TANNERSVILLE, N.Y. – Students at two local schools in upstate New York, Hunter-Tannersville Middle/High School and Windham-Ashland-Jewett Central School, recently had a unique opportunity. They were treated to a special preview by Adrian Bryttan of his “Gold of the Scythians” presentation at the Mountain Top Library in Tannersville on October 8. Local art teachers had invited him to bring the gold-leafed sculptures he had created and to demonstrate how he molded them. At the same time he explained the history of the Scythians.
Arts Alive, the magazine published by the Greene County Council on the Arts, praised Mr. Bryttan’s outreach: “This was an extraordinary experience for the school students, teachers and young artists. Mr. Bryttan shared his passion for his art form rich in history and from a culture half way around the world, making a connection relevant to the lives of young people in the modern-day classroom. This experience is sure to be remembered and perhaps may become a creative catalyst for many students.” (“Gold of the Scythians finds its way to the local classroom,” November-December 2016)
A small deer created in Scythian style by Adrian Bryttan.
Mr. Bryttan is a professional violinist/opera conductor who was a Fulbright International Scholar. While in Ukraine, he took the opportunity to spend many hours examining the original artifacts showcased in museums which led to the inspiration behind his work.
The Scythians were the fierce nomadic peoples who ruled the steppes of Ukraine in the first millennium before Christ. In his “Histories,” Herodotus detailed their colorful life and customs, especially their wild funeral celebrations. But readers might not be aware how many current names from the Ukrainian steppes have Scythian links. For example, the name of the river Don is associated with the Scythian word “danu” (water, river). The river names Donets, Dnipro, Danube, Dnister and lake Donuzlav (the deepest in Crimea) probably also belong to the same word-group, Mr. Bryttan notes.
But this warrior society also enjoyed beauty in many forms. At first they commissioned Greek craftsmen through trading settlements around the Black Sea to create gold metal artworks for them. A world-renowned Scythian treasure is the superbly detailed “Golden Pectoral” unearthed from a 60-foot-high burial mound, the “Tovsta Mohyla” (Rich Mound) in 1971. Other relics include gold swords, shields and helmets, as well as decorative household and personal items – goblets, vases, intricate brooches and combs.
A large stag created by Adrian Bryttan features additional decorations in the nine antlers (a sacred number for the Scythians).
The style of these works displays a blend of sophisticated anatomy with a formal fantasy that is unique in the world, Mr. Bryttan related. Animal themes are affectionately portrayed: elegant stags, fierce panthers, lions and other wild and domesticated creatures. Scythian mythology is a recurring theme – especially griffins, locked in mortal combat with other animals or as talismans for the home. Various scenes from Scythian warfare and daily life are often quite realistically rendered.
Mr. Bryttan studied numerous artifacts before sketching his own final version, and then carved them out of clay. He often modified the designs, expanding what was miniature jewelry into wall-hanging centerpieces; other times he altered the original elements to make them more ornate. His huge fish, for example, is based on the “Vettersfelder Fish,” a shield ornament embedded with whimsical smaller animals, now on display at the Collection of Classical Antiquities in Berlin. Mr. Bryttan recreated the missing sections and extrapolated the design to make it look like it might possibly have appeared when new. A second example – his large kneeling stag now has additional decorations in the nine antlers (a sacred number for the Scythians), as well as a curved tail, different from the original. In total, he created 20 different designs.
After baking his clay sculptures, Mr. Bryttan created his own rubber molds to cast a limited run for each sculpture. Gold-leaf was applied in the manner of traditional icon-painters. At obvious insertion points, Mr. Bryttan created his own faux turquoise gems to decorate the sculptures. Once sealed, an antiquing patina was worked into the recesses. The sculptures were finally mounted on black velvet in enclosed shadow boxes for display. Each individual piece is signed and numbered in a limited-number edition.