During the excavation of Noin-Ula burial mound 20 in 2006, 32 silver horse-bridle ornaments with images of fantastic animals made in the traditions of ancient Chinese art were found in the burial. Images of a unicorn and a dragon, which are very rare in Xiongnu monuments, are of interest. Probably, the jewelry in question was a gift from the imperial court to the Xiongnu.

Keywords: Xiongnu, silver jewelry, horse harness, unicorn, Han era.

Introduction

The collection of silver plates - horse harness ornaments from the Xiongnu mounds-began to form with three items discovered by P. K. Kozlov's expedition in mound 6 in Noin-Ul. Today, this collection consists of 42 items (including only whole items) obtained during scientific excavations of elite Xiongnu mounds in Mongolia and Buryatia. For example, in mound 7 of the Tsaram burial ground (Buryatia), two round silver ornaments with the image of a mountain goat, a bronze plaque with the image of a mountain goat in a jump, and fragments of several identical silver ornaments were found (Fig. 1, 10, 11) [Minyaev, 2009, p. 57, Fig.14, 15]. In mound 20 of the Gol-Mod-1 burial ground (Mongolia), a whole set of similar ornaments was found: eight small and six large plaques with the image of a unicorn (Figs. 1, 5, 12) [Desroches, 2007, pic. 22-24].

For a long time, until analogs were known, silver jewelry (two plaques and a falar) from mound 6 in Noin-Ul (Figs. 1, 6, 7), researchers, noting the "originality of the content", put it on a par with the works of the Scythian-Siberian animal style [Borovka, 1925, p. 24 - 25; Sosnovsky, 1935, p. 174-175]. Currently, there are several points of view on the origin of these plates. According to A. N. Bernshtam [1937, pp. 962-963], which was supported by M. I. Artamonov [1973, p.21] and P. B. Konovalov [1976, p. 216], silver plaques belong to the works of art of the Xiongnu. XI expressed doubts about this. Rudenko. He noted that "the style in which the Noin-Ula plates are made differs from the original Xiongnu works of art" [1962, p.82]. This, as the researcher pointed out, is evidenced by the "unusual poses of animals, the stencil shape."

The work was carried out within the framework of the integration project of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (N24) and the Program of Fundamental Research of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences (project N28.2.3).

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Figure 1. Horse harness decorations depicting animals from burials of the 1st century BC - 1st century AD.

1, 2-cast iron plaques covered with gold foil, random finds, Northern China [Bunker, 2002, p. 54, pic. 21]; 3-silver plaque, random find, North-Eastern China [Ibid., p. 22]; 4-silver plaque, grave 219 of the burial ground Sogamni, Nanipan, Korea [The ancient..., 2001, cat. 51]; 5, 12-silver plaques, mound 20 of the Gol Mod-1 burial ground, Mongolia [Desroches, 2007, pic. 23, 24]; 6, 7 - silver plaque, mound 6 in Suzukte Paddy, Noin-Ula [Rudenko, 1962, Tables XXXVII, 1, 3]; 8-golden badge, border number 1 at the village Xucungang, prov. Henan, China [Brief Report..., 2000, p. 42, fig. 11]; 9, 13-gilded bronze plaques, burial, Xilin County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China [Burial..., 1978, p. 45]; 10, 11-bronze plaques, mound 7 of the Tsaram burial ground, Buryatia [Minyaev, 2009, p. 57, figs. 14, 15].

plates, plot and manner of reproduction" [Ibid., pp. 81-82]. According to the assumption of E. Bunker, which was expressed in the comments to similar plaques published by her from the collection of "Asian art" by Jonathan Tooker, these products were made in Chinese workshops for the Xiongnu and other nomads or for internal trade [Bunker, 2002, p. 54-55]. E. V. Shavkunov considers finds from mound 6 in Noin-Ula products of "Yuezhi-Kushan" production. In his opinion, they were made on the territory of Northern Bactria and neighboring regions of Central Asia (Alekseeva and Shavkunov, 1984, pp. 8-9). According to M. B. Shchukin, silver plaques of the Xiongnu belong to things of the Malibu style (III century BC-I century AD). Among the objects of this particular style, common "from the Channel to Mongolia", the researcher refers to silver, gold and bronze "round mostly, varying in size, flat or convex plaques with various images", used in the world of nomads of the Eurasian steppes as falars. He explains this phenomenon by the fact that as a result of historical events that unfolded in the area from Mongolia to Greco-Bactria in the II-I centuries. However, in the early 20000 BC, "a certain unified environment was formed, where the movement of large or smaller groups of the population, individuals (whether traveling craftsmen, merchants, or mercenary warriors) was quite possible" (Shchukin, 2001, p.156). These people could be, from the point of view of the scientist, both the creators and distributors of Malibu-style products.

