Thursday, August 15, 2013

Symbolism in a Pre-Literate Society

The Bactrian alphabet either never developed while the ancient Bactrians along the Amu Darya were making the miniature art and the monumental architecture that are their legacy. The art and the buildings have been lying in ruins since 1600 B.C.  In that time a great deal of casual excavation has uncovered tens or hundreds of thousands of tiny amulets, small household utensils from the tombs and large marble maceheads from the great halls and palaces that they had built.  It is rare to find even an attempt at representational art on engraved household or personal decoration.  Most of the decoration is symbolic even when human, animal and plant life are engraved on personal or household items.  Usually they are shown in narrative scenes that symbolize the beliefs and rituals of the Bactrians of 2500 B.C. to 1600 B.C.

This small basalt bowl may be the exception, though I am tempted to interpret the palm tree like incised images all around the sides of the bowl not as oasis palm trees but as the symbolic art that I am accustomed to seeing in my Bactrian collection.  It would have been a natural response of the artist to engrave palm trees, because the ancient Bactrians inhabited the desert oases along the river channels that were already in the process of drying up.  However since so many thousands of the amulets, seals and household items that they produced had symbolic figures incised into stone or cast in copper/bronze, I had to admit that there existed another possible explanation of the inscribed patterns on this bowl.  First, here are photos of the Bactrian bowl:

Ancient Bactrian Carved Basalt Bowl with Incised Images All Around Contact me with questions or for invoice through the private message form at the top right of this page.




This is an ancient basalt vessel, obviously used for a very long time.  It may be a ritual drinking vessel, judging from its wear, due to long use. Around the outside it has 4 specific incised designs drawn from the desert oasis environment: it appears to be a palm tree of some kind. There may be other figures there, but I cannot discern what they represent. 

If my friend, Dr. Victor Sarianidi, were here, he could no doubt interpret the carvings for me. He is the foremost expert on the meaning of Bactrian symbolic language. He has published several books and articles on the subject, among them Myths of Ancient Bactria-Margiana on ...Seals and Amulets. This vessel is acknowledged by the collector from whom I acquired it to be from Bactrian tombs in Afghanistan. The Bronze Age Bactrian civilization that produced it existed from 2500 B.C. to 1600 B.C.

The design was carved in low relief, and has been worn even smoother. The relief is so worn away that it is difficult to say whether it is a palm tree or the simple design that is still used to ornament household goods in Central Asia. We see this design on many Turkoman carpets of the last century. It is the symbol of two staffs with a semblance of a set of ram's horns at the top. 

The staffs engraved into this vessel have coils running up the staff, much like the symbol used for medical facilities in Western Europe and North America. However if the image carved into the sides of the vessel represent the desert palm trees, the coils around the trunk would represent the scaly bark of the palm tree. 

Vessel measurements: 6.6 cm (2.6 in) diameter; 3.5 cm (1.37 in) high; 2.5 cm (1 in) deep. The vessel is chipped on the rim as shown in photos.


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15 comments:

  1. Very interesting. It is just amazing how things from the past can still be in such good shape. Carvings are very personal I would imagine.

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  2. Fascinating post, as always, Anna! When I see that bowl, I can't help but to wonder about the hands that made it, the lips that drank from it, the people that used it. It's amazing that, even though worn and chipped, it is still in such good shape. Thank you for the post!

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  3. Amazing as always, I just can't imagine how things so ancient can still be. Let's hope more items from daily life have survived.

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  4. Love reading about artifacts!

    Thanks for sharing!

    <><

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  5. Thanks for all your comments. You have a real appreciation for the people who lived before we did. Not everyone does! Hundreds of thousands of articles from everyday life and from royal tombs and sacred temples have been excavated and preserved by the official archeologists. This item was found by a casual seeker of such items, so we don't know whether it was a ritual offering bowl or a cup for a merchant's table.
    Anna

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  6. The botanist in me sees palm trees too, Anna.

    I find it fascinating that an entire civilization would be known for symbolic art with almost no representational forms. Even in a lot of Islamic art (which traditionally eschews representations of people and animals), there are still examples of flowers and plants being used in a more realistic decorative setting.

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  7. Actually, the Bactrians did represent animals, humans and vegetation, but it has been interpreted by the archeologist who was most interested and did the most writing on the subject as being a symbolic narrative carved into the stone or clay. I helped him edit the English version of his Myths and Symbols of Ancient Bactria-Margiana on Its Seals and Amulets.

    Since this bowl is not a seal or amulet, it shows the rare naturalistic representation of palm trees, I would assume. I am not an expert on the subject ;)
    Anna

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    1. Ah, OK. I can definitely see that. Thanks for the clarification.

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  8. As a naturally curious (nosy) person, the idea of being able to ponder the life of an artifact tickles my fancy. My active imagination would happily create a story about the vessel and those who used it. It would also be able to imagine a life where the symbols were our language. I enjoy learning about the history of these pieces, and Anna, your post gave me a lot to ponder. How very interesting. Thank you for posting.

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    1. I have learned of your ability to tell a story ;) Thanks for stopping by and writing this inspiring comment.
      Anna

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  9. It's an endlessly fascinating exercise to ponder how the ancient people lived and went about their daily tasks. Items such as these are a small glimpse into the culture and history of those who came before.

    Thank you, Anna!

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  10. Thank you Anna I learn so much from each and every post you make and each one is such a joy to read!!!

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  11. Thank you, Jennifer and Dawn. I do like to have in our collection the things that ordinary people owned and treasured. From the symbols on the amulets, a narrative can be read from (or into) the various scenes incised into the stones or cast in metal. The Bactrians were a very religious people.
    Anna

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  12. What an interesting artifact and interpretation of the images carved along the sides of the bowl! I, too, wonder about the people who would have used such an item, whether it was used for a special purpose or for everyday. I sometimes wonder what people in the future will think of some of the things they find from our era and their interpretations of them!

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    1. I have the same response to these artifacts, and try to imagine what will be the most puzzling item the future people discover.

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