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Golden Pectoral from Tovsta Mohyla

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The Golden Pectoral from Tolstaya Mogila

also spelled Tovsta Mohyla is an ancient Scythian treasure discovered in a burial kurgan by the same name in 1971 by the Ukrainian archaeologist Boris Mozolevski. The Tolstaya Mogila burial mound, meaning fat barrow, is located in present day southern Ukraine near the province of Dnipropetrovsk.[1]

The ancient Scythians were a semi-nomadic people that lived around the northern area of the Black Sea with territory that stretched up into the Ural and Altai Mountain region. There culture is thought to have lasted almost 1000 years, during which time they traded regularly with many Mediterranean and Asian cultures including the ancient Greeks, the ancient Persians and the ancient Chinese.[2]

The golden pectoral, or breastplate is thought to have been commissioned by a Scythian chieftain via an unknown artisan, or artisans, in an ancient Greek metalworking shop located, probably, in Pantikapaion which is in present day Crimea on the Black Sea. The pectoral is made of solid 24 karat gold, with a diameter of 12 inches and weighs just over 2.5 pounds.[3] It is in the shape of a crescent and can be stylistically broken down into three sections.[4] The top section, which is widely agreed to be the main focus of the piece, reflects on Scythian daily life.[5] The middle section is believed to represents The Scythian connection to nature. Being that there are so many delicate details in this section the artisan(s) chose to solder all of the individual elements to a solid gold plate which serves as a backing for structural support.[6] The third section is thought to represent the Scythian belief in the cosmos and mythology.[7]

It is believed that the pectoral was created by soldering together dozens of individually cast figures and elements.[8]



Notes

  1. ^ Kuzych and Bekhtir, "The golden pectoral from Tovsta Mohyla.".
  2. ^ Kuzych and Bekhtir, "The golden pectoral from Tovsta Mohyla.".
  3. ^ Kuzych and Bekhtir, "The golden pectoral from Tovsta Mohyla.".
  4. ^ Pidvysotska ans Samina, "SCYTHIAN KING'S GOLD PECTORAL.".
  5. ^ Kuzych and Bekhtir, "The golden pectoral from Tovsta Mohyla.".
  6. ^ Reeder (ed.), "Scythian Gold: treasures from ancient Ukrain.".
  7. ^ Pidvysotska ans Samina, "SCYTHIAN KING'S GOLD PECTORAL.".
  8. ^ Reeder (ed.), "Scythian Gold: treasures from ancient Ukrain.".


References

Ingert Kuzych and Volodymyr Bekhtir. “The golden pectoral from Tovsta Mohyla,” FOCUS ON PHILATELY (November 7, 2009), accessed February 24, 2015, http://ukrweekly.com/old/archive/1999/459929.shtml.


Olena Pidvysotska and Tetyana Samina. "SCYTHIAN KING'S GOLD PECTORAL,"Ukraine Magazine Kyiv, Ukraine, Issue One (1998), accessed November 24, 2015, http://wumag.kiev.ua/wumg_old/archive/1_98/pectoral.htm.

Ellen Reeded (ed.), "Scythian Gold: treasures from ancient Ukraine," BRAMA (October 21, 2000), accessed February 24, 2015, http://brama.com/new/press/001021scythian_pectoral.html.

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