I have created typological categories for sorting groups of vessels according to hoard, current collection, vessel type, vessel attributes, and major Eurasian silver publications.
‘Hoard‘ specifies the place where a vessel was discovered, as well as the assemblage of any other archaeological objects found with it. The hoard name usually corresponds to the nearest existing municipality where the vessel was discovered, or occasionally, a waterway.
‘Current Collection‘ indicates the vessel’s current home, whether in a museum, private collection, indigenous community sanctuary, or lost.
‘Vessel Type‘ designates the functional form of the vessel.
‘Vessel Attribute‘ facilitates meaningful groupings by imagery, inscriptions, and other markings.
‘Major Eurasian Silver Publication‘ indicates a vessel’s inclusion in a historiographically critical monograph dedicated to Eurasian silver created between the 3rd and 13th centuries. Individualized key bibliographies– including articles and wider-scope publications– are listed with each object, and a current full list can be found at the bibliography tab in the main menu.
n.b. The range of fields under each category reflects the vessels currently entered into this catalog, not any and all known vessels.
Hoards
Notes
*naming: I choose hoard names according to the current location name in the official language of the current nation / if applicable, I use a common Anglicized name but otherwise transliterate according to the American Library of Congress and provide the Cyrillic in parentheses / I note historical variations with a single asterisk*
*if more than one hoard is discovered in or near the same village, I have created sub-groupings with roman numerals; these designations are explained in the provenance section on vessel pages / multiple hoards are noted with a double asterisk**
*other significant notes are highlighted with a triple asterisk***
Khoniakiv (Хоняків) Slavutа District (Славутський Район), Khmel’nyts’ka Oblast’ (Хмельницька Область), Ukraine
*Under the Russian Empire (when discovered), the village was called Khoniaki (Хоняки) in Russian, and Choniaków in Polish
Lymarivka (Лимарівка) Bilovods’kii District (Біловодський Район), Luhansk Oblast’ (Луганська Область), Ukraine
*Under the Russian Empire (when discovered), the village was called Limarovka (Лимаровка)
Pavlivka (Павлівка) Bilokurakyns’kii District (Білокуракинський Район), Luhansk Oblast’ (Луганська Область), Ukraine
*Under the Russian Empire (when discovered), the village was called Pavlovka (Павловка)
Sludka (Слудка) Il’inskii District (Ильинский Район), Perm Krai (Пермский Край), Russian Federation
**3 discrete hoards found around Sludka: Sludka I, Sludka II, Sludka III
Vereino (Вереино) Chusovskii District (Чусовской Район), Perm Krai (Пермский Край), Russian Federation
Kurilovo (Курилово) Ordinskii District (Ординский Район), Perm Krai (Пермский Край), Russian Federation
*Under the Russian Empire (when discovered), the village was called Kurilova (Курилова)
Mal’tseva (Мальцева) Kudymkarskii District (Кудымкарский Район), Perm Krai (Пермский Край), Russian Federation
Shakharovo (Шахарово) Suksunskii District (Суксунский Район), Perm Krai (Пермский Край), Russian Federation
*Throughout much of the twentieth century, the village was called Nizhniaia-Shakharova and Nizhniaia-Shakharovka
Chura (Чура) Glazovskii District (Глазовский Район), Udmurt Republic (Удмуртская Республика), Russian Federation
*Under the Russian Empire (when discovered), the village was called Churinskaia (Чуринская)
Onoshat (Оношат) Vereshchaginskii District (Верещагинский Район), Perm Krai (Пермский Край), Russian Federation
***The village is said to be called ‘Onoshat’ (Оношат/Оношатъ) in literature; I can not find this place name in maps of the last 200 years
Kerchevskii (Керчевский) Cherdynskii District (Чердынский Район), Perm Krai (Пермский Край), Russian Federation
*Under the Russian Empire (when discovered), the village was called Kercheva (Керчева)
Tomyz’ (Томызь) Afanas’evskii District (Афанасьевский Район), Kirov Oblast’ (Кировская Область), Russian Federation
Sadovaia (Садовая) Kudymkarskii District (Кудымкарский Район), Perm Krai (Пермский Край), Russian Federation
*Under the Russian Empire (when discovered), the village was called Kvatspileevo (Квацпилеево), a Russified form of the local name, Kvat’-Pelev (Квать-Пелев), which is still unofficially used today
Kosheleva (Кошелева) Suksunskii District (Суксунский Район), Perm Krai (Пермский Край), Russian Federation
Komarovo (Комарово) Kungurskii District (Кунгурский Район), Perm Krai (Пермский Край), Russian Federation
Klimova (Климова) Kudymkarskii District (Кудымкарский Район), Perm Krai (Пермский Край), Russian Federation
***the village is no longer distinct from the town of Kudymkar
Strelka (Стрелка) Kishertskii District (Кишертский Район), Perm Krai (Пермский Край), Russian Federation
Zareka (Зарека) Kungurskii District (Кунгурский Район), Perm Krai (Пермский Край), Russian Federation