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Discoveries made in recent years have clarified the problem of the appearance of original horse harness ornaments found in the graves of Xiongnu nobles.

Description of silver plaques

32 items were found in mound 20 in Noin-Ula (Figs. 2, 3):

1. Two large pear-shaped plaques with the image of a unicorn (Fig. 4), two with the image of an animal with goat horns (Fig. 5) and two with the image of a dragon (Fig. 6). Separate fragments (dragon heads) were also found two more identical blahs. The weight of each of the whole ornaments is 80-100 g, the length is 14.3-14.5 cm, the width in the wide part is 7 cm.

2. Five of the 20 small round plaques (three in fragments) depict animals with goat horns, another four with deer horns, nine with unicorns and two fragments of articles broken off in the upper part (Figs. 7-9). The weight of each is approx. 30 g, diameter 4.5 cm.

3. Five round (one in fragments) silver plaques with the image of a curled-up eared animal (Fig. 10). The weight of each is approx. 10 g, the diameter is 2.5 cm.

Some silver plaques from mound 20 in Noin-Ul still have small fragments of the iron base. One round bronze cast badge with the image of a unicorn was found (see Figs. 9, 5). A pear-shaped bronze plaque was also found in mound 7 of the Tsaram burial ground (see Figures 1, 10). Several barrels from Northern China have a cast-iron base covered with gold foil (Bunker, 2002, p. 54) (see Figs. 1, 1, 2). At the turn of the epoch, cast iron was known only in China (the method of smelting ductile iron was discovered here already in the 3rd century BC); it was used in the production of cast-iron products. in particular, for casting artistic products [Kravtsova, 2004, p. 152]. Bronze and cast iron castings-

2. Silver ornaments of horse harness in situ on the floor of the burial chamber. Noin-Ula, Suzukte Pad, mound 20.

3. Silver ornaments depicting dragons in situ on the floor of the burial chamber. Noin-Ula, Suzukte Pad, mound 20.

4. Silver plaques with the image of a unicorn. Noin-Ula, Suzukte Pad, mound 20.

5. Silver plaques with the image of a fantastic goat. Noin-Ula, Suzukte Pad, mound 20.

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6. Silver plaques with the image of a dragon. Noin-Ula, Suzukte Pad, mound 20.

Fig. 7. Silver horse harness ornaments with the image of a fantastic goat. Noin-Ula, Suzukte Pad, mound 20.

Figure 8. Silver horse harness ornaments with the image of a fantastic deer. Noin-Ula, Suzukte Pad, mound 20.

Fig. 9. Silver horse harness ornaments with the image of a unicorn. Noin-Ula, Suzukte Pad, mound 20.

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10. Silver horse harness ornaments with the image of a coiled animal. Noin-Ula, Suzukte Pad, mound 20.

metas could be both samples for the manufacture of silver plates, and the basis for the latter.

According to the conclusion of B. A. Abramov, an employee of the Department of Museum Technologies and Restoration of the Institute of Electrotechnical Technologies of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, all silver jewelry is made by coinage with a chisel. First, a pattern was applied to the surface of a rolled silver plate, then it was applied to wax, resin or other plastic material and the background was beaten out with hammers. The plate was burned in an open flame so that the silver became plastic, and on the reverse side a relief was hammered out (pulled) with wooden coinage. Having achieved the desired depth of relief, the master turned the plate over and fired it again, then refined the background. And so on several times. At the final stage, the outline of the image was worked out with the help of small coins. The finished silver plate was placed on an iron base and crimped along the contour. Relief images of dragons on plaques were additionally covered with gold foil. A master who was well versed in all the professional techniques of artistic metalworking could work on the production of one large badge for about a month.

