April 2008

FROM THE LAND OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE: SCYTHIAN GOLD

The Farnham Decorative and Fine Arts Society met on Tuesday April 15th at the Maltings for a talk given by archaeologist Louise Schofield.

Mrs Frances Ashworth reminded members about the 25th Anniversary Recital on July 9th in Frensham  Heights School and also mentioned an Evening of Opera to be held in Charterhouse School Great Hall on Friday May 30th as part of the National 40th Anniversary celebrations. Members are invited to take picnics to be enjoyed in the grounds.

Another stunning musical occasion will be held at the Dolmetsch Studio in Haslemere on Friday July 4th.  This is a study day when talented musicians will be talking about the history and making of musical instruments and crowning the day with a concert.  The study day on The History of Dress is being well supported, as is the visit to The American Museum in Bath in May. 

Mrs. Ashworth then introduced the speaker, Louise Schofield, who is an Archaeologist currently engaged on excavations in Ethiopia.  Her team is also making improvements to the living standards of people there by supplying water via a 5-mile aqueduct and planting thousands of trees.  Her talk was entitled “From the Land of the Golden Fleece: Scythian Gold.”

Golden artefacts have been found in tombs and burial mounds in areas north of the Black Sea, which are now Russia and the Ukraine.  Some of the treasures date back to the 7th Century B.C when the Scythians occupied the land.  They were nomadic warriors from Northern Greece, the Land of the Golden Fleece, who settled on the north coast of the Black Sea after trading expeditions.  They were feared and invincible but when the Greeks tried to settle in their lands the two nations lived together in comparative harmony.  The Black Sea coast had few safe harbours but the land was fertile and there was an abundance of Gold.  They travelled in covered wagons and so much of the gold work was made to adorn their horses and themselves as well as embellishing their armoury.

Some artefacts depict the people and the designs give an idea of how they dressed and show the influence from the Greeks.  The workmanship was exquisite and decorated everything from scabbards and battleaxes to diadems and earrings.  They used brass and silver as well as gold for containers and drinking vessels, which would be decorated with animals and mythical scenes.  A tomb at Kul Oba, with excavations begun by the Tsar in 1850, has many particularly beautiful objects such as jewellery, armbands and bracelets, as well as weapons and ornaments, buried with a Nobleman, his Wife and a servant.

The two most famous artefacts are an ornate necklace with 48 figures cast in gold, one showing the sewing of the Golden Fleece, and a perfect vase decorated with mythical animals.

Louise Schofield’s wonderful talk was a journey back in time to a truly Golden Age, which is still being discovered.

copy by Heather Fox
photo by Graham Parlett

Donation of £10,000 by Mrs Mary Joynes for Young Arts

The Society has been fortunate enough to receive a donation of £10,000, the income from which is to be used by the Young Arts group each year in connection with their work with schools and young people in the area.

The generous donor is Mrs Mary Joynes, a long-term resident of Farnham, who has devoted her life to working with young people through music and the arts.  Her wish is to offer young people “opportunity in the arts that they wouldn’t otherwise have”.

The first use to which the gift will be put will be a prize – ‘The Mary Joynes Prize’ – to be awarded at the Schools Art Exhibition to be held later this year.