12 · Dnieper · a Greek vase on Scythian life

Taming horses in silver

The Chertomlyk amphora

This silver-gilt amphora shows several men handling horses.

Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.

Specific historical recreation of The Chertomlyk Amphora, Chertomlyk Kurgan, Dnieper Valley, Late 4th century BCE — **DECLARED VISUAL RECONSTRUCTION · EXISTING EDITORIAL RESOURCE · TRACEKEEPERS**
Generated reconstruction · Declared visual hypothesis
Declared visual reconstruction for museographic context; it is not a photograph of the original nor documentary evidence.

History and context

The Chertomlyk amphora combines vegetation, fantastic animals and scenes of men capturing, holding and perhaps sacrificing horses. Three decorated outlets allowed serving liquid, probably wine, in high-status contexts.

The execution style is Greek and the theme looks to the steppe. It is not passive copying nor ethnically pure art: a workshop familiar with Scythian clients created an object where Mediterranean drink, horses and cosmology were assembled.

The amphora measures seventy centimetres and combines casting, hammering, chasing, engraving and gilding. Three friezes superimpose griffins attacking deer, men and horses, and a vegetal register with birds and rosettes.

Three outlets in the lower part allowed serving liquid. The Hermitage relates the programme to Indo-Iranian cosmologies and equine sacrifice, but uses expressions of possibility: drinking function, world tree and god Tagimasad are interpretations, not labels of the vessel.

Evidence and interpretation

Documented fact: the Hermitage dates the amphora to the fourth century BCE, describes it as a 70 cm silver-gilt vessel and links it to the Chertomlyk kurgan. Interpretation and caution: sacrifice, taming and cosmological interpretations of the scenes are neither mutually exclusive nor definitive. Additional documented evidence: the silver-gilt amphora dates to the fourth century BCE and was found at Chertomlyk; it has three friezes and three outlets. Further interpretation and caution: wine, a specific sacrifice or divine identity should not be presented as established facts; modern restoration also affected parts of the vessel.

Catalogue facts

Narrative date: End of the 4th century BCE
Location: Chertomlyk kurgan, Dnieper valley
Material: Gilded silver, cast, repoussé, chased and engraved
Context: Greek-Scythian luxury vessel in a kurgan
Curatorial reading: The documented fact and its interpretation appear separately in the evidence block.
Height: 70 cm
Service: 3 outlets in the lower part
Techniques: Casting, hammering, chasing, engraving and gilding
Documentary coverage: 3 museum, heritage, primary corpus or research sources for this stop.
Intercultural biography: Greek workshop of the Black Sea: production · Chertomlyk · Scythian world: use

A closer look

About 1 min to read · 1 section. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: September 5, 2026.

The amphora's second life in porcelain

The amphora received modern attention linked to archaeology and the representation of the past. The Russian Museum preserves a late 19th-century replica made by the Imperial Porcelain Factory in biscuit, unglazed porcelain. Its catalogue explains that Ivan Zabelin reproduced the image of the discovery in his history of the Russian people and that the imperial factory later transferred it to a decorative object. The copy allows us to study how a piece excavated in present-day Ukraine was reinterpreted within a later national and imperial narrative.

Museum · Russian Museum · Imperial Porcelain Factory, vessel F-5735Access recorded: September 5, 2026.

Location and territory

REGIONAL AREA

Chertomlyk kurgan, Dnieper valleySteppe corridors; mobility and confederations, not a permanent border. The marker indicates the indicative centre of the area, not a border or an exact point.

Cultural connections

Greek workshop of the Black Sea →

The manufacture is attributed to artisans trained in the Greek tradition.

Probable

Hermitage · Chertomlyk amphora

Sources and references

Expand this information and consult its sources

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