Silver in ancient China was a rare and valuable metal. Along with gold, it was used to make money. According to written sources, silver money in the form of bullion began to circulate at the end of the Zhou era. Throughout the following dynasties, silver was one of the main monetary assets in China. In the Han era, it was used to make bowls and goblets, toiletries, and some funerary plastic items. All products were made in the casting technique [Ibid., pp. 755, 759]. Silver products, on which images are applied by Chinese masters minted from the turnover, have been known since the Tang Era (Schaeffer, 1981, p. 337). It is believed that this technique appeared in China under the influence of Sughd toreutics (Marshak, 1971, pp. 47-50). But the technique of minting was known to Chinese craftsmen long before the Tang era, as evidenced by some gold products from the period of the Struggling Kingdoms [Kravtsova, 2004, p. 757].

The pear-shaped shape of the plaques we are considering, which has no analogues in the art of Eurasian nomads, is obviously a Chinese invention. The hint could be "originally endowed with a special magical meaning" form of the gourd, which was one of the most common mythological and artistic images among fruits in ancient and medieval China [Ibid., p. 380]. The shape of a gourd was given to vessels and jewelry. In Taoist-religious imagery, the gourd-jar, having turned into a vessel for storing the elixir of immortality, became an emblem of immortality and a wish for longevity [Ibid., pp. 380-381]. There is nothing surprising in the fact that in China this unusual form was given to the decorations of the harness of horses.

Large unicorn plaques from Mound 20 in Noin-Ul, Gol-Mod-1 and Han burials from China and Korea (see Fig. 1, 5, 9, 12; 4, 1) decorated with the so-called cloud ribbon (precious Baoyun clouds to enhance benevolent symbolism). This ornament, zoomorphic in origin, for many centuries occupied one of the main places in Chinese art. By the time these decorations were made, the "cloud ribbon" "was already perceived as a neutral background, on which trees, real and fantastic animals, Xian deities, etc. were placed. It was often considered as a mountain landscape "[Lubo-Lesnichenko, 1994, p. 189]. On small plates from Gol-Mod-1 on the bodies of unicorns, wings stylized as flames (Yang) are depicted (see Figs. 1, 12). The presence of these ornamental elements, which are characteristic of Chinese art and are understandable only in its context, suggests that the plaques are the creations of Chinese masters.

The unicorn is a new figure among the images of animals known from finds from Xiongnu monuments. The image of the unicorn is lost in the depths of time. His first incarnation is considered to be the image of a one-horned bull on the seals of ancient cities in the Indus Valley-Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa (III millennium BC). The unicorn is mentioned in a number of significant sacred symbols

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in the Atharvaveda and the Mahabharata. The appearance of the unicorn image in Middle Eastern and European visual systems is associated with the ancient Indian tradition [Ivanov, 1991, p. 430]. Greek and Roman authors considered the unicorn as a real animal. Pliny the Elder writes :" The most ferocious and furious beast of all is the unicorn, or "monoceros"; its body resembles a horse, its head resembles a deer, its legs are like those of an elephant, and its tail is like a boar, it neighs in a disgusting voice, and in the middle of its forehead protrudes a black horn two cubits long. it is impossible to catch a wild animal alive (VIII, 21)" (quoted in [Borges, 1999, p. 53]).

"A white horse with antelope forelegs, a goatee beard, and a long, screw-shaped horn protruding from its forehead (such is the usual image of this fantastic beast)", as H. L. Borges notes, will appear only in the XIV century. [Ibid., p. 55]. In the heraldic bestiary of medieval Europe, among monsters and chimerical animals, such a unicorn is one of the most frequently encountered characters [Pasturo, 2003, p.63].

The origins of the unicorn image may be shared by everyone, but the Chinese unicorn has its own life and legend that distinguishes it from the European one. The Chinese unicorn is called a qilin. Sometimes the name " qilin "is interpreted as a combination of two words:" qi " - male," lin " - female. There is an assumption that this name is borrowed from the Tocharian language. The Central Asian Tokhara people already had contacts with the ancient Chinese in the first millennium BC, and through their mediation, the Indian image of the unicorn could have penetrated into China (Ivanov, 1992, pp. 8-31).

The Chinese unicorn is a totem animal, an extremely important symbol that surpasses its counterpart in European cultures. Even today, it remains one of the most positive images in traditional culture. For example, the song "Qilin giving a child" (a sitting child is shown on the back of a unicorn) is a wish for the couple to have a son, and for the baby to have a brilliant career [Kravtsova, 2004, p. 395]. The image of a unicorn on silver plaques from Xiongnu burials corresponds to the verbal description that is available in Chinese sources. All descriptions are made according to the archaic principle of likening individual parts of the qilin to parts of the body of real animals: the qilin has the body of a deer, but smaller (or the body of a roe deer), the neck of a wolf, the tail of a bull, one horn on the forehead or a pair of deer horns, the hooves of a horse (or cow), multi-colored (or brown) wool, the head of a ram according to some descriptions, it has wings (for example, see [Riftin, 1979, p. 15, 101; 1992, p. 622; Kravtsova, 2004, p. 396]).

