“Nomads and Networks” Offers Ancient Mysteries and Treasures

http://photos.state.gov/libraries/america/3239/2012_week_3/08202012_horned-deer-11_300.jpg

Found in the Almaty region, this gold Horned Deer with Folded Legs exemplifies the sophistication of ancient artisans in Kazakhstan circa 7th–6th century BCE.

Washington — Finely wrought pure gold and extraordinary textiles preserved for millennia are highlights at the Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery exhibition Nomads and Networks: The Art and Culture of Kazakhstan. It is the first such exhibition in the United States to offer a comprehensive view of the ancient nomadic culture of the country, according to the museum.

Objects of gold, horn and precious gems, carved wood and even remnants of intricately woven textiles excavated from burial mounds show the sophistication of this migrant culture.

Alexander Nagel, assistant curator of Near Eastern art at the gallery, developed this exhibition, an unusual one for the Sackler. Explaining the title Nomads and Networks, he says the exhibition is not only about the nomads, migrants who lived in ancient Kazakhstan, but it explores their interactions among themselves and with outsiders. “We used ‘networks’ because we don’t have written sources about how they communicated with each other and expressed themselves. We know from the material we see here there must have been certain networks of trade, of getting in touch,” he says.

Precious and semiprecious gems indicate trade with China. Ornaments similar to the brilliantly wrought golden horned deer made circa 600–700 BCE might have been given as tribute to rulers of the Persian Achaemenid Empire, established by Cyrus the Great in the 6th century BCE. The empire at its peak spanned Persia, Central and South Asia, and as far west as Egypt.

Many artifacts come with mystery surrounding their uses. Round bronze trays on stands support sculptures of men, horses and other animals familiar to the nomads, such as lions, ravens and deer. The question is, what were they for? In the absence of written records or oral histories, there are few clues.

An impressive petroglyph at the entrance to the exhibition depicts a human dressed in what may be a tiger skin confronting an ibex or deer. What does it mean?

 

A burial mound, or kurgan, in Berel, Kazakhstan, evidently the resting place of a chieftain, yielded a trove of artifacts. Entombed were the remains of a man, a woman and 13 lavishly equipped horses. The horses were adorned with bridles strung with deer horn carvings and richly appliquéd felt collars. Four of the horses were singled out to wear large carved, metal-clad wooden antlers. Why? The curators do not know. Items from this burial mound are in the exhibition.

The unanswered questions help achieve the goal of “getting visitors interested in thinking about how people in this ancient world in the Eurasian steppe communicated with each other,” Nagel says.

Horses and geography were the center of these nomads’ lives. They drank mare’s milk and used horses’ bones in building shelters, according to Nagel. The fertile steppe and the Altai Mountains, from which gold was extracted, formed their world.

Blowup photos in each room give visitors an idea of what the nomads saw and where they lived, offering views of the still unspoiled landscape of the grassy steppe and high mountains.

Nagel says the museum worked closely with the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Washington to coordinate the exhibition and bring the objects for display. Without the embassy's help, he said, "we could not have done this."

Nagel, born in Germany, became interested in archeology when on vacation in Greece. His studies led him to the University of Michigan, where he earned his doctorate in archeology. Much of his fieldwork has been done in Persepolis, Iran.

Although the gallery has exhibited rich material from other parts of Asia, Central Asia has had less exposure. “This vast area has not really been covered, so we hope to bring it more to the attention of the larger public,” Nagel says.