In Search of a Workshop: stylistic features of Beysug statues

Authors

  • Tatiana M. Potyomkina Donetsk State University. Universitetskaya St., 24, Donetsk, 283001, Donetsk People's Republic, Russian Federation

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24852/2587-6112.2026.5.115.128

Keywords:

archaeology, Polovtsian sculptures, non-standard costume details, sculpture workshop, art criticism analysis

Abstract

The paper deals with a small group of Polovtsian sculptures with that feature non-standard iconographic details of the costume. The problem of the lack of professional art criticism analysis of Polovtsian sculpture is updated. The author concludes that what was previously thought to be fringe on the upper part of the caftan skirt is actually a depiction of pleated gathers The complex consisting of this detail, two sub-triangular shapes on the back of the caftan, and a three-strip belt, which is found only on a number of statues from the Krasnodar region, may indicate the existence of a sculptural workshop in the middle part of the Beysug River in the second half of the 12th century and the first third of the 13th century. The statues in this workshop have distinctive stylistic features of the costume.

References

Anfimov, N. V. 1947. Otchet ob arheologicheskih issledovaniyah v Krasnodarskom krae v 1947 g. (Report on archaeological research in the Krasnodar Krai in 1947). Archive of the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. inv. R-1, dossier 177 (in Russian).

Artamonov, M. I. 1962. Istoriya Khazar (History of the Khazars). Leningrad: The State Hermitage Museum (in Russian).

Belorucky, N. L. 1957. In Sovetskaia Arkheologiia (Soviet Archaeology) (3), 257 (in Russian).

Bychkov, V. V. 2011. In Vestnik kul'turologii (The herald of culturology) (2), 7–11 (in Russian).

Valeev, F. Kh. 1975. Drevnee i srednevekovoe iskusstvo Srednego Povolzh'ia (Ancient and Medieval art in the Middle Volga Region). Yoshkar-Ola: “Mariiskoe knizhnoe izdatel'stvo” Publ. (in Russian).

Veselovskyi, N. I. 1915. In Zapiski Odesskogo obshchestva istorii drevnostei (Notes of the Odessa Society of History of Antiquities) 32. І. Odessa: “Slavyanskaya” Publ., 408–444 (in Russian).

Geras'kova, L. S. 1991. Skul'ptura seredn'ovіchnikh kochovikіv stepіv Skhіdnoї Evropi (Sculpture of medieval nomads of the steppes of Eastern Europe). Kyiv: “Naukova dumka” Publ. (in Ukrainian).

Geras'kova, L. S. 1999. In Stratum plus (5), 408–430 (in Russian).

Golubev, L. E., Chkhaidze, V. N. 2014. In Kratkie soobshcheniya instituta arkheologii (Brief Communications of the Institute of Archaeology) (232), 74–79 (in Russian).

Gorelik, M. V. 2008. In Belinsky, A. B. (ed.). Materialy po izucheniyu istoriko-kul'turnogo naslediya Severnogo Kavkaza (Materials for the Study of the Historical and Cultural Heritage of the North Caucasus). I–ХХIV Krupnovskie chteniya (I–ХХIV Krupnov Readings). Issue VIII. Moscow-Stavropol': “Pamyatniki istoricheskoy mysli”, “Nasledie” Publ., 909–910 (in Russian).

Gosudarstvennyy arkhiv Rostovskoy oblasti (The State Archive of the Rostov region), f. 55, inv. 1, dossier. 523, p. 32–32ob (in Russain).

Gurkin, S. V. 1998. In Donskaia arkheologiia (Archaeology of Don) (1), 29–37 (in Russian).

Datunashvili, N. D., Chkhaidze, V. N. 2016. In Kratkie soobshcheniya instituta arkheologii (Brief Communications of the Institute of Archaeology) 245, Part II, 150–157 (in Russian).

Dashkevich, Ya. R., Tryyarski, E. 1982. Kamennye baby prichernomorskih stepej: kollekciya iz AskaniiNova (Stone statues of the Black Sea region steppes: a collection from Askania-Nova). Wrocław, Warszawa, Kraków, Gdańsk, Łódź: Wyd. Polskiej AN (in Russian).

