The image of bird-maiden in art of Russia, India and Iran

The image of a bird with the head or torso of a woman (less often a man) has been common in vast territories since ancient times. This image almost simultaneously appeared in the art of Mesopotamia and Egypt in the I-II millennium BC, and then it manifested itself in almost all the bright artistic cultures of the Eurasian continent from the East to the West. The image of a bird-maiden can be found in the art of Southeast Asia, India, the Silk Road oases, Maverannahr (modern Uzbekistan), Iran, Russia, Greece, Spain, France and many others.The surprising stability of this image makes obvious the assumption of its universal features and at the same time draws research attention to its individual traits in each culture. In this material, attention will be paid to its dissemination, existence and peculiarities in the art of India, Iran and Russia. Along with other groups, the languages of these countries are part of the common Indo-European family of languages, and in the history of culture they have shown a deep interconnection at the level of mythology, ritual and features of the language, which has been sufficiently well studied. In this case, emphasis will be placed on the generality of the visual image of the maiden-bird, the external signs of which remain practically unchanged for centuries. Over time, in the iconography of this image are added only minor details (crown, halo, sometimes attributes). The maiden bird in each culture bears its name, has its own external and symbolic features, differently manifested itself in mythology and literary sources, which will also be given attention in the report. In the Buddhist art of India, the name of the bird possessing the head and torso of the woman is Kinnari. In the art of Iran, the name of this image is unknown, but for the first time this image appeared on stone seals, giving an impression in the form of a bird with a man s head, dating back to the VI- IV centuries BC. In Russian art, these are widely loved images of Sirin and Alkonost, related to the ideas of paradise. In all three cultures and visual iconography, the depiction of the maiden-bird has a stable but peripheral character, it never becomes the main character and is rather generally and vaguely described in literary sources, manifesting itself fully in folk art.At the moment it is impossible to determine whether a maiden bird appeared in different cultures at the same time or it was some historical relay race - the borrowing of the image of neighboring territories during cultural exchange. For the time being, it can be noted that the nomadic image did not occur in a linear historical movement, just like the historical artistic ties themselves, which are very rarely built into a linear community.

Keywords:

maiden bird , women bird , Indian art , Iran art , kinnary , Russian art , Sirin , folk art