CENTRAL ASIAN ARTS

Music
Music in Central Asia flowered along centuries-old caravan routes
linking the Middle East with China and India via what is often referred to as
Turkistan, the vast region extending from the Caspian Sea to Sinkiang
province in China Musical instruments diffused from one region to another,
and man! of the musical st!les still displa! foreign influence The variet! of
musical st!les ranges from the s!stematicall! organi"ed classical music of
Turkistan to the notated religious chants of Ti#et to the highl! varied folk
music st!les of the region$s numerous ethnic groups The main thrust of this
examination of Central Asian music will #e on the traditions and st!les first of
Afghanistan and the sedentar! population of Turkistan, then of the Turkic
nomads, the Mongols, and the Si#erian peoples, and finall! of the %imala!an
peoples in Ti#et, &hutan, 'epal, and Sikkim
AFGHANISTAN AND THE SEDENTARY POPULATION OF
TURKISTAN
This region of Central Asia includes Afghanistan, ("#ekistan,
Tad"hikistan, and the oases of eastern )Chinese* Turkistan The region lies
within the +ersian cultural area, and in the arts and in language the +ersian
imprint has endured over man! centuries In music the links with +ersia
appear most clearl! in terminolog! and instruments Islam, another Middle
Eastern heritage, predominates in this region and results in a generall! low
social status for musicians and musical performance--a situation generall! not
found in other regions of Central Asia
The area includes two main streams of musical practice, folk music in a
#road range of st!les, often closel! linked to specific ethnic groups- and the
more exclusive, cosmopolitan, classical music, derived from the medieval
court music of &ukhara, Samarkand, and other ur#an centres of Transoxania
)modern ("#ekistan, Tad"hikistan, and Turkmenistan* A third stream is now
in the process of formation, popular music disseminated through the mass
media
Folk music.
.enerall! characteri"ed #! a scarcit! of musicians and musical
instruments, folk music of this region is predominantl! a matter of solo
pla!ing and singing, small ensem#les, and a complete lack of musical notation
or codified musical theor! In their general t!pes, the musical instruments are
closel! related to those of +ersia and the Middle East, #ut specific forms and
pla!ing st!les are purel! local Thus, there are numerous variants of the
+ersian long-necked lute, with names derived from the +ersian tan#ur or
dutar- small spike fiddles, in which the neck skewers the #od!, forming a
spike at the #ase- various #lock or fipple flutes, with air ducts like that of the
/estern recorder- transverse )hori"ontall! held* flutes- o#oes- metal 0ew$s
harps- and two #asic drum t!pes, a single-headed vase-shaped drum of
potter! or wood and a large single-headed frame drum, or tam#ourine--all
instrumental t!pes widel! diffused in the Middle East
St!listicall!, the music relates to that of #oth the Middle East and the
surrounding nomadic Turkic peoples of Central Asia Songs are completel!
monophonic )ie, consisting onl! of a line of melod!*, #ut instrumental music
often includes two-part pol!phon! )music in more than one voice, or part*
The pol!phon! ma! take the form of a drone )sustained note* with a melod!
pla!ed a#ove it 1r it ma! #e organum st!le--ie, the second part pla!ing the
same melod! as the first #ut at a higher or lower pitch Most common are
parallel fourths or fifths )a fourth encompasses four notes of a /estern ma0or
or minor scale- a fifth, five* In structure, much of the music is #ased on small
forms, fre2uentl! #inar!, or two-section, and ternar!, or three-section Small
musical units ma! #e repeated man! times and varied slightl! at each
appearance The recurrence of melodic phrases and an emphasis on marked
rh!thms is common and is related to the fre2uent role of music as dance
accompaniment Thus in the following example, a dance tune from Afghan
Turkistan, sections A and & are similar in their overall melodic structure and
also in the small units of three or four notes on which the! are #uilt The
se2uence A&A& and so on, is repeated throughout the dance
3ocal music ma! have greater rh!thmic flexi#ilit! and melodic range,
#ut in form it is almost alwa!s su#ordinated to the structure of the song text
4uatrains such as the ru#ai and char#aitai are the most prominent village verse
forms, with the exception of the lundai, a couplet used #! the nomadic
+ashtuns of Afghanistan In the ur#an oases, couplet forms #ased on the
classical +ersian gha"al, a l!ric poem of 5 to 67 couplets, are more common
The generall! negative attitude of Islam toward music has led in
Afghanistan to strictures against musical performance and to extremel! low
social status for musicians Music is heard mainl! in male-dominated pu#lic
teahouses or at private cele#rations such as weddings and circumcisions
/omen ma! have their own musical genres within their enclosures- in this
context the strong tradition of women$s music in the 8ergana 3alle! of
("#ekistan is noteworth!
/ithin this general picture there is enormous diversit! The ("#eks )a
Turkic people* and Tad"hikis )an Iranian group*, who live side #! side across
northern Afghanistan and southern Turkistan, tend to share man! musical
traits and instruments In contrast, most groups, such as the +ashtuns, %a"aras,
and &aluchs of Afghanistan and +akistan or, in the extreme, the isolated
mountain peoples of 'uristan in Afghanistan and of the +amirs in
Tad"hikistan and Afghanistan, have maintained distinctive musical st!les and,
in some cases, uni2ue musical instruments The 'uristani va0i, an arched
harp )having a #ow-shaped #od! with no forepillar*, is a striking case of the
possi#le survival of an instrument t!pe on the margins of a now disintegrated
culture area- there are no other harp traditions toda! #etween the Caucasus and
&urma, although iconographic evidence indicates that in ancient times harps
were widespread in Central Asia, the Middle East, and India The music of the
%a"aras includes vocal effects produced #! striking the throat while singing,
causing a #reak in the sound, and &aluchi music also features a #roken-voice
st!le
Classical music.
In contrast to the folk music st!les 0ust descri#ed, the court-derived
classical st!le of &ukhara and Samarkand represents a highl! s!stematic,
theoreticall! grounded, cosmopolitan musical tradition 9!ing along the
medieval Silk :oad, the Turkistani oases were open to musical cross-currents
Toda!$s musical roots ma! reach #ack to the period in which ur#an Central
Asian music was in vogue at T$ang d!nast! courts in China )56;-<=>* The
movement of musical instruments across the caravan trail from the Middle
East to China via Central Asia is well documented since earl! times 1ver the
centuries, town musicians evolved an ur#an st!le patroni"ed #! the local
courts, nota#l! under Timur )Tamerlane* and his descendants )c 6?7=-67==*
in %erat )now in Afghanistan* and Samarkand The degree of musical
eclecticism characteristic of the era is illustrated #! a court historian$s
description of the festivities of Timur$s son,
.olden-tongued singers and sweet-sounding musicians pla!ed and sang to
motives @melodic figuresA in +ersian st!le, to Ara# melodies according to
Turkish practice and with Mongol voices, following Chinese laws of singing
and Altai meters
&! the 6>th centur! the court st!le had #een codified into sets of
nonimprovised suites of instrumental and vocal pieces using poetic texts in
classical +ersian and local court Turkish )Chaghatai* In &ukhara this
collection of suites was known as the Shashma2am, or six ma2ams )suites*,
with each ma2am )an Ara#ic term, #ut changed in meaning* set in one of the
classical +ersian musical modes )The +ersian modes are melodic frameworks,
each with a given scale, t!pical melodic figures, and accepted emotional
content* :egional courts and large towns developed their own sets of
ma2ams, performed in unison #! an orchestra and a male chorus
Areas of Turkistan under Soviet rule #etween a#out 6<B= and 6<<6
underwent far-reaching modification of traditional music practice, although
the older st!les such as the Shashma2am were also maintained Changes
include the reconstruction of local instruments to fit the /estern musical scale
of 6B e2uall! spaced half steps, esta#lishment of music schools and
conservatories, creation of orchestras of folk instruments, introduction of
vocal pol!phon!, and the writing of works in /estern forms )s!mphonies,
operas, cham#er music* #! native and European Soviet composers In
Afghanistan, musical change #egan on a national #asis in the 6<7=s under the
influence of :adio Afghanistan, which #roadcasts principall! popular st!les
#ased on +ashtun folk music and songs of the Indian film industr!
