Bird With a Human Mask on the Chest: iconography and function

Abstract

The Ural-Siberian cult metal casting includes many images, one of which it is an image of the so-called “bird with a human mask on the chest”. A similar image is found in metal-plastics of Perm (4th-11th centuries AD), Pechora (4th-9th centuries AD) and West Siberian (5th-9th centuries AD) animal styles. In historiography, most of the studies concern the semantics of this image. The question of historiography is less concentrated, although certain iconographic signs can become chronological and territorial markers. The iconography of this image was studied by F.A. Teploukhov, A.V. Schmidt, Ya.A. Yakovlev, L.A. Pankratova and T.Yu. Turkina. This paper addresses such features as the number of heads on an ornithomorphic figure, the attribution of the head, and the pose. Based on these features, several groups have been identified that have a temporal and territorial reference. In addition, such forms of masks on the chest as a mask without a contour, a heart-shaped mask, and an oval-shaped mask are distinguished. According to the mythology of the Ugric peoples, after death the soul of a person seeks a refuge, which was provided by metal birds. Another example is the finds of birds of the Itkul culture in locations on the tops of the mountains. According to V.D. Viktorova, these figures were used as containers for the souls of dead metallurgists. The possible functions were identified based on mythology, locations and ethnographic parallels: votive objects, adornments, receptacles for the souls of the dead.

Keywords

• archaeology
• ural-siberian cult casting
• bird with a human mask on the chest
• the upper kama region
• middle ages
• iconography
• votive objects