*Under the Russian Empire (when discovered), the area was designated as Lukovka (Луковка); a larger adjacent village was called Dikari which changed to Zareka
Peshnigort (Пешнигорт) Kudymkarskii District (Кудымкарский Район), Perm Krai (Пермский Край), Russian Federation
**2 discrete hoards found around Peshnigort: Peshnigort I, Peshnigort II
Turushevy (Турушевы) Afanas’evskii District (Афанасьевский Район), Kirov Oblast’ (Кировская Область), Russian Federation
*In the early Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (when discovered), the village was called Turushevo (Турушево)
Bol’shaia Anikovskaia (Большая Аниковская) Cherdynskii District (Чердынский Район), Perm Krai (Пермский край), Russian Federation
*Under the Russian Empire the village was called Anikovskaia; in the first half of the twentieth century the village split into a Bol’shaia and Malaia Anikovskaia; only Bol’shaia Anikovskaia remains today
**4 discrete hoards found around Bol’shaia Anikovskaia: Bol’shaia Anikovskaia I, Bol’shaia Anikovskaia II, Bol’shaia Anikovskaia III, Bol’shaia Anikovskaia IV
Ursdon (Урсдон) Alagirskii District (Алагирский Район), North Ossetia–Alania Republic (Республика Северная Осетия — Алания), Russian Federation
*When discovered under the Russian Empire’s Terek Cossack Host, the nearest village was Dagom (Дагом) but the find spot was nevertheless associated with the Ursdon River and Gorge
Ufa (Уфа) Ufimskii District (Уфимский Район), Bashkortostan Republic (Республика Башкортостан) / Bashkiria (Башкирия), Russian Federation
Shirokovo (Широково) Shatrovskii District (Шатровский Район), Kurgan Oblast’ (Курганская Область), Russian Federation
*Under the Russian Empire (when discovered), the village was called Shirokovskoe (Широковское)
Isaevo (Исаево) Gainskii District (Гайнский Район), Perm Krai (Пермский Край), Russian Federation
*When discovered under the Russian Empire, the nearest village was the now-abandoned village of Kudeseva (Кудесева)
Grigorova (Григорова) Solikamskii District (Соликамский Район), Perm Krai (Пермский Край), Russian Federation
*When discovered under the Russian Empire, the nearest village was Grigorovskoe (Григоровское); once discrete, the region is now collectively called Grigorova (Григорова)
Til’tim (Тильтим) Shuryshkarskii District (Шурышкарский Район), Iamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (Ямало-Ненецкий Автономный Округ), Russian Federation
*When discovered under the Russian Empire, this indigenous Khanty settlement was known as Tyl’dinskie Iurty, (Тильдинские юрты)
***the Khanty name of Til’tim is Tiltǝm-Kurt
Current Collections
The Metropolitan Museum of Art / New York, New York, USA
Princes Czartoryski Museum (National Museum in Kraków) /
Kraków, Poland
The State Hermitage Museum / Saint Petersburg, Leningrad Oblast’, Russian Federation
Lost / Current Location Unknown
Freer Gallery of Art (National Museum of Asian Art) / Washington DC, USA
Cherdyn’ Regional Museum, Named after A. S. Pushkin / Cherdyn’, Perm Krai, Russian Federation
Vessel Types
Notes
*plates have low shoulders, while bowls have high shoulders; pitchers and bottles both have a tall, narrow neck, but pitchers also have a spout and a handle for serving; cups are individual drinking vessels; rhyta are communal drinking vessels with two openings: one to fill the container and another smaller one to dispense the liquid; multi-spouted vessels are small open-mouthed containers with two or more spouts around the shoulder or neck; buckets are wide-mouthed containers with a handle
*bowls and cups are extremely varied: all variations of bowls and cups can be viewed under ‘Bowl’ / ‘Cup’, or alternatively, by subcategorizations according to their distinctive features
Vessel Attributes
Notes
*imagery denotes the primary imagery adorning a vessel and does not qualify every individual detail
*inscriptions include adscriptions and the text composing calligraphic imagery; scripts used in control stamps and monograms are not cataloged as an inscription
*Graffiti under ‘Other Mark Making’ indicates imagery that was later added to a vessel
Architectural: archway or arcade / fortress / wheeled structure
Figural: banqueter / dancer & musician / hunter / rider / warrior / figure seated on couch / figure under arcade / figure with animal / human face
Figural Narrative or Myth: avestan story / biblical story / greek myth / shahnama
Non-Figural: calligraphic ornament / geometric ornament / vegetal ornament / cross / rosette
Zoic: standing & lying animal / hunting animal / human-headed creature / mythical creature / floral and faunal ornament / animal-shaped
Arabic / Greek / Hephthalite Script / Khorezmian / Middle Persian / Persian / Sogdian / Syriac / Turkic Runes
Major Eurasian Silver Publications
Darkevich Khudozhestvennyi Metall
Даркевич, В. П. Художественный металл Востока VIII-ХIII вв.: произведения восточной торевтики на территории европейской части СССР и Зауралья. Москва: Наука, 1976.