TURKIC NOMADS, MONGOLS, AND SIERIAN PEOPLES
This region includes primaril! the great open spaces of Central Asia,
from the Turkmen desert in the southwest to the Ca"akh steppes, Mongol
plains, and from the .o#i to the vast su#arctic Si#erian evergreen forests, or
taiga, and tundra, or Arctic plains, stretching to the +acific The considera#le
mo#ilit! and often close linguistic affinit! of the peoples in the area led to
su#stantial interchange of musical terms and instruments and to common
social functions of music relating to the traditional tri#al social structure of
most of the groups of this region
Social !ol" o# music.
Three #asic functions of music are common throughout most of the
region, music as ritual, with magical connotations )shamanism*- music as
tri#al record, aiding group solidarit! )epic recitation*- and music as
entertainment )itinerant performers, festivals* Music is the medium of the
shaman, or priest-medicine man, as he performs his role as mediator #etween
the seen, or human #eings, and the unseen, the spirits that inha#it the spheres
a#ove and #elow the earth Traditional shamanistic sDances were creative,
impassioned musico-dramatic scenes produced #! a single performer, the
shaman 'ot onl! is music the shaman$s aid in inducing the trance that ena#les
him to contact spirits, #ut in Si#eria his drum )a ver! large tam#ourine* ma!
#e considered a steed for the trip to other worlds
Thus great attention is given to each stage of drum construction, from
selecting the wood of certain trees to the painting of s!m#olicall! charged
designs on the drumhead The metal hangings, sometimes including #ells, on
the shaman$s costume also pla! a musical role Among the Cirgi" and
Ca"akhs and until recentl! among the Turkmens, a fiddle with horsehair
strings and #ow perform the same function as the Si#erian drum Metal
ringlets are attached to the head of the fiddle, and a niche is hollowed there for
a mirror to catch the reflections of spirits Shamans$ horsehair fiddles can even
#e found among townspeople of northern Afghanistan The occurrence of
shamanism has sharpl! declined in the portions of Central Asia that were
formerl! Soviet states
Epic recitation, which ma! serve as tri#al histor!, also has magical
overtones Among Turks, the same term )#akhshi* ma! #e used for #oth
shamans and #ards, and #oth ma! #e called to their trade #! spirits to undergo
a difficult period of initiation Stor!tellers use a fiddle or lute as
accompaniment, and tales ma! run through several nights of exhaustive
performance- one Cirgi" #ard is known to recite ?==,=== verses of the Manas,
the ma0or Cirgi" epic Such marathon performances are facilitated #! the use
of stereot!ped melodic motives--standard short melodic figures--often
invented #! the individual performer 9ocal epic traditions var! widel! in
dramati"ation--ie, the proportion of dialogue, monologue, and narrative
The third areawide musical function, entertainment, takes man! forms
1ne common diversion is the singing contest, in which rival minstrels
compete in wit and virtuosit! Such trials of skill are most nota#le among the
Cirgi", Ca"akhs, and Mongols The contests follow strict rules of
versification, musicalit!, and procedure 1ften the loser must pa! a forfeit to
the victor, who receives acclaim from the audience and gifts from wealth!
patrons- a singer$s reputation ma! #e made or #roken in a single afternoon
8re2uentl! a contestant will vilif! the clan championed #! the opposing singer
and laud his own faction In Si#eria another t!pe of entertainment is the
widespread practice of #ear festivals at specific times of the !ear, during
which a #ear is killed and its head displa!ed, to the accompaniment of music,
dance, and games
I$s%!um"$%al a$& 'ocal s%(l"s.
Across the region the principal instrument t!pes are lutes, with two or
three strings, the necks either fretted or fretless- fiddles, largel! horsehair
fiddles- flutes, mostl! open at #oth ends and either end-#lown or side-#lown-
and 0ews$ harps, either metal or, often in Si#eria, wooden 8ew percussion
instruments are found, except for the shaman$s magic drum Considera#le
instrumental pol!phon! is pla!ed on lutes and fiddles, particularl! among the
Turkic peoples 3ocal pol!phon! ma! occur in special wa!s, singers among
the Mongols and Tuvins )a Si#erian people northwest of Mongolia* can
produce two parts while singing solo, as in the example #elow, #! strongl!
reinforcing upper partials )overtones* while singing a ver! deep fundamental
pitch /est of the (rals, &ashkirs ma! hum a #asic pitch while pla!ing solo
flute pieces, and certain Si#erian peoples ma! sing choral overlapping
responsorial songs )in which group and soloist alternate, one #eginning
slightl! #efore the other finishes*
The vast geographic stretch of the region produces musical links to
neigh#ouring areas as well as highl! distinctive local st!les The Turkmens
live in Afghanistan and Iran as well as Turkistan and manifest some +ersian
influence in musical terms and instruments, !et the! possess uni2ue vocal and
instrumental st!les +articularl! striking is their series of guttural sounds
serving as vocal ornaments The Cirgi" and Ca"akhs, closel! related
musicall!, maintain ties to Mongol and northern st!les )eg, of the &ashkir
and Tatar peoples, west of the (rals* as well as to Turkistan 'evertheless,
their relaxed voice 2ualit!, musical scales, and distinctive instrumental
pol!phon! set them off 'oteworth! here is the versatile pol!phonic st!le of
the three-stringed Cirgi" komu" lute, #ased on extensive development of
short melodies called kernel tunes In the komu" piece shown #elow, the
kernel tune is stated in the first two measures and is varied and developed
ela#oratel! as the piece progresses Another Cirgi"-Ca"akh specialt! is
programmatic music, in which instrumentalists suggest situations or tell
specific stories without words, through musical images alone
The Mongols displa! links to #oth Chinese and Ti#etan music Chinese
influence is apparent in the use of certain instruments )eg, some flutes and
fiddles* and perhaps in the structure of melodies- Ti#etan impact appears in
the religious music and musical instruments of Ti#etan &uddhism, introduced
in the 65th centur! Mongolian music also has its own distinctive profile,
sporadicall! documented since the 6?th-centur! Secret %istor! of the
Mongols, the first written Mongolian chronicle 1f interest is the fact that
Arghun Chan, Mongol ruler of +ersia, sent a musician as emissar! to +hilip I3
the 8air of 8rance in 6B;< &ecause of the focal position of Mongolia at the
heart of Central Asia, some Mongol epic melodies have spread westward as
far as the Calm!ks on the 3olga :iver and eastward to the Ainu of Sakhalin
Island, north of Eapan Mongol songs ma! #e either 2uick and marked
rh!thmicall! or drawn-out in free rh!thm, with extensive melodic
ornamentation The Mongol horsehair fiddle accompanies a singer with
simultaneous variations on the melod!, a techni2ue called heterophon!
Si#erian music includes a #road spectrum of st!les over a huge
geographic expanse Man! uni2ue traditions occur, such as the #ridgeless,
often rectangular "ithers of the Chants and Mansi, (grian peoples along the
1# :iver- farther east, the solo flute-and-voice pol!phon! of the Tuvins and
&ashkirs- and the rapid, compact songs with nonsense s!lla#les of the .il!aks,
Chukots, and other peoples of the 8ar Eastern Amur :iver region and +acific
coast At that northeastern shore of Si#eria there is a carr!over of musical st!le
to the Ainu of northeastern Eapan, and possi#le musical ties are found #etween
the Eskimos of Asia and of 'orth America 1ther links #e!ond Central Asia
ma! exist at the far western end of Si#eria, for example, to the music of
9apland in the Scandinavian Arctic- or in the relation of tunes of certain
peoples of the 3olga :iver region, such as the Mari, or Cheremis, with old
%ungarian folk songs
1utside the few written Mongol references to music, the onl! approach
to discover! of the st!listic histor! of this region of Central Asia is through
fragmentar! information a#out musical instrument t!pes +erhaps the most
remarka#le instrument finds were made at +a"!r!k in south-central Si#eria,
where Soviet archaeologists found wooden o#0ects which possi#l! form pieces
of a harp and an artifact resem#ling a vase-shaped drum, #oth dating from the
7th centur! &C
THE HIMALAYAN PEOPLES
This region, including Ti#et, &hutan, 'epal, and Sikkim )which was
annexed to India in 6<>7*, occupies an important middle ground #etween
India and China, and its central position is reflected in the local music
cultures 1f utmost importance for musical life was the introduction of
&uddhism from India via Turkistan, #eginning in the >th centur! AF Music
#ecame an integral part of the official creed of Ti#etan &uddhism, and the
considera#le cultural influence of Ti#et spread Ti#etan religious music to the
near#! areas of 'epal, Sikkim, and &hutan and, much later, to Mongolia
Ti)"%a$ music.
