganchenkova
claims that such necklaces were often a part of Gandharan
representations of the upper class, in particular as attributes of the
prince Siddhartha Gautama (subsequently known as the Buddha) and the
bodhisattva Maitreya (Buddha of the Future). This is the first life-size
finding of such an adornment. (Pugachenkova G. 1978, p. 96)
Truly unique is the beautiful necklace from the
Vth burial at Tillya-Tepe. Its form is closely related to Greek
examples, but in specific details (pendants), it is closer to nomad and
Bactrian art, an amalgam (Sarianidi V. 1985, p. 252, #3; ill. 64,
65). The form of the necklace echoes ancient torques from the famous
Tolstaya burial. Here all the details and elements of decor in the form
of hollow balls are in continuous metamorphosis: ball to circle, to
teardrop, finally becoming a flat disk.
The disks may have been in imitation of coins
or vice versa, in later adornments disks are interchanged for coins.
Throughout the XVIII-XX centuries in Central Asia and Kazakhstan various
types of coins were used as pendants for necklaces. The Tajiks termed
such adornments “tanga” (coin), the Kazakhs - “alka”. The III and VI
burials from Tellya-Tepe contained necklaces made of beads: some with
incrustations made of porcelain and turquoise, some of turquoise only;
the protrusions and indentations of the edges are so delicate that they
give the beads the appearance of paper lanterns. Twisting torques with
and without a cord can be seen decorating the necks of party guests from
Balalik-tepe paintings. (fig. 7, 13, 18, 21, Albaum A. 1960,
p. 173). Thus, we see that torques, pectorals, and girdles are
characteristic adornments of the upper class, serving as distinguishing
marks and carrying specific meaning.
Bracelets
Review of the literature and jewelry finds from
Central Asia allows concluding that bracelets were the most popular
adornment in the ancient world. They were generally executed in
semi-triangular, omega-like or coiled forms (bracelets from the
Amu-Darya treasure). The bracelets could be massive (cast) or delicate,
sometimes having zoomorphic ends. The hoops were either smooth or
ruffled and were usually cast separately from the ends that were added
later.
The masters with the use of insertions and
incrustation conveyed mystical and decorative intents. It is known that
bracelets were worn by the members of both sexes, alone or in pairs, and
were subdivided into closed-ended and open-ended bracelets. Indian women
wore bracelets in marriage; in Rome, the most popular form of the
bracelet consisted of coiled rings with snakehead ends, symbolic of the
youthful forces of life. (Solov’ev K. Istoria Hudojestvennoi
obrabotki metallov drevnego mira, Moscow, 1963, p. 91).
It is possible that the female bracelet evolved
from male warrior rings, related not only to the protection of the hand.
There also exist bracelets for the legs - anklets. Sometimes the size
and weight of the bracelet allow determining whether it belonged to a
man or a woman. Men (see omega-shaped bracelets with gryphon from the
Amu-Darya treasure) could have worn massive, cast bracelets, while the
delicate ones were probably worn by, women (see bracelet with duck heads
from the Amu-Darya treasure).
Bracelets from the Amu-Darya treasure include
both the closed and open-ended types. Those of the former type are more
common - 12. The two types of bracelets are unified by the appearance of
indentations meant for insets, although the insets themselves are no
longer present. Only on bracelet (Amu-Darya treasure), a lapis-lazuli
inset survived, and on bracelet, (same treasure), some of the
indentations have turquoise insets and come in a variety of shapes:
rectangular, circular, triangular, and drop-like. The bracelets from the
Amu-Darya treasure are similar not only in form, but also in the method
of execution, implying a unity of traditions and the presence of a
defined canon. The fact that many examples and distinct decorative
elements were found in the treasure suggests that these were acceptable
sacrificial offerings, and that a workshop was adjunct to the temple, as
for example at Ai-Hanum. (Rapin C. La tresorerie hellenistique d’ai
Khanum, Rev. Arch. 1, 1987, p. 42-70)
Bracelets, dating to the II c. BCE - II c. AD,
have many common features with those from the Amu-Darya treasure. They
also include some new types and shapes, as for example bracelets from
the II and VI burial at Tillya-Tepe. The bracelets are open-ended with
zoomorphic terminals and incrustation. Some have ends in the shape of
antelopes a particularly popular type of bracelets in the Tillya-Tepe
collection were bracelets with heavily flared ends or “shepherd’s horn”
In a female burial (I) same bracelets having a
soft round features, in a male (IV) they have ribbed edges and in the
end are a rectangular. Some of them are cast, another are forged.
