Deer figurines in small bronze sculptures of the early Iron Age of the Central and Northern Caucasus

Abstract

Aim. To conduct an analysis of bronze figurines of a deer from the sites of the early Iron Age of the Central and North Caucasus.
Methodology. The article analyzes small bronze sculptures of the Central and Northern Caucasus, represented by deer figurines, using historical, typological, stylistic, and semiotic methods. Through the stylistic features of the figurines, their origin and dating are studied.
Results. There are six types of bronze deer figurines, differing in pose, proportions, style of depiction, originating from different cultural traditions that influenced the formation of the applied arts of the North Caucasus. The features of deer depiction from sites in various regions of the North Caucasus are revealed.
Research implications. The article is relevant from theoretical and practical points of view, since deer figurines make up a large percentage of small bronze sculptures of the Early Iron Age of the Central and Northern Caucasus, but they have not been studied comprehensively. During new archaeological rescue excavations, new finds of deer figurines in small bronze sculpture became known; work with Caucasian collections in Russian and foreign museums made it possible to identify the new specimens. Bronze figurines of deer were discovered in sites of various cultures, but they have similarities, which makes it possible to typologize them at the level of all the sites of the Central and Northern Caucasus. The genesis of these objects was also studied, the problem of which has not yet been solved and remains relevant.