Ti#etan religious music is the onl! Central Asian repertoire that has a
long histor! of written notation This notation, for liturgical chant, consists of
neumes--ie, s!m#ols representing melodic contour rather than precise pitch,
similar to the earliest music writing of medieval Europe Also distinctive is the
metaph!sical aspect of Ti#etan &uddhist music, related to Indian philosoph!
Each instrument of the monaster! orchestra, as well as the drawn-out tones of
chant, is #elieved to represent an externali"ed form of the mantras, or sounds
inherent in the human #od!, accessi#le otherwise onl! through steadfast
meditation 8or the monks, such music is a #asic aid to devotion and pra!er
Musical st!les var! somewhat among the sects of Ti#etan &uddhism, #ut the
#asic approach and instruments are the same
The monaster! instruments t!pif! the crossroads position of Ti#et
Some, such as the large c!m#als, stem from China, while others )the
ma0orit!*, such as the conch-shell trumpet and hand#ells, can #e traced to
Indian influence and are found as instruments of &uddhist worship as far awa!
as Eapan Still other instruments, such as the large o#oe and the 6=-foot metal
trumpet, are perhaps Middle Eastern in origin 1ne wind instrument, the short
trumpet made from a human leg #one, seems to #e of purel! local invention
Similarl!, the structure of the music seems #asicall! Ti#etan It is founded on
a principle of greatl! prolonged dense, deep sounds, such as unison long and
short trumpets with o#oe, or the seemingl! endless #ass chant of groups of
monks, whose long, drawn-out notes are punctuated #! sharp, extended #ursts
of percussion Each monk is said to #e a#le to sing two or even three notes
simultaneousl!
Much of this music emerges from monasteries onl! at festival time, when the
great $cham )dance* dramas, which ma! last several da!s, are performed for
the pu#lic$s entertainment and edification These pla!s, which generall! show
the triumph of &uddhism over &on, the earlier shamanistic religion of Ti#et,
ma! involve hundreds of musicians in the guise of masked dancers with
drums, #acked #! a large temple orchestra 1ther t!pes of pu#lic music also
a#ound, such as secular, perhaps Chinese-related historical pla!s with an
alternation of dialogue and songs with orchestral accompaniment There is
also a strong tradition of folk dance, which ma! include songs sung #! mixed
antiphonal choirs )ie, two alternating groups of singers* Minstrels pl! their
trade along the caravan routes and pla! instruments perhaps more related to
general Central Asian traditions than to the Indian and Chinese #ackground of
religious music
T*" music o# N"+al, *u%a$, a$& Sikkim.
9ittle is presentl! known a#out the music of 'epal, &hutan, and Sikkim
Minstrels pla! a ma0or role in the musical life of 'epal, where, under the
influence of Indian practice, musicians are classified according to caste and
each group is distinguished #! specific instruments and repertoire There
appears to #e a great deal of #oth Indian-related and indigenous folk music in
the three %imala!an kingdoms 3arieties of lute, such as the long-necked
dam!an of 'epal and its Sikkimese relative, ma! #e linked to a similar
instrument of the +amir Mountains, while a Sikkimese flute having an outside
air duct )in contrast to the inside duct of a /estern recorder* seems to #e a
uni2ue instrument The Sherpas of 'epal and other Ti#etan-related
populations of the %imala!as, along with the thousands of Ti#etan refugees
now living in the area,
maintain the traditions of Ti#etan &uddhist religious music The mani-rimdu
dance-drama of the Sherpas, a variant of $cham, is a good case in point
C"$%!al Asia$ A!%s
THE STUDY OF CENTRAL ASIAN MUSIC
In the /est the stud! of Central Asian music has until recentl! #een restricted
largel! to travellers$ accounts and anal!ses of small samples of music &! far
the #ulk of collection and stud! of Central Asian music of Turkistan and
Si#eria la! in the domain of Soviet scholars, who instituted s!stematic
fieldwork as earl! as the 6<B=s- this literature remains largel! inaccessi#le to
the non-:ussian reader Mongol music was the su#0ect of sporadic #ut
intensive fieldwork #! Scandinavian researchers in the 6<B=s and earl! 6<?=s,
so that some of the traditional music culture was documented #efore Mongol
societ! underwent the changes #rought #! war and the advent of socialism
Ti#etan music has attracted increasing attention since the late 6<7=s, when
large num#ers of Ti#etan refugees poured into the %imala!an kingdoms and
northern sectors of India, thus makingTi#etan music more accessi#le to
outside o#servation Afghanistan has #een the o#0ect of intensive musical
investigation onl! since the mid-6<5=s Thus, outside Soviet contri#utions,
Central Asia remains a lightl! researched although 2uite fertile area of musical
investigation
P"!#o!mi$, a!%s- &a$c" a$& %*"a%!"
The performing arts have pla!ed an important role in the spiritual and social
life of Central Asia, where the! evolved as didactic art forms within a
religious context +erformance, therefore, occurs in con0unction with some
religious or special event Two main t!pes of performance predominate
throughout Ti#et, 'epal, Sikkim, &hutan, Mongolia, and the former Soviet
repu#lics of Central Asia, those related to shamanism and those derived from
&uddhism The performing arts of the Turkic peoples of Afghanistan and
Turkistan are different from these #ecause of the influence of the Islamic
religion and are discussed in the article IS9AMIC A:TS, Fance and theatre
The %indu influence found in 'epalese theatre and dance is treated in the
article S1(T% ASIA' A:TS, Fance and theatre
Although primaril! intended to serve the overt purposes of religion, dance and
theatre in Central Asia are performing arts with covert aesthetic values 3ocal
and ph!sical expressions of appreciation #! an audience attending a
performance depend on the graceful and rh!thmic execution of hand gestures,
#od! movements, and footwork Aesthetic values are #est expressed in the
ela#orate and artistic costumes, masks, and makeup, coupled with effective
though crude stage effects and props
Musical instruments pla! an important role in the performance of Central
Asian dance and theatre (suall! a drum, #ut in some cases a string
instrument, is used #! the shaman to induce the ecstatic trance during which
he s!m#olicall! 0ourne!s to the heavens or to the netherworld when pla!ing
the role of a ps!chopomp, or conductor of souls +erformances of the
&uddhist monastic dance, known as $cham, and the &uddhist moralit! pla!s,
called a-che-lha-mo )Golder sister goddessG*, were accompanied #! a variet!
of instruments, especiall! drums and horns There were large and small drums,
short horns with fingering holes, and long horns, particularl! the dung-chen
)great conch shell* made of #rass and extending man! feet The dung-chen
with a deep haunting wail accentuates the maca#re that is so much a part of
$cham The Ti#etan guitar sgra-s!nan )pleasant sound* is a stringed instrument
used almost exclusivel! #! %imala!an peoples for folk song and dance
+erhaps #ecause of the su#0ectivism of their religions, it was not the custom
among the peoples of Central Asia to carr! out o#0ective studies of elements in
their cultures, and, therefore, no indigenous evaluation of their dance and
theatre is availa#le Although a few manuals for the performance of shamanic
rituals, music, and the 'cham do exist, as do scripts for the a-che-lha-mo, much
of the histor! and traditional staging of these forms of theatre and dance was
handed down #! oral tradition
SHAMANIC RITUAL
Teachings that spirits are responsi#le for unexplaina#le phenomena,
such as disease and death, and that these spirits can #e controlled #! an
individual with special powers, such as a shaman, evolved in man! primitive
societies throughout the world, including those of the nomadic peoples of
Central Asia The roles of the shaman include oracle, healer, sacrificer, and
ps!chopomp, and each role calls for the performance of specific rituals The
earliest form of theatre and dance in Central Asia, these rituals developed into
an often complex genre of the performing arts The horse-sacrifice ceremon!