Silver plates from Xiongnu mounds depict the image of an animal resembling a mountain goat: he has a head decorated with a distinctive beard, but a less massive body and a bull's tail. The unnaturally elongated, long necks of animals with a line of fluffy wool highlighted by chasing * are striking. The horn, located exactly in the center of the skull, on the top of the head, between the ears, does not know the prototype. It's a strange backward-curved hook. Of course, such a horn can not hurt anyone, which is, judging by written sources, a feature of this qilin. In Chinese mythology, the unicorn is the most important of all animals. Unlike the European one, it is an exceptionally peaceful, noble animal, its non - sharp horn can not cause any harm. One unicorn horn symbolizes the unity of the state or the autocracy of the sovereign. It was believed that the appearance of the qilin brought with it peace and prosperity in nature. In the "Shi Jing" poem "Lin-unicorn", the qilin appears as a symbol of the descendants of the princely family. According to popular belief, it was the unicorn that carried on its back to the progenitor of the Fu Xi civilization the signs from which writing originated [Malyavin, 2000, p. 340]. The extant song plot reflects the protective functions of the unicorn:

O thou Unicorn!
With your hoof
You save our sons!
O thou Unicorn!
O thou Unicorn!
With your brow
Keep our family safe!
O thou Unicorn!
O thou Unicorn!
With your horn
You save our race!
O thou Unicorn!

[Khrestomatiya..., 1963, p. 428].

Unicorn-a symbol of a virtuous and wise person-appears on people only during the general happiness and prosperity, is considered the personification of humanity, mercy and nobility. The emblem with the image of a qilin was used as a badge of distinction for military officials of the first (highest) rank [Kravtsova, 2004, p. 395].

All animals depicted on silver plaques have a certain set of signs of real animals, but they are not, they can not find an analogue in nature, although it seems that each of them resembles someone, and it looks quite viable. So, on four small plaques, cloven-hoofed animals are depicted lying with bent legs, with a body that-

* It is clear what was the basis for identifying the qilin with the giraffe (for the first time this was done by A.D. De Grote). This association was opposed by B. Laufer (Terentyev-Katansky, 2004, p. 71).)

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the swarm could belong to a deer or goat, but with a bull's tail, beardless expressionless muzzles with goat horns (see Figure 7). Two large plaques show animals with unnaturally long necks, with bearded and horned goat faces. They stand with their left front leg raised (see Figure 5). Above their small, compact bodies, a bull's tail with a lush brush rises on short, thick legs with powerful hooves. Similar "goats" with bushy tails are depicted on two plaques from Mound 7 of the Tsaram burial ground (see Figures 1, 10, 11). Four identical, judging by the horns, young deer (exactly the same" young " horns of a deer on a badge from the collection of "Asian art" by Jonathan Tooker (see Figures 1, 2)) and on a plate from mound 6 in Noin-Ul (see Figures 1, 6). All these animals, depicted with disproportionately large heads and long necks, are directly related to the unicorn. In ancient times, the female unicorn-tench-was represented as a white deer. According to Izushi Yoshihiko, the image of the qilin developed on the basis of ideas about the deer; in ancient texts, the qilin is mentioned along with deer (see: [Riftin, 1992, p. 622]). When the image of a maral deer miraculously appeared in the palace of the Han Emperor Wu-di, it was interpreted as a qilin signifying the return of justice (Terentyev-Katansky, 2004, p. 71). It is known that one of the judges of Emperor Shun owned a "one-horned goat", which refused to attack the falsely accused and gored the guilty [Borges, 1999, p. 57]. Perhaps the images of fantastic animals on the silver plaques from mound 20 in Noin-Ul and their analogues from other monuments are Qin and lin - males and females of unicorn qilins.

