320 - Pendant in the shape of a horse. Ob River region, Yugra, 10th–12th centuries AD. L 6 cm. Bronze pendant depicting a stylized horse. Open Objet Database (OBJET.art) No. NT9TUX (https://objet.art/subscriptions/66df008ee5f9ab725c30f87b). – Image: OBJET.art. Gray patina, intact. Provenance: From the Belgian art market; formerly in a Finnish private collection (1990s–2015); formerly in a Finnish private collection (1940s–1990s). In the Middle Ages, openwork ornaments were widespread in the Perm region and in Western Siberia. These artfully crafted decorations adorned embroidered belts and clothing and even found their way into women’s braids. While the Scythians and Sarmatians of the steppe adorned their horses with similar ritual objects, the forest-dwelling ancestors of the Khanty and Mansi wore these ornaments close to their bodies. Zoomorphic, openwork ornaments with filigree patterns have been found in the Ural Mountains and in Siberia; most date from the 7th century CE and later. According to Sarmatian tradition, horse sacrifices were offered for the deceased, a custom still practiced in Ossetia today. The ritual of sacrificing a white horse—associated with the sun and the sky—which originated in the time of the Rigveda and was transmitted via Iran and Sogdiana, lives on in the rituals of the Ugric peoples and is ethnographically documented among the Mansi. In the animal-style art of the Perm region, depictions of horses are often accompanied by solar symbols, which underscore their connection to the heavens. In addition, votive tablets featuring horse motifs serve as symbolic substitutes for actual offerings and illustrate the enduring cultural and symbolic significance of the horse in ancient rituals and beliefs.