among the Altaic peoples of east Central Asia, for example, em#races a full
range of dramatic elements despite the fact that like all shamanic ritual it is
essentiall! a one-man performance The ceremon!, which lasts two to three
da!s, is one in which the shaman undertakes a 0ourne! to the heavens After
having set the stage, the shaman s!m#olicall! releases the soul of a real horse
and then, astride a goose-shaped device, he chases the soul of the horse, all the
while imitating the noises of the goose and the horse Capturing the soul of the
horse, the shaman, with help from the audience, then kills the real horse, and
the flesh is prepared The next evening, the shaman offers pieces of the horse
meat to the spirits, and, amid loud drumming and chanting, s!m#olicall! goes
to the heavens on the soul of the horse while ascending a notched pole As he
ascends through the higher and higher heavenl! planes, the shaman
communicates to the audience important information, such as predictions
a#out the success of the coming harvest and a#out epidemics and misfortunes
that threaten and how to avoid them through sacrifices The ceremon! is
followed #! merr!making and drinking
Shamanism maintains that the soul of one who dies a heroic or violent death
ascends to the heavens, #ut that the soul of one who dies from disease, which
is caused #! an evil spirit, must go to the underworld The part of a
ps!chopomp, or conductor of souls to the netherworld, was, therefore, another
role commonl! pla!ed #! the shaman The shaman guides the soul to its
destination while narrating details of its 0ourne! to his audience In some
cultures, such as that of the 9olo, or Hi, in the mountains of southwestern
China, the souls of all the dead are led in this manner to the underworld- while
in others, such as that of the Tungus, a su#arctic forest people of eastern
Si#eria, the shaman is onl! called upon to act as ps!chopomp if the soul of the
deceased continues to haunt his residence
The shaman also serves as the repositor! of tri#al folklore and #eliefs
Through dance and dialogue, he instructs the audience in the traditional
teachings of their ancestors, and #! passing his knowledge and techni2ues
down to his successor, those teachings remain intact for future generations
:ituals for curing the sick, guiding the soul of the dead to the netherworld,
invoking a deit!, or visiting the heavens are performed #! the shaman in a
state of trance induced #! frenetic dancing to the music of a drum or a string
instrument Ela#orate, s!m#olic costumes and ritual o#0ects that are used in
the ceremon! provide a dramatic and m!stic spectacle The expectations of the
audience are directl! connected with the purpose of the shamanic
performance- #ut whether it is the hope that the patient would #e cured or that
the oracular communication #e auspicious, those attending the shamanic
performance do so with the expectation that the ritual will #e an entertaining
religious experience
&efore the introduction of &uddhism in shamanic Central Asia, there were
no centres for the performing arts in the usual sense of the word Each shaman
performed his dramatic arts at his own residence or environs as the occasion
demanded %e had his own ritual costumes and paraphernalia, which
displa!ed regional variations, particularl! in ornamentation The
representation of animals and #irds is common, and metallic o#0ects, which
are thought to possess a soul and do not rust, are also important 8or example,
the costume of a Si#erian Hakut shaman must have from ?= to 7= pounds )67
to B7 kilograms* of iron to #e efficacious, while a Si#erian &ur!at shaman,
except for an iron cas2ue, or helmet, wears mostl! furs The metal ornaments
represent such diverse things as the internal organs, #ones, a woman$s #reasts,
the Sun, or the Moon- #ut the o#0ect common to all shamans is a metal mirror,
in which the shaman can see the souls of the dead :egardless of the variations
in dress, the purpose and performance of the rituals remain essentiall! the
same, whether carried out #! a &uddhist monk among the Sherpas of 'epal or
#! a true shaman among the Si#erian Hakut
The shamanic rituals of the steppe and desert peoples have analogies among
the dramatic arts of the %imala!an kingdoms, where, #ecause of the tolerance
of local #eliefs and rituals, man! shamanic practices were adopted into
Ti#etan &uddhism 8or example, the State 1racle of Ti#et, a monk whose
oracular powers were exercised on #ehalf of the government and the monastic
s!stem, was regarded as a high-ranking ecclesiastic, !et his ritualistic
performances were no different than those of shamanic mediums throughout
Central Asia The adaptation of the ps!chopompic role of the shaman into
Ti#etan &uddhism resulted in the recitation of the Ti#etan &ook of the Fead
to the corpse This #ook descri#es in detail the frightening apparitions the
deceased encounters da! after da! while in the I<-da! interval #etween death
and re#irth, and its reading is analogous to the shaman$s narration of his
0ourne! to the underworld
&(FF%IST :IT(A9
&uddhist monastic dance
The second ma0or genre of the performing arts to develop in Central Asia was
$cham, the ritualistic dance performed in &uddhist monasteries The origin of
$cham ma! well #e an older form of shamanic ceremonial dance in Ti#et, #ut
centuries of evolution within a &uddhist-dominated societ! led to the recasting
of the roles and theme of the dance in keeping with &uddhist dogma $Cham,
which was introduced along with Ti#etan &uddhism into Mongolia and certain
parts of southern Central Asia in the 65th centur!, #ecame the principal form
of religious entertainment in eastern Central Asia
The origins of $cham lie in Ti#et$s dim past, long #efore the introduction of
&uddhism Initiall!, it was performed as a ritual to drive out evil spirits and to
appease the guardian spirits #! means of human and animal sacrifices, thus
assuring an auspicious and prosperous new !ear According to Ti#etan
tradition, the ancient shamanic dance was adapted as a &uddhist one #!
+admasam#hava, the Indian tantric teacher who introduced &uddhism into
Ti#et in the ;th centur! AF %e is said to have interpreted the dance as
s!m#oli"ing the victor! of &uddhism over the shamanism of Ti#et, and, since
#lood sacrifices are a#horrent to a &uddhist, these traditional elements were
simulated #! clever techni2ues using effigies and red-coloured su#stances
Sectarianism developed in Ti#etan &uddhism in the 66th centur!, primaril! as
a reaction to the unreformed teachings of +admasam#hava and his followers-
nevertheless, each of the sects retained the monastic dance as part of their
religious repertoire The reformed Hellow %at sect changed the time for its
performance from the #irthda! of +admasam#hava to the end of the official
!ear, which would coincide with the lunar month from the middle of Eanuar!
to the middle of 8e#ruar!
The acceptance and spread of &uddhism led to the eventual esta#lishment of
monastic communities throughout eastern Central Asia These monasteries
#ecame fixed centres for the performance of $cham Ever! monaster! of
ade2uate si"e and monastic population maintained its own masks, costumes,
props, and musical instruments In spite of regional and sectarian variations,
the performance of $cham remains #asicall! the same The stage is set
outdoors in the court!ard of the monaster! called the $cham-ra )dance
enclosure* /ith the exception of high lamas and mem#ers of the no#ilit! who
sit on special seats, the audience stands or sits around on the edge of the dance
floor or ground The musicians with horns and drums take their places, usuall!
under a cloth canop! Then, accompanied #! music, the various dancers
emerge from a #uilding or from #ehind a stage curtain and perform The first
to appear are dancers wearing wide-#rimmed #lack hats topped with a
simulated human skull The costume of these dancers has led to the
performance #eing referred to in some /estern works as the #lack-hat devil
dance Although of shamanic origin, the costume of the #lack-hat dancers is
said #! the &uddhists to represent the #lack disguise worn #! Fpal-g!irdo-r0e,
a <th-centur! Ti#etan monk who assassinated the fanatic anti-&uddhist king,
.lang-dar-ma
The #lack-hat dancers are followed #! a variet! of performers, including those
wearing monstrous masks representing a host of evil spirits that harass
mankind, those costumed as skeletons and wearing skull masks, and those
representing Indian teachers of &uddhism There are also masked dancers
representing the tutelar! deities of &uddhism, and the most impressive of all is
the Chosk!i-rg!al-po )Cing of the :eligion*, who wears a mask fashioned
after the head of a #ull, which is em#lematic of the aspect of the deit! that
van2uishes the 9ord of the Fead It is this dancer who dismem#ers an effig!
of a corpse and scatters the parts in a simulation of the sacrificial and
expulsional elements of the ancient shamanic dance rituals
The dance is not all maca#re Comic relief is provided #! a dancer wearing a
mask with an expression of stupidit! This #uffoon represents %o-shang, the
Chinese monk who was defeated in an ;th-centur! de#ate on the merits of
Indian versus Chinese &uddhism %o-shang is represented in the $cham of the
Sherpas of 'epal #! a dancer wearing a mask portra!ing a #alding, #earded
old man, called Mi-tshe-ring )9ong-9ife Man*, who delights the audience #!
