Belt fastening: scene under a tree

5th - 4th century B.C.

Central Siberia

Gold; casting, chasing

Right element (as worn) out of a pair of intricate symmetrical metal plates which served as a belt fastening. Made in low relief by means of casting followed by chasing. The rich design of belts and artistic manufacture of the buckle with depiction of motifs were not an accidental phenomenon. From early Antiquity decorations worn in close proximity such as necklaces, grivna, bracelets and belts performed a protective function, establishing a magical circle that kept away harmful forces. In the culture of the ancient nomads, many things were given a symbolic meaning linked to a broader system of their world philosophy and faith. In the thinking of Scythians, gold was associated with the sun and with royal power.

This belt fastening comes from Peter the Great's collection, which to this day remains the only collection having a rich set of unique belt decorations made of gold. The collection contains 14 pairs of different metal plates mainly executed in animalist styles. It is curious that in the three centuries which followed the plunder of ancient Siberian monuments by ‘mound diggers' and notwithstanding many archeological investigations, gold belt buckles like those which entered the collection of Peter I were never again found. These unique artistic works were sent to the Sovereign by Governor of Siberia Prince M.P. Gagarin in fulfillment of the Tsar's order forbidding the plunder of kurgans and requiring transfer to the Treasury of anything "really old and unusual."

The presence of anthropomorphic personages gives evidence of the high status of the objects on which they are depicted and also indicates that their owners belonged to a special rank, the nomadic nobility, possibly even to the royal family.

There can be no doubt that the scene bears a sacral character and reflects the main theme of all fine arts in Antiquity - the theme of life and death. A female divinity linked with the Earth and vegetation (the tree in the depiction is an allusion to the ‘tree of life') may embody the Great Mother who gives life and is at the same time associated with the world of death. Evidently the scene under the tree can be linked with a mythological subject in which the death of a hero is mystically connected with his holy marriage to the goddess, the Great Mother. Such a sacred marriage was understood as a guaranty of the renewal of life and completion of the full cycle of nature - the endless dying and rebirth of all that exists on Earth.