Animal Style in the Xiongnu Era: The Making of a New Elite

Steppe zoomorphic design underwent many changes after the rise of the first Eurasian nomadic empire, that of the Xiongnu. Through trade with far-flung domains like Bactria or more familiar neighbouring cultures like China, the Xiongnu leader and other members of the elite nucleus wished to assert their legitimacy not only to their peers but also to the growing and increasingly diverse nomadic collective. The new self-fashioning strategy among the Xiongnu nobility is exemplified by the decreased presence of animal-style artworks and the growing occurrence of foreign goods, materials and designs in tomb inventories. Still, the Xiongnu elite aimed to strike a balance between two identities: that of a worldly trade partner and astute politician in an increasingly global Eurasian milieu, and that of a proper nomadic warrior with sacral ties to the steppe landscape. It is this balancing act, and the role of the newly formulated animal style in it, that the chapter sets out to investigate. Having established the changing nature of nomadic ornament under the Xiongnu, the author then proceeds to show that a new Sino-Steppe zoomorphic visuality entered the funerary repertoires of both China and its distant spheres of political influence.