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THE FABRIC WITH THE EMBROIDERED IMAGE OF THE ASCENSION FROM THE MOUND OF A NOMAD IN KALMYKIA: ATTRIBUTION PROBLEMS

Issue 1 from 01.01.2014

The embroidered cloth depicting the Ascension, found by E. Tsutskin in burial mounds Guva 2 of Kalmykia in 1978, essentially enriches our notions not only about the early Russian embroidery, but about pre-Mongolian art of Kievan Rus' as well. The iconographic variant of the Ascension with the figures of the Apostles alternated with images of trees is known in Byzantine art since the 9 ^th century. However in ancient Russian art it can be found only in mural paintings of the 12 ^th centuries. The original composition is supposed to be 1 meter wide, thus, we consider it to be an altar cloth (antependium). We also take into consideration the typical iconographic images of cherubims on the piece, which are usually not presented in such compositions. The technique of execution is similar to the fragments of pre-Mongolian embroidery found on the territory of modern Ukraine; it bears unmistakable features of the influence of Romanesque art. Thus, the artwork can be dated back to the 12 ^th - early 13 ^th century.

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