ARTIFACTS REVEAL HISTORY : A HELLENISTIC SILVER VASE IN CHINA

 

One of the most fascinating Hellenistic cultural relics was  unearthed in Guyuan, Ningxia, in the northwestern border of China. It is a Bactrian silver pot, which was made in the 5th-6th century CE. Although this object was found in China, the pattern on the pot is a very classic Trojan myth: Paris' verdict (golden apple), and Paris elopes with  Helen.

The leftmost scene in the picture is Paris eloping with Helen. Helen’s costume is similar to that of Aphrodite, but without Aphrodite’s headband and earrings. Paris is almost naked except for the helmet and cloak. He is holding Helen's hand with one hand, and holding Helen's chin with the other, which symbolizes love in Greek vase paintings, while Helen is lifting one foot up the steps, as if to board a ship. In this pattern, Helen's movement is a three-bending posture that meets the Indian art standard. This movement is distributed from North India to Xinjiang, China, and then to the Central Plains.

In the middle scene, Helen and her husband Menelaus appear. The meaning of the specific scene is still debated.

The rightmost picture in the scene shows the scene of Paris and Aphrodite, Paris holds a spear in one hand, and then gives the golden apple to Goddess Aphrodite. Although these ancient Greek characters have typical deformations or distortions in the shape of the characters, they generally retain the basic shape of the ancient Greek hero prototype. Finally, on the handle of the pot, there is also a Greek-style figure wearing a helmet.

This silver pot was made in the area ruled by the White Huns in the 5th and 6th centuries CE. The maker may be a Greek craftsman in the Greek community, and then entered Northwest China through the Central Asian trade route, and entered Li In Xian's mansion. And Li Xian's epitaph shows that although he has a Han-style name, his true identity is a foreign race: Li Xian's tenth ancestor was named Tengdigui, and he was a leader of Xianbei. Afterwards, the descendants of Tengdigui entered the Central Plains with the Northern Wei Dynasty. So obviously Lee Hyun was born into a multicultural environment. The Greek descendants of Bactria should fully understand the meaning of these cultural relics, but after arriving in the Central Plains after a long journey along the Silk Road, it is unclear whether the owner of this Bactrian silver jug ​​knew the cultural meaning of this jug. Not sure, but it must be very interesting how Li Xian understood the pattern on this pot.

In fact, this is not the first time that the ancient Chinese came into contact with ancient Greek-style cultural relics and artworks. Almost at the same time, there is also a silver plate with Dionysus, the God of wine, in the center of the plate. It is probably also a masterpiece of Greek craftsmen in the Bactria area; the "Qianlianglu" quoted in "Taiping Yulan" records: "During the Zhanggui period, Xihu made golden vases, all of which were made by brushes, strange shapes, and taller than others. , two pieces", this is the earliest record in Chinese historical materials that mentions that the suspected Greek- style artworks entered the Han cultural circle; During the archaeological excavation at the Ya site, a garbage dump equivalent to the end of the Han Dynasty to the Three Kingdoms period was found. Among a pile of pottery fragments, rags, straw, and pieces of leather, there are some administrative wooden slips of the Han Dynasty, and some of them have clay seals of Greek Gods . Although the painting style has an oriental color, But this is still classic ancient Greek style:

Among them are the images of Hermes, Zeus, Athena and Hercules, and unearthed together with them, there are also seals of officials who manage Shanshan. The word "Shanshan" is clearly recognizable after more than 2,000 years , I just don’t know if the Central Plains officials who used these bamboo slips and seals at that time knew the relevant stories about the mythical figures on these round seals.

If you want to know more stories about Silk Road cultural relics, you can read "History of Silk Road Civilization in Ten Ancient Relics" by Houlang Publishing House. 

Edited from  : 163.com