his farcical antics and pratfalls
The whole of the $cham performance, which takes two or three da!s, is a
visual presentation of the fear of demons and monstrous creatures and the wa!
in which &uddhism serves to alleviate that fear The audience is reassured that
the good forces of religion have neutrali"ed the evil powers of demonic spirits,
and so the new !ear will #e a prosperous one This religious dance is
performed on var!ing scales of grandeur in monasteries throughout the
&uddhist cultures of Central Asia, #ut the most magnificent of all is its
performance in 9hasa for the Falai 9ama, the ruler of Ti#et
&uddhist moralit! pla!s
The last performing-arts genre to develop in Central Asia was the &uddhist
moralit! pla!, called a-che-lha-mo The pla!s are #ased on the lives of
legendar! and historical figures, and through costume and masks the ethnic
origin and ethical character of the pla!ers are revealed 8olktales, as well as
historical and &uddhist canonical literature, are sources for the stories
presented in a-che-lha-mo Most pla!s are a#out m!thical heroes who prove
that &uddhism and its virtues con2uer all evil in the end- #ut there are those
that tell the stor! of historical personages
Although traditions among the Central Asian peoples are vague a#out the
development of shamanic rituals and $cham, the! are clear a#out the origin of
a-che-lha-mo and even point out the historical creators of the art Some
scholars regard the pla!s as derivatives of Indian theatre, #ut Ti#etan tradition
claims that the first performance of a moralit! pla! was produced #! Thang-
stong rg!al-po, a famous #ridge #uilder of the 67th centur!
1ne stor! tells of some Ti#etans who were #uilding a #ridge and found that
whatever the! assem#led during the da!, demons dismantled at night Thang-
stong rg!al-po, a hol! man well versed in the capricious wa!s of demons,
advised the Ti#etans to stage a pla! to divert the attention of the evil spirits
&! this stratagem, the! were a#le to complete the #ridge This stor! would
seem to indicate that the primar! purpose of the pla! was to entertain, #ut
another stor! illustrates that Thang-stong rg!al-po reali"ed that religious
teachings would have a greater influence on the people if the! were
dramati"ed, so he developed the moralit! pla! to serve this purpose
:egardless of his intent, a-che-lha-mo evolved as didactic entertainment, and
Thang-stong rg!al-po is regarded #! the Ti#etans as its patron saint
8rom primitive #eginnings, the moralit! pla!s developed into a popular
performing art, complete with st!li"ed costumes and masks, complex
scenarios and effective staging The scripts are written in a dialogue song st!le
called rnam-thar There are at least nine traditional pla!s in the Ti#etan
repertoire
The most common t!pe of a-che-lha-mo is the drama #ased on legend and
m!tholog! which often reflects a strong influence of Indian theatrical
tradition An example is the pla! $Fas-log Snang-sa The phrase $das-log
means to return )log* from the #e!ond )$das* and is used in Ti#etan to refer to
an!one who was #elieved to #e dead and then returns to life and relates all that
was witnessed in the netherworld $Fas-log Snang-sa is a#out a virtuous
woman named Snang-sa who was un0ustl! accused of adulter! and #eaten to
death #! her 0ealous sister-in-law /hen Snang-sa was led #efore the fierce
9ord of the Fead )gshin-r0e*, he found that she was pure of heart and mind,
and he allowed her therefore to return to life 1nce home again, however, her
hus#and and relatives #egan to mistreat her, so she #ecame a nun The pla!
ends with Snang-sa fl!ing awa! from the convent roof and disappearing like a
rain#ow in the sk!
Another t!pe of a-che-lha-mo is the pla!s #ased on the lives of Ti#etan hol!
men or pious kings :g!a-#"a$ &al-#"a$ )GChinese-wife, 'epalese-wifeG*, for
example, tells the stor! of king Srong-#tsan sgam-po )died AF 5I<* and his
two &uddhist wives, /en-ch$eng, a Chinese princess, and &hrikuti, a princess
from 'epal These three historical figures are #elieved #! faithful Ti#etans to
have #een incarnations of &uddhist deities, and their stor! is ver! popular with
the audience
The performance of a pla! ma! take more than a da! 'arrative recitation is
used to set scenes, delineate character, and give continuit! to the songs that
tell the main stor! Comic sketches or dances are performed #etween the acts
Each character in a pla! has a distinctive costume or mask (suall! Ti#etan
male characters and the heroes wear no mask, while virtuous female
characters wear flat, teardrop-shaped masks, particularl! the serpentine
deities Three-dimensional masks are worn #! evil foreigners, demons, and
witches, and masks that cover the entire head are used to portra! animals 9ike
the $cham, the moralit! pla! is performed outdoors, with the audience, except
for the speciall! seated lamas and no#les, standing or sitting on the ground
around the performing area
The moralit! pla!s are performed for profit #! groups consisting of la! men
and women, and some have &uddhist monks or nuns as mem#ers These
troupes are generall! associated with a given locale, such as a village or a
monaster!- however, the! often travel to give performances on special
occasions, transporting their wardro#e and stage props with them In time,
four of the most popular troupes were re2uired #! the Ti#etan government to
perform pla!s at the summer palace of the Falai 9ama These performances
were o#ligator! as a kind of taxation There are still several of the a-che-lha-
mo troupes to #e found among the Ti#etan refugees in 'epal and India, where
their performances are in popular demand
The a-che-lha-mo did not spread from Ti#et into other parts of Central Asia
until the 6<th centur! According to tradition, the Monoglian lama 'o!an
%utu2tu )6;=?-75* studied a-che-lha-mo as performed in the Cokonor
)Tsinghai* region of northeastern Ti#et and then introduced his own
adaptations of it at Tulgatu-!in ke!id, his own monaster! near the village of
Sa!nshand, in Mongolia 8or the first time, in 6;?B, he produced a repertoire
of four pla!s, and their performance re2uired 6> full da!s The four pla!s were
#ased on the textual #iographies of the historical &uddha, the Indian &uddhist
Teacher Atisha, the revered Ti#etan hermit-poet Mi-la :as-pa, and the
fa#ulous GMoon-cuckooG )Saran-u CJkKgen-K 'amtar*, a m!stical stor! of a
pious prince who #ecame a cuckoo #ird living in the forest
'o!an %utu2tu$s productions differed from the usual performance of a-che-
lha-mo in certain respects %is repertoire did not include an! of the pla!s
traditional in Ti#et %is actors, unlike those of a-che-lha-mo, wore no masks-
instead the! painted their faces, a makeup techni2ue associated with Chinese
opera /hereas a-che-lha-mo is usuall! performed outdoors in the %imala!an
regions, 'o!an %utu2tu had a special theatre constructed near his monaster!
It was a three-sided, two-storied, mud-#rick #uilding with two stage floors-
thus, two scenes could #e performed at the same time The upper stage
represented the sk!, the lower one the earth There were stage exits on #oth
sides and trap doors in the floor
The first Mongolian actors were called scha#i, or disciples, of the lama 'o!an
%utu2tu These men and women formed a regular troupe and were invited all
over Mongolia to perform
819C FA'CE
Among the peoples of Central Asia, folk dancing occurs as a form of
entertainment at social occasions, such as festivals, weddings, and other
cele#rations, and private parties 1ften impromptu, folk dances are sometimes
performed without the accompaniment of musical instruments, and the
performers rel! on singing and footwork to maintain the rh!thm
8ormali"ed folk dance does not appear to have evolved among nomadic
peoples of the steppe and desert regions, #ut such dances did develop among
the sedentar! agriculturists, particularl! in the %imala!an regions, where
troupes of amateur performers were formed for local entertainment Some
dances were performed #! a group of men and women forming a circle- in
others, the dancers faced each other in lines The dance steps and #od!
