Véronique Schiltz
Ms Véronique Schiltz is a member of the French Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres. She trained as a Hellenist, and following the steps of Herodotus on the northern shores of the Black Sea, she became a specialist of Scythian art. She has been the curator of many exhibitions (“From the Lands of the Scythians, New York and “Or des Scythes” Paris). Her publications include: La redécouverte de l’art des Scythes (1992), and Les Scythes et les nomades des steppes (1994) Gallimard.
Ancient Nomadic Jewellery
In ancient times, between the Danube and the Yellow River, from the edge of the Siberian taiga to Central Asia, on the immense expanses of the Eurasian steppes alternating between mountainous uplands and deserts, a very unique civilization was born. That of nomadic herdsmen, Scythians, Sakas, Sarmatians, who moved from place to place with their families and their flocks according to where they found grass and water. These nomads relied on an ‘animal style’ vocabulary as a whole semiotic system, but they borrowed as well from neighbouring civilizations (Greeks and Romans, Persians, Indians, Chinese). They used a great diversity of materials, but metal is what has survived best. The focus will be on their jewellery in all its diversity and splendour and will include extensive illustrations.