Scythian art is a lively blend of detailed realism and imaginative fantasy. When the Scythians in the Caucasus came into contact with the settled peoples of West Asia, they borrowed techniques and motifs from West Asian metalworking traditions and wove them in with their own designs to create an innovative animal style of decoration.
This was particularly applied to objects of personal display: jewellery, armour and weaponry, and horse harness.
It was even applied to the nomads' own bodies: tattoos, like those on the mummified body at Pazyryk, were probably a common feature of nomad appearance.
Animals minutely and lovingly observed in their steppe environment were popular subjects for this Scythian and nomad art; particularly common were interwoven confrontations between prey and predator. But the designs were not confined to living creatures: fantastic composite beasts were also created.
