Among Zoroastrian burial items, there is a camel-shaped zoomorphic OSTADON lying there. It was found…
In the early Middle Ages, the production of precious silver vessels flourished in Sogdiana. Special styles have been developed for the decoration of silver items.
One of the rare collections of ancient and medieval Eastern silver is kept in the Hermitage Museum. In 1909, the Hermitage collection of Eastern silver vessels was published on Ya. Smirnov's map "Silver of the East."
The production of artistic silver vessels in Sogdian culture was associated with the "urban" revolution that arose in the region in the 5th-6th centuries. Until now, Sogdiana was entirely an agricultural country, and crafts were mainly oriented towards the needs of local consumers. As cities grew, crafts began to separate from agriculture, and the number of artisans increased.
In everyday life, the Sogdians used vessels made of precious metals. This is also evidenced by a 5th-century silver vessel found in the temples of Panjikent.
The Sogdian visual art of Panjikent is full of images of gold and silver vessels, the vessels depicted have the same appearance as the silver ones that have survived to this day. However, the original gold vessels of the Sogdians have not been found, and the exact location of the silver vessels is unknown. Undoubtedly, a certain part of them was produced in the capital, Samarkand. Silver mined in Central Asia and silver coins were used as raw materials for making vessels. Silver mines in Fergana and Iraq, in the Nuratau Mountains, were famous, as well as silver was mined in Karnab and even in Miyankala, moreover, the ancient village of Kumushkent received this name not without reason.
At that time, vessels belonging to Sogdian art, in particular, octagonal mugs, were popular. In the patterns, one can see complex islimi decorations in the form of grape vines, which were introduced from Iran into the engraving of Chinese masters. In particular, a vessel characteristic of Sogdian plates has been preserved, depicting a lion sitting in a heraldic pose with its paw raised, made in the style of Tang masters.
Sogdian vessels belonged to the aristocracy of early medieval societies, and in silver, important achievements of the art of neighboring peoples were mastered and creatively processed, and the syncretism of Sogdian art was manifested.