Similar elements can be found in foot bracelets and torques (Sarianidi
V, 1985, p. 238, ill. 16, 17; p. 235, ill. 33;p. 249, ill. 21) In
additional bracelet, type closed with spiral wires around similar to a
Dalverzin’s articles (Pugachenkova G. 1978, ill. 74) (see the
bracelet from the Vth burial of Tillya-tepe). A wide range of
forms and decoration can be found in the bracelets on Airtam relieves (Trever
C., 1940, table45-46) .
On the murals of Balalik-tepe (Albaum L.
1960) and on sculpture of Adjina-tepe, (Litvinskii B. Zeimal T.
1971, p. 106) we can find shoulder bracelets, which in their shape
appear to recall forehead adornments with decorations in the center in
the form of a rosette, triangle or rectangle . Sogdian bracelets of VIII
century are very simple in shape with heavier and wide ends, those types
of bracelets were wide popular. (Raspopova V. 1980) Bracelets
from a wall painting in Penjikent, (Belenizkii A. Monumental’nya
jivopis’Pendjikenta, Moscow, 1975), Afrosiab (according their
representation) were with with color stones and look similar to
bracelets from Balalik-tepe and Adjina-tepe. Thus it appears, that
bracelets just like earrings were a popular type of jewelry and
affordable by the masses.
Finger-rings
A large number of seal-rings, in a variety of
shapes and configurations, can be found among the adornments from the
Treasure of Oxus. Such seal-rings are easily classified on the basis of
images that appear on the seal, as well as based on their technique of
execution (flat, circular, oval or triangular setting). The images on
the seal are of two main types: anthropomorphic and zoomorphic. On one
of the rings it is even possible to distinguish two human figures (a
male and a female). However, on the majority of the seal-rings, images
of animals predominate and include bulls, gryphon, deer, lions and
panthers. Particularly attractive is a seal-ring with the image of a
panther (Zeimal E. 1979 p. 62 #111), executed in lacework
cutting, with concave settings, and the positioning of the legs of the
animal to straddle the ring.
All of the seal-rings can be subdivided into 4
types based on the execution of the band: ribbed, smooth, covered in
spheres, and ridged (see table). Thorough research of the burials allows
to conclude that the rings were worn on the left hand, usually on the
index or middle finger, and the majority were found in female burials (Litvinsky
B. 1973, p. 29). Seal-rings of later periods differ little from
those of the ancient period and were worn not only by the members of the
nobility but also by ordinary citizens. The large quantity of rings and
variety of materials used for their making, suggest that seal-rings were
a very popular adornment.
Seal-rings can also be subdivided into the
following categories: real seal-rings, seal-rings with a flat setting,
seal-rings with concave settings, and seal-rings woven from wires.
“Almost all of the figures on the Balalik-tepe wall-paintings wear a
decorated seal-ring on little fingers of both hands.
A gold decorated oval band, which was probably
incrustated with a gemma-seal, is attached to the top of the ring” (Al’baum
L., 1960, p. 174). Thus, we see that during the medieval period gold
and inlayed seal-rings were worn by nobility. A similar ring-type (with
a moving clasp) is known from the finds at Adjina-tepe (Litvinsky B,
Zeimal T, 1971 p. 11). Seal-rings from Sogd also depicted images of
animals including the ram, Bactrian camel, birds, goats (Raspopova V.
1980, p. 114). The rings are executed using traditional methods,
characteristic of this ring type.
A two-line inscription in cursive Sogdian
appears on one of the seals, a common decorative element of the medieval
period. Some of the Sogdian seal-rings are also adorned with simple
ornaments. “The widespread use the seal-rings is probably indicative of
flourishing commerce during that period, when all legal agreements (e.g.
rent, buy-sell, and marriage contracts) were ‘signed’ with a seal” (Raspopova
V. 1960. p116). While the shape of the rings remains relatively
constant, the depictions change to portray the historic-cultural and
political social processes. |
