2026. no 3. Nadezhda Tochilova

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22378/kio.2026.3.108-123

The problem of Eastern influences in applied art of Novgorod the Great in 13th–14th centuries

Nadezhda Tochilova
Saint Petersburg State Academy of Art and Design named after A.L.Stieglitz
Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation;
Yaroslav the Wise Novgorod State University
Veliky Novgorod, Russian Federation

Abstract. The article deals with a number of 13th–14th century applied art archaeological objects with zoomorphic images that were found during archaeological excavations in Novgorod the Great. The beasts have a wide range of stylistic parallels with images, which were formed by the artistic tradition of the Golden Horde, Yuan and Hulaguid dynasties. The study of the stylistic and iconographic aspects of beast images, which includes predators and two types of dragons, allows us to articulate a problem of origin. The artistic tradition of the Far East inspired the first type of dragon. The second type with two winged paws was formed by another artistic tradition, which should be researched. A separate problem is the attribution of the finds, of which only one was immediately identified. The other overlays were presumably part of the saddle`s decoration. This hypothesis is based on the finding of the ceremonial saddle from a nomad`s burial near the Filya village (13th–14th centuries).

Keywords: bone carving; Pax Mongolica; Veliky Novgorod; archaeology of Old Rus’; Golden Horde; the art of Old Rus`; Mongol conquest

For citation: Tochilova N.N. The problem of Eastern influences in applied art of Novgorod the Great in 13th–14th centuries. Krymskoe istoricheskoe obozrenie=Crimean Historical Review. 2026, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 108–123. https://doi.org/10.22378/kio.2026.3.108-123 (In Russian)

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nadezhda N. Tochilova – Cand. Sci. (Art History), Associate Professor at the Department of Theory and History of Spatial Arts, Saint Petersburg State Academy of Art and Design named after A.L.Stieglitz (13, Solyanoy lane, Saint Petersburg 191028, Russian Federation); Associate Professor of the Department of Russian History and Archeology, Yaroslav the Wise Novgorod State University (41, Bolshaya Sankt-Peterburgskaya, Veliky Novgorod 173003, Russian Federation); ORCID: 0000-0002-9152-113Х; Researcher ID: AAX-4634-2021; Scopus Autor ID: 57220073249. E-mail: arhivolt@yandex.ru

Received 14.04.2026

Accepted 03.06.2026