Scythian Gorytus

[John Conyard]

I had to make a a Scythian gorytus, a combined bow case and arrow quiver.

Unlike every other bow case I've made, the Scythian examples have the bow string uppermost which seems a unique feature. I have used relatively heavy leather in the past, which is unnecessary, so for this gorytus I used thin light leather.

I took a long hard look at http://www.atarn.org/chinese/scythian_bows.htm and the designs of bow cases. ATARN is a great resource.

The bow case is no more than simple folded leather, with reinforced edges. I spent some time considering the arrow quiver. The shape I modelled on existing gold plaques. But I wanted to maintain a smooth front all the way to the bottom of the quiver for aesthestic reasons so just folded the leather into the bottom of the case. The alternative would be to make a foot or bucket for the whole case to sit in.

I copied the artwork from depictions of bow cases in Scythian art. I dyed and painted the decoration since I was not too sure just how much dyed linen thread the Scythians would have used for decoration. I did buy some human hair extensions ........... to set into sheep and goose bone to decorate the gorytus.

It was a simple and relatively fun thing to make. For the picture I stuffed it with 24 arrows, only a few of which were period. The case is light and small compared to my later examples.


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