国立情報学研究所 - ディジタル・シルクロード・プロジェクト
『東洋文庫所蔵』貴重書デジタルアーカイブ

room for him. The upraised hand of the hero, disproportionately large as is the
bird sitting on the hindquarters of the horse, gives the impression of work done
by an inexperienced artist. It is certain that the barbarian creator of this scene
did not attempt a composition, but merely put together haphazardly all the
motives necessary for an understanding of the subject. An artist of the Han
period would most certainly have grouped his figures with more care, and would
have treated the surface in a plastic way. In the subjugation of the demon
(Plate XXI no. 4) the confusion is emphasised by poor proportions. The
animal above the cart completely overshadows both it and the draught animals,
and is incongruous to the whole. In a letter published by Rostovtzeff in the
review " Artibus Asiae ", G. Roerich speaks of Turkish and Mongol texts that
deal with sacred wrestling. It is among the myths of these tribes that we must
search for the subject matter of these two plaques which deal with scenes in
the life of the Conqueror of the Demons. These remarks force us to place the
first example after the middle of the I millennium, and the second nearer the
end. We have already discovered that at the Chinese frontier there is a period
between 500 and 1000 A.D. with which to date Turkish and Mongol art when
it is independent of other regions from the point of view of motive and artistic
form. The relatively late date which we have given to the above pieces corre-
sponds to this fact.

b) Animal-combats.

The principal motive for belt plaques in the Steppes, for western Sarmatia
as well as for the gold Siberian pieces, is the animal-combat. It is also very often
found at the Chinese frontier, particularly on pieces where the strong relief
leaves no doubt of their being of the Han period (7). The artistic excellence of
such objects has attracted the interest of scholars and collectors, and they have
therefore been well published. But along the road through the epochs, the motive
has suffered so many strange and multiple transformations, it has undergone so
many varied influences, that it is well worth our while to study its development
in detail.

On Siberian gold plaques we find an eagle fighting a wild animal (8). The
composition is filled in with small animals and bird-heads. The latter motives
are missing on a repliqua from the Chinese frontier (Plate XXII no. 1). Here
the motive appears simplified, the surface flattened and softened. The hollows,
which in the Steppe circle often served to hold inlay, are now merely decorative
ornaments. This transformation had perhaps already taken place in the country
that saw the birth of Sarmatian art, and certainly already in the Minussinsk region.
In spite of a stylised rendering of claws and plumage, the combat between the eagle
and the tiger is very impressive, even in north China examples. It is " pathetic ",
as Rostovtzeff would say. Objects in bronze may follow objects in gold with
but little lapse of time, that is to say they are of between the III and IV centuries.