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Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul
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One of a pair of clasps with Dionysos and Ariadne, 1st century A.D.
Afghanistan, Tillya Tepe, tomb VI
Gold, turquoise; 2 5/8 x 2 3/4 in. (6.7 x 7 cm)
National Museum of Afghanistan, Kabul, 04.40.53
Photo: © Thierry Ollivier / Musée Guimet
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This clasp—one of a pair—reflects the mixture of Greek and other traditions that characterizes the art of Tillya Tepe. The Greek inspiration is clear in the subject of the scene: Dionysus and his consort Ariadne riding a feline. Further classical allusions are found in the winged goddess Nike shown at the right, who holds a wreath in one hand and a feather in the other, and the drunken Silenus, a traditional attendant to Dionysos, who lifts a drinking horn at the left. At the same time, the couple may also allude to the mithuna (male and female) pairings found in Indian art as well as to the imaginative world of the Central Asian steppes, through the fantastic creature, the lion-griffin, lavishly inlaid in turquoise.
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