He confirms a rumor I have heard: these images are of horses wearing horned headdresses, which have been found in graves on the steppes.
Friday, November 10, 2006
One More
Gorbatov is working on illustrating a monograph on the sakers for a German scientist. He knew I would like this one because it depicts petroglyphs at Tamgaly in the Kazakh steppes, where we have both seen sakers. (See "Sunhead" and other posts below).
He confirms a rumor I have heard: these images are of horses wearing horned headdresses, which have been found in graves on the steppes.
He confirms a rumor I have heard: these images are of horses wearing horned headdresses, which have been found in graves on the steppes.
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S- here are some links to the Hermitage's collection (I've been doing a little reading/research on this topic):
horns
headdress 1
headdress 2
The Turcoman and berkuti pix are fantastic (as is the rest of his work - just that I can pretend I'm i thsoe 2). Off to play outside (more)...
A horse wearing a horned headdress? That's cool.
Not as cool as the domesticated ibex I was hoping for, but cool.
-R. Arthur Wilderon
I'm wondering what caught that saker's eye....
Those steppe buzzards I suspect... or are they eagles? We saw both at Tamgaly, as well as sakers, harriers, red- footed falcons...
The Jesuit Missionary in China Giusseppe Castiglione developed a mixed Western-Chinese painting style. (His Chinese name is Liang Shining). Among his paintings are western-style falcons in Chinese-style trees. These paintings create a very strange impression because to the Chinese raptors are inauspicious birds.
The Yuan emperors (of Mongol descent) did use raptors in their symbolism and art. My guess is that both for the steppe peoples and for the Chinese, raptors represent the predatory invaders of China.
Medieval European nobles were inseparable from their hawk, their hound and their horse, just like present-day Kazakhs or Kyrgyz. There's actually the possibility of a connection, because the early European mounted knights were significantly influenced by Alan steppe traditions.
Nothing to add, really, except to say how cool this all is.
Another one I want! How does Mr. G create a picture that seems more like a movie as I watch? Action and tension and aliveness everywhere. And layered ages, the two-dimensionality of human influence...
Then my other favorite, the wolves--Steve, how big is your original?
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