The ornaments in question, probably a gift from the imperial court to the Xiongnu, formed part of the" five lures " that were supposed to persuade the nomads to obey. Gifts bearing the image of Qilin, which in Chinese mythology was endowed with numerous exceptionally positive characteristics, could be passed on to the highest representatives of the Xiongnu elite - the Shanyu - for "educational" purposes. Probably, these images of unicorns are intended not so much to raise the status of shanyu, but to indicate his subordinate position. Other people's symbols, endowed with a large mythological content, fixed for centuries, in a different culture, may have performed exactly the opposite role.

It is impossible to imagine the Xiongnu Shanyu completely ignorant of Han symbolism. Some of them visited the imperial court by invitation, others, being at the court as hostages, got acquainted with all the benefits and subtleties of Han culture, had Chinese wives who, together with their entourage, were conductors of the culture of the Middle Empire among the Xiongnu elite. Do not forget about high-ranking Chinese defectors, as well as prisoners who went to the service of the Xiongnu. But probably, even knowing of the hidden threat of such gifts, the Xiongnu used the magnificent items for their intended purpose - as decorations for horse harnesses.

It is also possible that the Chinese images of the Hongnu unicorn had their own content. The titulature of the local tribal nobility includes the designation of ten high dignitaries from the relatives of the Shanyu as four and six "horns" (for more information, see: [Kradin, 2002, pp. 143-144]). In pastoral societies, horns were endowed with various sacred properties (including the properties of a talisman). "It is quite possible that the semantics of this titulature (four horns - four parts of society, four cardinal directions, four world trees) is a reflection of the Xiongnu picture of the universe" [Ibid., p. 205]. In such a society as the Xiongnu society, the image of a unicorn was quite understandable and a positive symbol. The medieval Turks, whose ancestors may have been the Xiongnu, revered Bulan, a mythical unicorn, whose horn was a container of rain and snow (Schaeffer, 1981, p.127).

The dragon, one of the oldest and most widespread syncretic images, was depicted on the silver horse harness plaques from Mound 20 in Noin-Ul. The dragon in one form or another has found a place in various cultures in all parts of the world. There is an assumption that the image of the dragon reflects real-life reptile fossils. Thus, the remains of extinct animals - dinosaur bones found in a number of regions of China, or diplodocus that lived in the Mesozoic on the territory of the Shandong Peninsula-may have had a certain significance for the composition of the image of the Chinese dragon. Since ancient times," Dragon bones " have been considered a medicine that has a colossal yang power. Li Shi-zhen , a great pharmacologist and physician who lived in the Ming Dynasty (XV century), author of the reference work on medical issues "Ben-cao gang-mu", gives images of these "bones" (a skull with horns resembling the skull of a herbivorous dinosaur, several vertebrae, a paw partially mummified) and mentions dried corpses, discarded dragon skin. He points out places where "dragon bones" can be found : in cliff walls, caves on river banks in the provinces of Sichuan, Shanxi, Yanzhou, Cangzhou, and Taishan (Terentyev-Katansky, 2004, p. 34; Visser, 2008, p.99). The discovery of dinosaur eggs may have given rise to the legend that dragons are born from an egg.

M. V. Visser came to the conclusion that today in China, as in the most ancient times, the dragon is considered to be

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a water animal related to the snake that usually sleeps in ponds in winter and wakes up in spring. This is the god of thunder, water, clouds and rain, the center of yang, a symbol of imperial power [2008, p. 43].

The images of dragons found in mound 20 in Noin-Ul are among the best both in terms of compositional solution and in terms of conveying a surprisingly vivid image that was created by an ancient torevt master. The Noin-Ulin dragon embodies the traits of animals, birds, and reptiles. It has a serpentine, curved body covered with a wavy pattern with a flattened back in round scales, tiger wings and paws with sharp spurs. On the paws-three claws (if there were five-it would already be an imperial symbol, three could afford the princes of the blood). The curved thin tail smoothly merges into the frame surrounding the entire image. Small strands of hair are marked on the back of the neck and rump. Muzzle - with a pig's snout, a thin long beard, lush sideburns, small straight horns and ears, under the convex brow arches - expressive large human eyes. Images of dragons are covered with gold foil.

Dragon figures decorating the horse gave it draconic properties (the winged dragon horse is one of the popular Han mythological characters). Winged dragons in ancient times carried the legendary mythical Emperor Huang-di and flood suppressor Yu, and immortal Xian flew on them [Ibid., p. 88]. Images of dragons are among the 12 symbolic ornaments of the sacred imperial robe, and they are also present on the imperial banners. The yellow dragon (it was distinguished by its yellow gold color and five claws) was proclaimed the official emblem of the imperial power by the founder of the Han Dynasty. The silver plaques with golden dragons found in the Xiongnu burial mound have no direct analogues in Han art. These unique images are found in later embroidery on royal robes (for example, see: [Malyavin, 2000, p. 340]).

