Procession of Horsemen on a Gold Plaque from the Siberian Collection of Peter I

Procession of Horsemen on a Gold Plaque
from the Siberian Collection of Peter I

DOI: 10.17746/1563-0110.2018.46.4.067-073

M.A. Ochir-Goryaeva
Khalikov Institute of Archaeology, Tatarstan Academy of Sciences, Butlerova 30, Kazan, 420012, Russia
Kalmyk Research Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Ilishkina 8, Elista, 358000, Russia

This article describes a group of horsemen depicted on a plaque decorating a rectangular gold casing from the Siberian Collection of Peter I. On the basis of a drawing of the item, published in 1890, the number of characters, their postures, and state are assessed. Four horsemen are evidently alive and three are dead. The absence of stirrups indicates the Scytho-Sarmatian age. Judging by the evidence relating to the transportation of the dead among the Turco-Mongol peoples, the scene may be that of a funeral procession. In certain early nomadic burials, the “straddling” position of the deceased (supine with flexed and widely spread legs) is suggestive of dancing or riding. According to a convincing hypothesis proposed by O.V Obelchenko, who reported such cases in the kurgans of Sogd dating to the 2nd to 1st century BC, the straddling posture of the deceased likely suggests that they had been transported to the grave in the saddle. The funeral procession shown on the gold plaque supports such an interpretation. The scene, however, is hardly mundane. More likely, the characters are those of the Scytho-Sarmatian mythology or folklore.

Keywords: Siberian collection, Peter I, gold plaque, horsemen, Scythians, transportation, deceased, burials, “straddling” position