movement were performed according to a st!li"ed routine, and the rh!thmic
#eat was accented #! a measured stamp of the foot
3isual arts
+:E%IST1:IC C(9T(:ES
+aleolithic cultures
The earliest artifacts discovered in Central Asia were found in Si#eria and
western Turkistan and are from a#out the 6?th millennium &C Furing the
millennia that followed, migrants entered the region from various directions,
regardless of the geographic o#stacles the! encountered As a result, some of
their artifacts correspond with those produced at a similar stage of
development in more western areas- some finds from the northeastern part of
what was formerl! Soviet Turkistan, for example, are related to certain o#0ects
made in Iran and Mesopotamia, and those from northwestern Central Asia are
linked to eastern and central Europe #! means of the 3olga :iver and of
Ca"akhstan
The +aleolithic )1ld Stone Age* sites of western Turkistan are mainl!
concentrated in the 9ake &aikal area A cave in the &a!suntau :ange
containing the #od! of a 'eanderthal #o! aged a#out nine had #een so
carefull! prepared that it is evident that the people who made his grave
#elieved in an afterlife The site of Malta, 7= miles );= kilometres* to the
southeast of Irkutsk, and that of &uret, ;= miles )6?= kilometres* to the north,
are noted for their mammoth-tusk figurines of nude women The! resem#le
+aleolithic statuettes from Europe and the Middle East and pro#a#l! served as
fertilit! s!m#ols or as representations of the great goddess, whose cult was
widespread Some of these figurines depict elegant, slender women, others
heav!, corpulent ones 1f five found at &uret, one is unusual in that it is of a
clothed woman wearing a one-piece trouser suit with a hood attached to it
compara#le to those still worn #! present-da! Eskimos In recent !ears
+aleolithic sites have #een discovered south of Samarkand, and rock paintings
have #een found at Laraut Sa! )Laraut Stream* in the &a#atag :ange, 7= miles
east of Terme", and in the Shakt! Caves in the +amirs Executed in red ochre,
the! depict hunting scenes Those in the Shakt! Cave are the older and include
a man disguised as a #ird and other men wearing skins and shooting at wild
oxen with #ows and arrows
The invention of the #ow is ascri#ed to the 6=th millennium &C, the
Mesolithic +eriod )Middle Stone Age* Artistic development during this period
is attested #! a potter! fragment of a most expressive woman$s face dating
from the ?
rd
millennium &C and recovered from the site of 3osnessenovka in
western Si#eria
'eolithic and Metal Age cultures
Man! 'eolithic )'ew Stone Age* sites were discovered in what was formerl!
Soviet Central Asia, and the num#er of &ron"e Age sites is even higher The
ma0orit! were found on the middle reaches of the Henise! :iver, especiall! in
the Minusinsk &asin, where metallurg! developed earl! The! testif! to the
existence of three main, #asicall! successive, !et often overlapping cultures,
the Afanas!evska!a, Andronovo, and Carasuk, so called after the villages near
which each culture was identified
A cemeter! to the southwest of Crasno!arsk, on the slopes of the
Afanas!evska!a Mountains, contained ;= #urials dating from the Bnd
millennium &C The earlier ones were flat and marked #! stone circles
s!m#oli"ing the Sun god- the later ones took the form of #arrows, or large
mounds of earth, #ut were also encircled #! similar stone sla#s The earlier
graves contained elongated, spherical potter! vessels with pointed #ases
decorated with herring#one patterns In the later graves this t!pe of ware was
superseded #! flat-#ottomed pots usuall! associated with sedentar! pastoralist
cultures The graves also contained numerous stone and #one o#0ects
Although copper o#0ects were rare, the! heralded the dawn of a new cultural
period, the Metal Age
The Andronovo culture succeeded the Afanas!evska!a in the Bnd and 6st
millennia &C Although found to the southwest of Crasno!arsk, it is more
fre2uentl! encountered in western Si#eria and Ca"akhstan The settlement and
cemeter! of Alekseevskoe )present Tenl!k*, some I== miles )5== kilometres*
south of Hekaterin#urg )formerl! Sverdlovsk*, is especiall! important, #ecause
its earth houses were designed for permanent ha#itation Their roofs rested on
logs, and each dwelling had a central hearth used for heating purposes with
side hearths intended for cooking &ron"e o#0ects were numerous, and
workshops existed for working copper The metal pro#a#l! came from mines
in the Minusinsk &asin, Ca"akhstan, and the western Altai Mountains, the
latter having #een worked as earl! as the 6Ith centur! &C
Fating from a#out 6B== to a#out >= &C--the dawn of the Iron and historical
age--the Carasuk culture was located in the Minusinsk &asin, on the Henise!
:iver and on the upper reaches of the 1# :iver Its creators must have #een in
touch with East Asia, for certain #ron"e o#0ects, nota#l! el#ow-shaped knives,
are related to those used #etween the 6I
th
and 66th centuries &C in China
during the Shang period Stone pillars topped either with ram$s heads, st!li"ed
animal forms, or human figures have also #een discovered F"he!tun,
northwest of Ashkha#ad, in the C!"!lkum Fesert, is the oldest known
agricultural settlement in Central Asia It possessed a thriving 'eolithic flint
industr!
Annau, six miles )6= kilometres* southeast of Ashkha#ad, and 'ama"ga-
Tepe, situated in the same region and occup!ing an area of some 6I7 acres )5=
hectares*, are important &ron"e Age sites The potter! vessels recovered from
'ama"ga-Tepe are decorated with painted plant and animal motifs showing
affinities with contemporar! potter! wares from the Middle East 8igurines of
dogs and sheep were numerous, and a model of a house has also #een found
At Caratepe, also near Ashkha#ad, an agricultural societ! produced fine
potter! from the ?rd millennium &C, #ut it reached its fullest development in
the Bnd millennium &C in a series of vessels decorated with particularl!
spirited animal designs
The main 'eolithic and &ron"e Age cultures produced several distinctive
offshoots, which #egan to emerge #! the earl! Iron Age In Chorasmia the
'eolithic culture discovered at F"han-&as-Cala is known as the Celteminar,
and that of the &ron"e Age, as represented #! the Chorasmian level of Cokcha
III, as the Ta"a#ag!a# The 'eolithic %issar culture of southern Tad"hikistan
spread across northeastern Central Asia into the Semirechi!e, or foothills of
the Tien Shan, while in Si#eria the &ron"e Age Carasuk culture was replaced
in the ;th centur! &C #! the Tagar culture The latter endured until the Bnd
centur! &C, producing an art of animal motifs related to that of the Sc!thians
of southern European :ussia
The &ron"e Age culture on 8ergana$s western #order is associated with settlers
living in large houses grouped to form settlements of considera#le si"e Some
of the inha#itants worked in copper mines at the time when potters of the
Chust &ron"e Age culture of the 8ergana 3alle! were producing fine-2ualit!
ta#leware, as well as cruder potter! articles The #est Chust potter! was ver!
thin, covered with a red slip )li2uid cla!* and decorated after gla"ing with
#lack triangular and scroll designs
'1MAFIC C(9T(:ES
Furing the 6st millennium &C and the 6st centuries of the Christian era,
certain nomadic tri#es affected the course of Central Asia$s artistic histor!
C!rus II the .reat, the ancient +ersian king who founded the Achaemenian
Empire, was killed #! the nomadic Massagetai when campaigning in eastern
Iran in 7?= &C At the time, the Shaka tri#e was pasturing its herds in the
+amirs, central Tien Shan, and in the Amu Far!a delta Their gold #elt
#uckles, 0ewelr!, and harness decorations displa! sheep, griffins, and other
animal designs that are similar in st!le to those used #! the Sc!thians, a
nomadic people living in the Cu#an #asin of the Caucasus region and the
western section of the Eurasian plain during the greater part of the 6st
millennium &C /hen considered together with o#0ects of a like nature
recovered from the fro"en #urial sites of the western Altai Mountains, it
#ecomes evident that man! of the Central Asian tri#esmen commonl! shared
the traditions and culture that were once associated onl! with the Sc!thians
Altaic tri#es
&ecause of a freak climatic free"e, some of the Altaic #urials, nota#l! those of
the 7th centur! &C at +a"!r!k and neigh#ouring sites, such as Catanda, Shi#e,
and Tuekt, were isolated from external climatic variations #! a protective la!er
of ice that conserved the organic su#stances #uried in them At +a"!r!k these
included the #odies of horses and an em#almed man whose #od! was covered
with tattoos of Sc!thian animal motifs The remarka#le textiles recovered
from the +a"!r!k #urials include the oldest woollen knotted-pile carpet
known, the oldest em#roidered Chinese silk, and two pieces of woven +ersian
fa#ric )State %ermitage Museum, St +eters#urg* :ed and ochre predominate
in the carpet, the main design of which is of riders, stags, and griffins Man!
of the +a"!r!k felt hangings, saddlecloths, and cushions were covered with
ela#orate designs executed in appli2uD feltwork, d!ed furs, and em#roider!
