These luxury goods were made by West Asian craftsmen for Scythian rulers, with the gold overlays of the two swords and the axe from Kelermes and Melhuniv implying that the Scythians were then under strong Urartian artistic influence or that Urartian craftsmen were producing metalwork for Scythian patrons. Scythian chariot parts, ritual horse attire, bowls, stolls, clothing elements, personal jewellery such as diadems and earrings, especially, were borrowed from West Asians through the intermediary of West Asian craftsmen, who might have accompanied the Scythians back into their Ciscaucasian core territory, where their skills were highly prized.
These luxury goods were made by West Asian craftsmen for Scythian rulers, with the gold overlays of the two swords and the axe from Kelermes and Melhuniv implying that the Scythians were then under strong Urartian artistic influence or that Urartian craftsmen were producing metalwork for Scythian patrons. Scythian chariot parts, ritual horse attire, bowls, stolls, clothing elements, personal jewellery such as diadems and earrings, especially, were borrowed from West Asians through the intermediary of West Asian craftsmen who might have accompanied the Scythians back into their Ciscaucasian core territory, where their skills were highly prized