Art First_Bulgarian_Empire

the madara rider

the representative surviving art monument madara rider, large relief carving commissioned khan tervel following triumph in 705. relief of kind, having no parallel in europe. relief depicts composition of horseman, lion , dog @ 23 m above ground level in vertical 100 m high cliff of madara plateau. figures in motion. rider, facing right, thrusting spear lion lying @ horse s feet, , on left dog running after horseman. carving of horseman halo, garments, bird in front of horseman face, barely recognizable due erosion , bad condition of monument. madara rider included in unesco world heritage list in 1979.

the meaning , symbolism of depiction uncertain, actual masonry tradition , cultural source. origin of relief connected bulgar ethnogenesis – the semi-nomadic equestrian warrior culture eurasian steppe. madara rider bears resemblance persian sasanian rock relief tradition. hero-horseman common character of turko-altaic , alanic mythology. considered horseman represents or related bulgar deity tangra, while russian philologist vladimir toporov related iranian deity mithra. considered example of thracian horseman – a recurring motif of deity in form of horseman in paleo-balkanic mythology.

sculpture , stone carving well-developed supply demand public , sacral buildings. many details of marble carving have been excavated in preslav. decoration included animals such griffins, rabbits , birds, vegetative elements (most palmettes , grape leaves) , geometric motifs. there three-dimensional animal figures discovered in church no. 1 in preslav, including heads of lions , lionesses.