1f exceptional interest are those with animal and human figural compositions,
the most nota#le of which are the repeat design of an investiture scene on a
felt hanging and that of a semihuman, semi#ird creature on another )#oth in
the State %ermitage Museum, St +eters#urg* Clothing, whether of felt,
leather, or fur, was also lavishl! ornamented
%orse reins either had animal designs cut out on them or were studded with
wooden ones covered in gold foil Their tail sheaths were ornamented, as were
their headpieces and #reastpieces Some horses were provided with leather or
felt masks made to resem#le animals, with stag antlers or rams$ horns often
incorporated in them Man! of the trappings took the form of iron, #ron"e, and
gilt wood animal motifs either applied or suspended from them- and #its had
animal-shaped terminal ornaments Altaic animals fre2uentl! displa! muscles
delineated with dot and comma markings, a formal convention that ma! have
derived from appli2uD needlework Although such markings are sometimes
included in Ass!rian, Achaemenian, and even (rartian animal representations
of the ancient Middle East, the! seldom appear on those of purel! Sc!thian
origin :oundels containing a dot serve the same purpose on the stag and other
animal renderings executed #! contemporar! Shaka metalworkers Animal
processions of the Ass!ro-Achaemenian t!pe also appealed to man! Central
Asian tri#esmen and are featured in their arts
Certain geometric designs and sun s!m#ols, such as the circle and rosette,
recur at +a"!r!k #ut are completel! outnum#ered #! animal motifs Such
specificall! Sc!thian features as "oomorphic 0unctures--ie, the addition of a
part of one animal to the #od! of another--are rarer in the Altaic region than in
southern :ussia The stag and its relatives, however, figure as prominentl! in
Altaic as in Sc!thian art Com#at scenes #etween carnivores and her#ivores
that occur 2uite often in Sc!thian art are exceedingl! numerous in +a"!r!k
work- #ut, whereas the Sc!thians show the victim passivel! accepting its fate,
as on 7th-centur! &C gold triangular pla2ues from the so-called Seven
&rothers #urial in the Cu#an, the +a"!r!k #easts are locked in such #itter
fights that the victim$s hind2uarters #ecome inverted
Si#erian tri#es
In the virtuall! contemporar! metalwork of Si#erian nomads, single animals
of the cat famil!, such as panthers, carr! the Altaic tendenc! of exaggeration
further #! twisting their #odies into a circle In slightl! later Si#erian pla2ues,
su#tle openwork is used, a feature rarel! present in Altaic or Sc!thian o#0ects
#ut fre2uentl! encountered in the more rounded versions of the animal st!le
produced in the 1rdos region of China, perhaps #! %unnish craftsmen,
#etween the Ith centur! &C and the B
nd
centur! AF In the latter part of the 6st
millennium &C, Si#erian metalworkers adorned man! of their gold and #ron"e
pla2ues with artificial gems made of glass, as well as with 0ewelled inla!s
The! produced #elt #uckles shaped like the letter & Two such gold pieces
)State %ermitage Museum* are of particular interest #ecause of their figural
content It has #een suggested that the! illustrate some ancient Central Asian
epics, for one depicts a hunting scene and the other a warrior l!ing under a
tree with his head resting on a woman$s lap while a servant holds their two
horses These su#0ects, possi#le forerunners of certain episodes in the Shah-
nameh )G&ook of Cings,G a work #! the 6=th centur! +ersian poet 8erdowsi
giving an account of ancient Iranian histor!*, are thought to complement those
on a series of openwork pla2ues, some of them of 1rdos origin, on which
either two dismounted riders are shown fighting while their horses stand
passivel! on either side or two horses are seen locked in #attle, pursuing their
masters$ 2uarrel )State %ermitage Museum*
Mongolian %uns
In the Ith centur! &C the %uns started to migrate westward from the 1rdos
region &! the ?rd centur! &C the! had reached the Trans#aikalia and had
#egun to enter Mongolia, which soon #ecame the centre of their empire Man!
mounds mark their progress Those in the Lid"ha 3alle! lie at the same
latitude as the +a"!r!k mounds and were su#0ected to similar conditions of
free"ing, which helped preserve their contents The richest of the excavated
#urial sites, however, are those of 'oin (la, to the north of (laan#aatar, on
the Selenge :iver 9ike those at +a"!r!k, the! included horse #urials The
furnishings of one tom# were especiall! lavish The prince for whom it was
made must have #een in contact with China, for his coffin was apparentl!
made for him there, as were some of his possessions #uried with him )eg, a
lac2uer cup inscri#ed with the name of its Chinese maker and dated
Septem#er 7, AF 6?, now in the State %ermitage Museum* %is horse
trappings )State %ermitage Museum* are as ela#oratel! decorated as man! of
those found at +a"!r!k %is saddle was covered with leather threaded with
#lack and red wool clipped to resem#le velvet The magnificent textiles in his
tom# included a woven wool rug lined with thin leather )State %ermitage
Museum*- the centre of the rug depicts com#at, of Sc!tho-Altaic character,
#etween a griffin and an elk, executed in purple, #rown, and white felt
appli2uD work The animals$ #odies are noutlined in cord and em#roidered
The design on another textile is em#roidered in the form of a tiger skin with a
head at each end The animal$s spla!ed-out #od! is formed of #lack and white
em#roidered stripes 1ther textiles are of .reco-&actrian and +arthian origin
In some of the +arthian fragments, Central Asian and Sasanian +ersian
influences prevail over %ellenistic ones
Tasht!k tri#e
1n the Henise! :iver the &ron"e Age Tagar culture was replaced #! the
Tasht!k culture, dating from the 6st to the I
th
centur! AF The ph!sical
appearance of the Tasht!k people has #een preserved #! a seriesof masks,
some of them modelled, others cast from the dead The! were painted with the
features rendered in #lue, red, and green against a !ellow ground Spirals
disposed on the foreheads, temples, and cheeks of man! of these masks
pro#a#l! represent tattoos In man! cases pearl necklaces worn #! the women
are also included Although the animal motifs of the Tasht!ks remained
strongl! Sc!tho-Altaic in st!le, the communit! was so much influenced #!
China that even its architecture was affected Eust south of A#akan, a large
house made of #eaten cla! in the Chinese st!le has #een discovered Its roof
had #een covered with Chinese tiles, some of which carr! inscriptions of the
%an d!nast!
