Abstract
This chapter delves into the four primary tropes of steppe art. It traces how they were swiftly disseminated across nomadic communities on the Eurasian steppe, from the various โhuโ cultures on the Chinese northern periphery (e.g. Linhu) to the Pontic Scythians in Eastern Ukraine. The author argues that a certain โpars-pro-totoโ mode of expression was so omnipresent in nomadic visual cultures that it transcended political and geographical borders and entered often unexpected domains. The text identifies the transfer of certain steppe idioms from nomadic metalwork to Chinese and Persian monuments โ a trajectory that defies canonical assumptions about the hierarchy of โminorโ and โmonumentalโ arts. In so doing, the chapter asks: what made some animal-style tropes more malleable and transmittable than others? What cultural, ecological and economic factors enabled such receptivity in sedentary Eurasian empires? Why was China the most successful in adapting steppe zoomorphism into its creations and thus buying into the nomadic market?
Published Version
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