Pair of Belt Buckles Boar Hunt
Sakae Culture
5th-4th century BC
Gold, glass, coral
L 19.2 cm, w 10.2 cm
These B-shaped openwork cast plaques were executed in high relief. On the reverse is the imprint of some fabric and quadrangular loops on bolts for fastening a belt. The composition represents a boar hunt in the forest. In the centre we see a horseman with a Scythian bow and arrows. A boar has seized the leg of the other horse, whose rider is sitting in a tree. The horses and the goats depicted in the semicircles of the buckles have turned their heads to watch the hunt.
Coral and blue glass are used to create a rich inlay decoration, while the eyes of both men and horses are inlaid with black stone. The appearance of the men and their clothing matches Sakae figures found in Tuva.
The realism of the representation and the skillful use of glass allow us to attribute these buckles to a group of objects made in the 5th to 4th century BC.
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