Terracotta dog figurine
II – III centuries AD
Late Scythian culture
Clay
Height - 6.8 cm
Admission: excavations A.N. Karaseva and I.V. Yatsenko, 1959
Showcase 4
A sculptural image of a lying dog feeding puppies. Puppy figures have not been preserved. The details are naturalistically conveyed: the dog is depicted in a collar with a round medallion in a wary pose, wide-open eyes, protruding ears, and wool are carefully made. The figurine consists of two halves, inside is hollow. The clay is light brown, thin, the seams of the halves are smoothed. This indicates that the manufacture of such sculptures took place as follows: in a half form from burnt clay, a wet molding material was placed and distributed according to the shape from the inside. Then they took out both parts, fastened them and burned them. After firing, the surface of the sculpture may have been painted with paints.
The functional purpose of the exhibit: votive (donated to the deity) sculpture, ritual gift.
Information about uniqueness: an imported product, possibly originating from the island of Rhodes. It has analogues.
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