gems, glyptic, engraved gems, agate, cameo, intaglio, Black Sea, Hermitage

It would be difficult to exaggerate the importance of the barbarian tribes that surrounded the Greek cities on the shores of the Euxeinos Pontus, or Black Sea. Many orbits of activity—and sometimes the very existence of the colonists and their descendants—depended on the local tribes, so it is only natural that evidence of the constant barbarian presence would be found in the works of art discovered during the archaeological exploration of the northern Pontic region. Russian archaeologists have always devoted meticulous attention to these ancient influences of local and barbarian tribes on the Greek settlements of the region. In spite of the wealth of new material collected over the past decades, we can still agree with what T. N. Knipovich wrote a half century ago: that in studying the art of the Greeks in the area of the northern shore of the Black Sea, we “are dealing with an exceedingly complex phenomenon” (Knipovich 1955b, p. 164). We still do not have a clear picture of the situation, in particular what comprised “barbarian” art, that of the middle and lower strata of the local population of the Greek cities and their environs. A closer examination of the art of the northern Pontic region suggests that we are dealing with several distinct lines of cultural development that remained independent for a long time, despite an intermingling of those cultures. First, there are monuments produced in the Greek metropolis. They were carried into the northern Pontic area throughout the entire period of antiquity, and further spread into the area of barbarian settlement as far as the forested steppes and even into the interior of the boundless expanses of Eurasia. One should also take into account the periodic appearance on the shores of the Black Sea of professional itinerant jewelers and stonecutters, who could have been attracted to the area by the wealth of the local rulers. Works from the metropolis permitted the Greek masters of the northern Pontic cities to remain abreast of artistic changes and, circumstances permitting, they incorporated these innovations into their own crafts (Knipovich 1955b, 166–70). Naturally, barbarian influences are completely absent from these pieces.