Greco-Scythian art and the birth of Eurasia : from classical antiquity to Russan modernity / Caspar Meyer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Meyer, Hans-Caspar, 1975- author.

Contributor:

Sabin W. Colton, Jr., Memorial Fund.

Series:

Oxford studies in ancient culture and representation

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Art, Scythian.

Dobruja (Romania and Bulgaria)--History.

Dobruja (Romania and Bulgaria).

Dobruja (Romania and Bulgaria)--Antiquities.

Physical Description:

xxix, 431 pages ; 26 cm.

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Oxford University Press 2013.

Summary:

Since their discovery in nineteenth-century Russia, Greco-Scythian artefacts have been interpreted as masterpieces by Greek craftsmen working according to the tastes of the Scythian nomads and creating realistic depictions of their barbarian patrons. Drawing on a broad array of evidence from archaeology, art history and epigraphy to contextualize Greco-Scythian metalwork in ancient society, this volume confronts the deep confusion between ancient representation and historical reality in contemporary engagements with classical culture. It argues that the strikingly life-like figure scenes of Greco-Scythian art were integral to the strategies of a cosmopolitan elite who legitimated its economic dominance by asserting an intermediary cultural position between the steppe inland and the urban centres on the shores of the Black Sea.

Contents:

1 Introduction: Discovering Greco-Scythian Art 1

2 Classical Art and Russian Identity 39

3 Defining the Corpus: Chronology, Technique, Distribution 95

4 Political Monuments of the Early Spartocid State 133

5 Looking at Greco-Scythian Art 189

6 Greco-Scythian Art in Practice 241

7 Conclusion 301.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Sabin W. Colton, Jr., Memorial Fund.

ISBN:

019968233X

9780199682331

OCLC:

833404701

Publisher Number:

99957608683