Iranians and Greeks in South Russia - Robert Bedrosian's Armenian ...

INTHEROMANPERIOD 171
gold plaques struck from coins ; and so forth. Weapons are sometimes
found in men's tombs, but chiefly from the second century a. d.
onwards. It is significant that from the first century A. d. metal bridlepieces
are found in a number of tombs : the custom is thoroughly
Sarmatian.
As before, most of the objects buried with the dead are imports.
But some are certainly local work. We shall begin with the tombs
themselves. The grave stelai, and the decorative sculpture of the
tombs, were certainly executed in Panticapaeum and the other Greek
cities. The art of the sculptors is not purely Greek : the style is
decadent Ionian, at once heavy and dry. There is a notable propensity
towards naturalism and realism, which shows itself particularly in the
care with which every detail of costume and armour is rendered.
I do not know, whether the same can be said of the racial type. As
before, the tomb chambers were decorated with painting, and sometimes
the stone sarcophagi and stelai as well. The paintings are
assuredly local work, and are very interesting. I have discussed them
in a special treatise and I shall say only a few words about them here.
The old Greek style of mural decoration was retained in the first
century : the architectural style. But from the second half of the
first century onwards, its place was taken by two Oriental styles : one,
the floral style, probably came from Egypt ; the other, the incrustation
style, was purely Asiatic ; heavy, richly coloured, pompous, a style
created in the palaces of the Asiatic monarchs, a style in which architectural
form, variety of hue, and fineness of detail are all killed by
colour. Artists began ' to paint with marbles ' {marmoribus pingere),
and to imitate this painting in paint. This style was to conquer
the Roman world, and it was in this style that the Christian churches
were to be decorated.
The tombs were painted with figures and scenes : but look at the
scenes. The art is no longer Greek. Animals, plants, real and mythical
persons, can only be compared with Parthian and Sassanid monuments
(pi. XXX, 2, 3).
Characteristic, also, of the Bosphoran tombs, are the coffins, boxes,
and other objects of wood. The finest specimens may have been
brought from Asia or Syria, although it is not very likely. But even
if they were imported, these objects will always have a singular value,
as almost unique specimens of the once flourishing art of marquetry.
More well-preserved examples have been found in South Russia than
anywhere else. It was an old custom at Panticapaeum to bury the
wealthy and noble dead in wooden coffins worthy of them, carved,
gilded and painted. We found such coffins as early as the Spartocid