Dode, Z. V. 2010. Kubachinskie rel'efy. Novyy vzglyad na drevnie kamni (Kubachi reliefs. A new insight at ancient stones). Series: Materialy po izucheniyu istoriko-kul'turnogo naslediya Severnogo Kavkaza (Materials for the Study of the Historical and Cultural Heritage of the North Caucasus) 10. Stavropol; Moscow: “Pamyatniki istoricheskoy mysli” Publ., “Nasledie” Publ. (in Russian).

Domansky, Ya. V. (ed.). 1978. Drevnie plemena Vostochnoy Evropy. Putevoditel' po vystavke «Kul'tura i iskusstvo drevnego naseleniya evropeyskoy chasti SSSR. VII vek do n.e. – XII vek n.e.» (Ancient tribes of Eastern Europe. Guide to the exhibition "Culture and art of the ancient population of the European part of the USSR. 7th century BC – 12th century AD"). Leningrad: “Aurora” Publ. (in Russian).

Zhdanovsky, A. M. 1977. In Sovetskaia Arkheologiia (Soviet Archaeology) (1), 257 (in Russian).

Zelensky, Yu. V., Sen', D. V. 2010. In Golubev, L. E. (ed.). Drevnosti Kubani (Antiquities of Kuban) 22. Krasnodar: “Kuban'ekspertiza” Publ., 59–69 (in Russian).

Piotrovsky, M. B. (ed.). 2005. Zolotaya Orda. Istoriya i kul’tura (The Golden Horde. History and Culture). Saint Petersburg: “Slaviia” Publ. (in Russian).

Korolkova, E. F. 2012. In Piotrovsky, M. B. (ed.). Kochevniki Evrazii na puti k imperii. Iz sobraniia Gosudarstvennogo Ermitazha. Katalog vystavki (The Nomad World. From the Archaeological Collections of the State Hermitage Museum. Exhibition Catalogue). Saint Petersburg: “Slaviya” Publ., 224–233 (in Russian).

Krasilnikov, K. I., Apareeva, E. K. 2021. Dialog kul'tur v kamnereznom iskusstve. Po materialam statuarnykh kompleksov Stepnogo Podontsov'ya (Dialogue of Cultures in Stone-Cutting Art. Based on the materials of statuary complexes from the Steppe Donets Region). Kazan: Institute of Archaeology of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences (in Russian).

Krasilnikov, K. I., Telnova, L. I. 2000. In Evglevskii, A. V. (ed.-in-chief). Stepi Evropy v epokhu srednevekov’ia (Steppes of Europe in the Middle Ages) 1. Donetsk: Donetsk National University, 227–244 (in Russian).

Krylova, L. P. 1976. Kamennye baby. Katalog (Stone babas. Catalogue). Dnepropetrovsk: “Promіn'” Publ. (in Russian).

In 1868. Kotlyarevskii, A. A. (ed.). Drevnosti. Arkheologicheskiy vestnik (Antiquities. Archaeological Bulletin) 1. Moscow: “Grachev i K°” Publ., 282–283 (in Russian).

Kuznetsov, V. A. 1980. In Chechenov, I. M. (ed.). Arkheologiya i voprosy drevney istorii Kabardino-Balkarii (Archaeology and ancient history of Kabardino-Balkaria) 1. Nalchik: “Kabardino-Balkarskiy institut istorii, filologii i ekonomiki” Publ., 3–18 (in Russian).

Minaeva, T. M. 1964. In Krasnov, G. D. (ed.). Materialy po izucheniiu Stavropol’skogo kraia (Materials for the Study of Stavropol Krai) 11. Stavropol: “Stavropol'skoe kn. izd-vo” Publ., 167–196 (in Russian).

Narozhny, E. I. 2003. In Evglevskii, A. V. (ed.-in-chief). Stepi Evropy v epokhu srednevekov’ia (Steppes of Europe in the Middle Ages) 3. Donetsk: Donetsk National University, 245–274 (in Russian).

