Western Asia and Siberia, Scythian culture, ca. first half of 1st millennium BCE. A beautiful collection of twenty identical white bronze panels, each decorated with a leaf-like relief motif and studded on top and bottom with seven rivet holes. Also two clasps, each rectangular, with one end curved to form a horizontal arch, and a loop on one side that fits a hook on the other. These, also, are decorated with relief leaves and rivet holes. Belts were an important part of Scythian attire, worn with short jackets over knee-length tunics. We have evidence for how they were worn from art of statues, figurines, relief sculptures, and coins. Size of clasp: 2.15" W x 1.4" H (5.5 cm x 3.6 cm); size of panel: 1.4" W x 0.95" H (3.6 cm x 2.4 cm)

A belt like this would have been buried with elite Scythian dead, as at Tuva (modern southern central Russia), where archaeologists have found human remains buried in coffins made of logs placed into timber cells. Although very little clothing has survived, we believe they were buried in coats made of fox fur over woolen tunics. Belts, torques, earrings, beads, and daggers were found in the coffins.

Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection

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Each piece has some small areas of corrosion around the perforations for the rivets. Lightly encrusted grey-green patina on each, with some small areas of encrusted brown patina that may be the remains of leather or exposure to oxidization.