Tillya-tepe gold jewellery and its relation to the Sarmatian Animal Style of the Northern Black Sea area

Abstract

Since the Tillya-tepe necropolis was excavated, the Gold-turquoise Style seen on its objects has always been connected with the Sarmatian Animal Style of the North Pontic region. A comparison of the stylistic features of both Tillya-tepe and Sarmatian items, however, shows that only few Sarmatian objects may have Bactrian provenance, and not all of them may belong to the Animal Style. The “true” Animal Style images are represented on prestigious items connected with social status of a warrior. The distribution of the Sarmatian Animal Style objects in the North Pontic area enables us to suggest different ways, in which the Tillya-tepe Style objects occurred in various local cultural groups and their different functions in the respective cultures and societies.