Narozhny, E. I. 2013. In Kliashtornyi, S. G., Ivanov, V. A., Zagidullin, I. K. (eds.). Tiurkskie kochevniki Evrazii (kimaki, kipchaki, polovtsy …) (Turkic Nomads of Eurasia (The Kimeks, Kipchaks, Cumans...)). Series: Tyurkskie plemena i gosudarstva Evrazii v drevnosti i v srednie veka (Turkic tribes and States of Eurasia in ancient time and Middle Ages) 2. Kazan: “Ikhlas” Publ., 48–76 (in Russian).

Narozhny, E. I. 2018. In Narozhny, E. I. (ed.). Materialy i issledovaniia po arkheologii Severnogo Kavkaza (Materials and Studies on the Archaeology of the North Caucasus) 16. Armavir: Krasnodarl: “Novatsiya” Publ., 155–(in Russian).

Narozhny, E. I., Sokov, P. V. 2012. In Munchaev, R. M. (ed.). Istoriko-arkheologicheskii al'manakh (Historical and Archaeological Almanac) 11. Armavir; Krasnodar; Moscow: Institute of Archaeology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 202–209 (in Russian).

Olkhovskiy, V. S. 2005. Monumental'naya skul'ptura naseleniya zapadnoy chasti evraziyskikh stepey epokhi rannego zheleza (Monumental sculpture of the population of the western part of the Eurasian steppes of the Early Iron Age). Moscow: “Nauka” Publ.. (in Russian).

Pletneva, S. A. 1974. Polovestkie kamennye izvaianiia (Cuman Stone Statues). Svod Arkheologicheskikh Istochnikov (Corpus of Archaeological Sources) E4-2. Moscow: “Nauka” Publ. (in Russian).

Potyomkina, T. M. 2024a. In Cultural Heritage and Modern Technologies (2), 173–183 (in Russian).

Potyomkina, T. M. 2024б. In Cultural Heritage and Modern Technologies (2), 132–153 (in Russian).

Potyomkina, T. M. 2025a. In Cultural Heritage and Modern Technologies (3), 34–95 (in Russian).

Potyomkina, T. M. 2025б. In Bespalova, S.V. (ed.). Donetskie chteniya – 2025: obrazovanie, nauka, innovatsii, kul'tura i vyzovy sovremennosti (Donetsk Readings 2025: education, science, innovation, culture and contemporary challenges) 7. Donetsk: Donetsk State University, 310–312 (in Russian).

Potyomkina, T. M. 2025. In Arkheologiia Evraziiskikh stepei (Archaeology of Eurasian Steppes) 5, 51–61 (in Russian).

Radde, G. I. 1891. Kratkiy ocherk istorii razvitiya Kavkazskogo muzeya v pervye 25 let sushchestvovaniya s 1-go yanvarya 1867 g po 1-e yanvarya 1892 g. (A brief outline on the history of the Caucasian Museum development during the first 25 years of its operation - from January 1, 1867 to January 1, 1892). Tiflis: “Tipografiya A.A. Mikhelsona” Publ. (in Russian).

Savenko, E. A., Savenko, S. N. 2009. In Narozhny, E. I. (ed.). Materialy i issledovaniia po arkheologii Severnogo Kavkaza (Materials and Research on the Archaeology of the North Caucasus) 10. Armavir: “Nasledie Kubani” Publ., 99–115 (in Russian).

Tolochko, P. P. 1999. Kochevye narody stepei i Kievskaia Rus (Nomadic Peoples of the Steppes and Kievan Rus). Kiev: “ Abris ” Publ. (in Russian).

Fedorov-Davydov, G. A. 1966. Kochevniki Vostochnoi Evropy pod vlast’iu zolotoordynskikh khanov: Arkheologicheskie pamiatniki (East-European Nomads under the Golden Horde’s Khans: Archaeological Sites). Moscow: Moscow State University (in Russian).

Firkovich, A. S. 1857. In Zapiski Imperatorskogo Russkogo arkheologicheskogo obshchestva (Proceedings of the Imperial Russian Archaeological Society) IX, 2. Saint Petersburg, 377–402 (in Russian).

Published

2026-10-31

How to Cite

Potyomkina , T. M. (2026). In Search of a Workshop: stylistic features of Beysug statues. Arkheologiia Evraziiskikh Stepei (Archaeology of the Eurasian Steppes), (5), 115–128. https://doi.org/10.24852/2587-6112.2026.5.115.128

Issue

Section

Research and Publication