Silver plaques with images of a Yellow (gold) dragon with three claws on its paws, found in a burial in northern Mongolia, are another important touch to the portrait of the unknown (or unknown) [Chikisheva, Polosmak, and Volkov, 2009, p. 150], for which mound 20 was constructed in Noin-Ul. By Chinese standards, this person had a very high social status. Probably, such symbolic images as the golden winged dragon could only be presented to shanyu. It is another matter that many of the gifts that Shanyu received from the Han court were usually given to those close to him - this principle was the basis of his power and authority in the Steppe. Therefore, it is not yet possible to determine who was buried in such a magnificent structure as mound 20 in Noin-Ula only by the composition of the funeral utensils. The period to which the finds we are considering relate and in which the owners of these things lived-the last years of the first century BC. e. - the first decades of the first century AD. e. At this time, the Xiongnu intensified their foreign policy-regularly raided China, weakened by the unstable political situation. The reign of the usurper Wang Mang was marked by a continuous series of Xiongnu-Chinese wars. The Xiongnu restored the border that existed under the first Shan-yu, captured the Western edge. During the period we are interested in, the Xiongnu changed several Shanyu. In 8 BC, Wuju-zhodi came to power. After his death in 13 A.D., Hyan succeeded to the throne. In 18, he died, and his brother Yu became shanyu. Each of the brothers could have been buried in a mound in the Noin-Ula mountains. Each had their own relationship with the Han, and each was surrounded by close people who found their last refuge near the graves of the Shanyu. Among those close to them could be prominent military leaders of non-Xiongnu tribes and even Chinese. It is known, for example, that in 10 AD a number of major Chinese military leaders from the Western Region went over to the side of the Xiongnu. Some of them received magnificent titles and occupied a corresponding position in nomadic society [Materials..., 1973, p. 56-57]. In burials with such status Han items as the silver plaques with unicorns and dragons that we are considering, they could also be buried.

Conclusions

Silver plaques-horse harness ornaments found in rich mounds on the territory of Xiongnu burial grounds, were made by Chinese craftsmen. These items were intended not so much for gifts to nomads, but for internal use.

Similar items are found, except for Xiongnu graves, only in the territory of Han China. These are random finds and items from burial complexes. Five unicorn plaques were found in a burial site in Xilin County in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China (see Figs. 1, 9) [Pogrebenie..., 1978, pp. 45, 49, Fig. 3]. Two more plaques were found in the burial site of Xilin County in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China.

* It is believed that he was buried in mound 6 of the burial ground in Noin-Ul; evidence is provided by the richness of the mound and the inscription on a Chinese lacquer cup dated 2 BC. According to written sources, it is known that in 2 BC he (Wujulu) was received by the emperor and received many rich gifts [Bernstam, 1937, pp. 956-963].

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with the image of winged gazelles were located in the Han grave N1 of the Xiucungang district of Qi prov. 1, 8) [Brief report..., 2000, p. 42, fig. 11]. Twelve large silver inlaid plaques with the image, probably of a predator unicorn, were recorded during the excavation of grave 219 of the Sogamni monument in Naninan (North Korea) (see Figs. 1, 4) [The ancient culture.., 2001, cat. 51]. Several of these items from random finds in Northern and Northeastern China are kept in private collections (see Figures 1, 1-3). This is not a complete list of well - known metal plaques-horse harness ornaments in the form of gourds with images of fantastic animals that are included in the Chinese bestiary (dragons, unicorns, dragon horses, phoenixes, deer). Many of the images include typically Chinese decorations in the form of "cloud ribbons". Items similar to those found in mound 20 in Noin-Ul have not yet been found west of Mongolia. Probably, their range is as close as possible to the place of manufacture.

All the metal parts of horse equipment found in the elite Xiongnu mounds-copper amalgam-covered psalms and head caps, spring-loaded buckles and bits-are made in China and have a wide range of analogues. Apparently, all the horse harness, including jewelry found in rich Xiongnu graves, was a gift from the Chinese court to the Shanyu.

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The article was submitted to the Editorial Board on 08.11.10.

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