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1227 - mid-1270s Ulus Juchi Hammered, chased and engraved gold This grand hunting belt dating from the period when the
Golden Horde emerged as an independent state belonged to a member of the
elder generation of the officer corps of the Juchids who arrived in the
European part of the steppes around the middle of the 13th century. Seventeen
pieces of the belt's metal fittings have survived. A unique element of
the belt is a pendant bearing the family device (tamga) of the "House
of Batu" - an indication of the personal property of a member of
the ruling dynasty. A characteristic feature is the presence of three
large frogs: two for sabres (with loops for the attachment of the scabbards)
and one a kind of "separator". The outside plates of these frogs
are embellished with decoration in a mixture of relief and piercing depicting
fallow-deer against a background of flowers and leaves. A plate set between
the outside and inside ones gives an effect of depth to the relief. The
inner sides of the from bear lotus and peony flowers. The manner of decoration
employed on a number of the belt ornaments betrays a link with the craft
traditions of the Khitan state of Liao (916-1234) to the north-east of
China that had been subservient to the Mongols since the 12th century.
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