*exceptional publication that steps beyond vessel form and imagery to investigate trade routes, provenance, and later modifications
Fedorova Sokrovishcha Priob’ia
Федорова, Н. В. Сокровища Приобья: Западная Сибирь на торговых путях средневековья. Салехард; Санкт-Петербург, 2003.
*exhibition catalog with an emphasis on vessels found along the length of the Ob’ River
Harper and Meyers Silver Vessels
Harper, Prudence Oliver, and Pieter Meyers. Silver Vessels of the Sasanian Period. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, published in association with Princeton University Press, 1981.
*in-depth analysis– including technical studies– of individual vessels dated to the Sasanian period (3rd to 7th century)
Marshak Istoriia Vostochnoi Torevtiki
Маршак, Б. И. История восточной торевтики III-XIII вв. и проблемы культурной преемственности. Санкт-Петербург: Академия исследования культуры, 2017.
*posthumous publication translating Silberschätze des Orients back into Russian, and adding research undertaken from 1986-2006
Marshak Silberschätze des Orients
Marshak (Marschak), B. I. Silberschätze des Orients: Metallkunst des 3.-13. Jahrhunderts und Ihre Kontinuität. Leipzig: E.A. Seemann, 1986.
*expansion of Sogdiiskoe Serebro, especially in terms of contextualization with neighboring Byzantium, Iran, China, and the Steppe
Маршак, Б. И. Согдийское серебро: очерки по восточной торевтике. Москва: Наука, 1971.
*first major publication to separate the silver of Sogdiana, Khorezmia, and greater Central Asia from that of Iran / focused on establishing three major ‘schools’ of metalwork in the region / includes long summary in English
Marshak and Kramarovskii Sokrovishcha Priob’ia
Маршак, Б. И., и М. Крамаровский. Сокровища приобья. Санкт-Петербург: Формика, 1996.
*exhibition catalog with an emphasis on vessels found along the length of the Ob’ River
Orbeli and Trever Sasanidskii Metall
Орбели, И. А., и К. В. Тревер. Сасанидский металл художественные предметы из золота, серебра и бронзы. Москва-Ленинград: Академия, 1935.
*first major silver publication in the Soviet Union / revolves around objects in the State Hermitage Museum / note that ‘Sasanian’ is used as a catch-all categorization in early publications / in Russian and French
Смирнов, Я. И. Восточное серебро: атласъ древней серебряной и золотой посуды восточнаго происхожденія найденной преимущественно въ прѣделахъ Россійской имперіи. Санкт-Петербург: Изданіе императорской археологической коммиссіи ко дню пятидесятилѣтія ея дѣятельности, 1909.
*first major publication on the silver of Eurasia / exceptional plates / includes hoard maps / in Russian (pre-reformed) and French
Trever and Lukonin Sasanidskoe Serebro
Тревер, К. В., и В. Г. Луконин. Сасанидское серебро: собрание Государственного Эрмитажа: художественная культура Ирана III-VIII веков. Москва: Искусство, 1987.
*in-depth analysis– including technical studies and provenance research– of individual vessels dated primarily to the Sasanian period (3rd to 7th century) in the collection of the State Hermitage Museum