This object is an ornament for a sword scabbard. It is said to come from southern Russia, from the lands of the Scythians. The Scythians were a nomadic, horse-raising people who buried their chieftains with splendid golden objects. This piece may come from such a burial, but its decoration is in the spirit of Greek art. The Greeks established colonies along the Black Sea coast; Greek goldsmiths sometimes worked for Scythian patrons.

The decoration shows Greek warriors fighting with barbarians. Left of the center, a nude Greek has fallen; a comrade attempts to defend him from a barbarian spear. To the right, another Greek lunges forward. His opponent sinks to his knees. The kneeling barbarian fills the reduced height of the scabbard at this point. Further to the right, fallen horses and men fill even smaller spaces. In the triangular reserve at the top, the fierce energy of the battle scene finds its animal counterpart: a lion and a griffin attack two deer.

Greeks and non-Greeks are fighting here, but the artist has neither favored the Greeks nor belittled the barbarians. Both look equally noble, and we cannot tell which side will be victorious.