+A:T%IA
The +arthian empire came into #eing in Chorasan during the reign of
Seleucus I, ?7;-B;6 &C, following the a#sorption #! the +arthians of +arni
)Fahae* tri#esmen The caravans traversing their territor! #rought them
wealth and ideas from a#road The figural art of the %ellenistic world made an
especiall! strong impression on them The finest +arthian o#0ects come from
1ld 'isa, a town situated on the edge of the Carakoram :ange, some 66
miles )6; kilometres* south of Ashkha#ad in Tad"hikistan, close to the later
town of 'ew 'isa 1ld 'isa was founded around 6>6 &C #! Mithradates I to
serve as a ro!al +arthian residence and necropolis, as well as the kingdom$s
capital It contained several fine temples and an impressive palace #uilt
around a vast central hall, the roof of which was upheld #! wooden supports
set in stone #asesMa practice followed in the town$s larger houses 9ife-si"e
cla! statues of men and women stood #etween these supports The ro!al
treasuries contained man! valua#les, including silver and silver gilt statuettes
of local +arthian deities and of .reek gods, #ron"e and iron weapons,
#urnished and painted potter!, glass, and cast #ron"e animals, such as griffins
The most significant of these treasures, however, is a series of ivor! horn-
shaped drinking vessels, or rh!tons Some are em#ellished with paste inla!s
and precious stones, others have a carved frie"e or #and encircling their open
ends 1ne rh!ton )State %ermitage Museum* has a frie"e of a procession that
includes a .reek god Conceived in the purest %ellenistic st!le, the frie"e
contrasts sharpl! with the rh!ton$s horned, lion-griffin-shaped terminal
ornamentation, which is admira#l! modelled in the round, in accordance with
the Sc!tho-Altaic tradition
THE KINGDOMS OF .ESTERN TURKISTAN AND AFGHANISTAN
Skill in irrigation, with the resulting expansion in agriculture, encouraged
ur#anism and the growth of states, changes that coincided with the rise of
nomadism /hile the nomadic cattle and horse #reeders took over the
steppelands, the culturall! distinct states of Sogdiana )part of ("#ekistan and
much of Tad"hikistan*, 8ergana )the greater part of ("#ekistan*, Chorasmia
)the Tashkent region*, and &actria )mainl! Afghanistan* were esta#lished At
times independent, at other times reduced to vassaldom, the first three states
were centred on rivers--Sogdiana around the Leravshan and Cashkadar!a,
8ergana on the lower S!r Far!a, and Chorasmia on the Amu Far!a$s #asin
)The earliest references to these states are to #e found in the Avesta, the
principal scriptural work of the Loroastrian religion, and in the inscription cut
#! order of the +ersian king Farius I @reigned 7BB-I;5 &CA on the face of the
rock of &isitun in the Cermanshah province of Iran* &actria extended from
the S!r Far!a to the %indu Cush )southern Tad"hikistan and Afghanistan* and
is rich in unexplored mounds Excavations at &alkh show that its first
inha#itants settled there when others were doing so at Afrasia# )Samarkand*
and Merv
The political and economic changes that developed in the Ith centur! &C,
following the Macedonian .reek king Alexander III the .reat$s con2uest of
these states and their incorporation in the Seleucid empire, and the con2uests
made, in turn, #! the +arthians, Ara#s, Turks, and Mongols are reflected in the
regions$ arts The cit! of Alexandria-Capisu &agram, founded #! Alexander
the .reat, #ecame the clearinghouse for India$s western trade India$s religious
#eliefs, especiall! &uddhism, and the scriptural st!le that evolved in
.andhara )an area situated #etween the 4ondu" and Indus rivers in the lower
Ca#ul valle! of northwestern +akistan* and Mathura )in the +un0a# region of
northwestern India* followed along the trade routes and reached not onl!
&actria #ut also, at times, Cashmir, Ti#et, China, and even the remote oasis
towns of the Tarim &asin in Sinkiang At the same time, Seleucid support
resulted in the introduction of .reco-:oman art forms in &actria, Capisu,
Taxila ):awalpindi*, .andhara, Mathura, and, after ?= !ears, even into
Seistan
So,&ia$a.
Sogdiana, with its capital of Afrasia#, was alread! noted for the
sophistication and num#er of its towns when Alexander the .reat con2uered it
in ?B; &C and opened it up to .reek soldiers and administrators, and
eventuall! to :oman traders The Sogdians resented #eing governed #!
Alexander$s successors, the .reek kings of the Seleucid d!nast! It is difficult
to esta#lish their relationship with their Seleucid su"erains and still more so
with the later Cushans, #ut there is ample evidence to show that neither group
of con2uerors hindered the rise in #oth Sogdiana and Chorasmia of a local
feudal no#ilit! and class of rich farmers
A considera#le amount of secular and religious potter! sculpture dating from
the earl! Christian era to the Ara# invasion of the ;th centur! has #een found
at Afrasia# The more interesting examples consist of statuettes of clothed
women, some of them representing Loroastrian deities such as Anahita The!
have foreshortened #odies and large heads with a
withdrawn expression on their faces and wear tiaras, hats, or hoods sewn to
their cloaks /hen the cloaks are sleeveless, the! are worn over straight, long-
sleeved ro#es instead of draped garments All the figures hold a piece of fruit,
a s!m#ol of fertilit! Statuettes of the ?rd-Ith centuries from the fortified town
of Tali &arsu, to the south of Samarkand, depict S!avush, the god of annual
death and spring re#irth, as a musician Statuettes of women flutists, riders,
animals, and the Iranian semihuman-semianimal demigod Shah .opat have
also #een discovered there In the >th and ;th centuries, sculpture, whether in
cla! or ala#aster, was highl! developed at +end"hikent, a site some I= miles
)5= kilometres* east of Samarkand, where Indian influence was often felt
The earliest of Turkistan$s mural paintings have #een found in its eastern
section Those at 'i! date from the B
nd
centur! AF, those at Miran from the
?rd The inspiration for #oth stemmed from :ome, whereas &uddhism
provided the impulses for the slightl! later murals at &amian and Ci"il In the
eastern "one the paintings were designed as #ackgrounds for sculpture, and, as
in western Turkistan, the! were executed in tempera Some ver! high 2ualit!
murals recentl! discovered in western Turkistan are dated slightl! later The
oldest ones, which are extremel! fragmentar!, are from the 3arakhsha, a
princel! residence to the northeast of &ukhara, now l!ing in the desert- the!
date from the ?rd to the Ith centur! AF Murals discovered at the #eginning of
the B=th centur! at Samarkand, which are almost contemporar! with those at
3arakhsha, have #een lost The importance of these murals is wholl! eclipsed
#! the slightl! later works discovered recentl! in Sogdiana, such as the >th-
centur! works at 3arakhsha Some of the rooms in the main apartments of the
3arakhsha +alace )which consisted of several detached #uildings* are
decorated with high-relief ala#aster stucco panels and carved woodwork, as
well as with paintings &enches are inserted into the walls of one room, the
area a#ove them divided into two registers, or hori"ontal rows, #oth painted
red In the upper register was a procession of animals, little of which survives,
and, in the lower, splendidl! attired hunters seated on elephants pursued
spirited leopards and creatures of the griffin famil!
Some B== miles )?== kilometres* east of Samarkand, in a once fertile, now
desert tract of land, the ruins of the great feudal castle of Mug survive Among
the o#0ects excavated there was part of a wooden shield with the painted
figure of a rider )State %ermitage Museum*, which foreshadows a t!pe
commonl! found in Islamic +ersian #ook illumination Mounted on a
splendidl! caparisoned horse, he wears a tunic of local cut and is e2uipped
with a long sword, two daggers, two #ows, and a 2uiver full of arrows %e is
wasp-waisted in the manner of figures depicted in murals of 3arakhsha and
+end"hikent
At +end"hikent, a site close to Mug, and some I= miles )5= kilometres* east of
Samarkand, Sogdian architecture can #e seen to advantage The desert-
engulfed cit! contained several large temples #uilt of rectangular ado#e #ricks
and #locks of #eaten cla! The #ricks were used for vaults and domes, while
the flat sections of the roofs were made of rafters supported #! wooden pillars
or piers, some of which had #een set in stone #ases Man! of the more
important houses were two-storied A s2uare room measuring B5 #! B5 feet
)eight metres #! eight metres* had served as a temple sanctuar! Although, in a
series of rooms connected to it, some fragmentar! religious paintings
survived, the paintings in another temple are #etter preserved The! depict the
death, the Sogdian #urial rite, and the re#irth of a !outhful S!avush More
than 7= figures of this vast composition survive, some representing Sogdian
no#lemen, some a group of Turks A num#er of the Sogdians are seated cross-
legged in the 1riental manner and hold gold and silver vessels of Sasanian
shape in three fingers of one hand The men$s single, close-fitting Sogdian
tunics resem#le garments depicted in paintings of the &uddhist temples of
&amian and eastern Turkistan, nota#l! at Ci"il and Cuca The st!le and, in
some cases, the su#0ect matter of these Sogdian scenes must have influenced
the illuminators of such Islamic +ersian works as the Shah-nameh Another set
of murals is unusual in that it was executed in high relief and then coloured It
shows human #eings, sea monsters, and fish, with the waves of the sea
rendered in lower relief than the figures Het another mural depicts a feast
against a #lack #ackground, a king and several priests sit cross-legged under a
canop!- a woman harpist, some musicians and dice pla!ers, and a procession
of elephants complete the scene &! placing light figures against dark or vivid
#ackgrounds, Sogdian artists evolved a distinct form of perspective
A stud! of the religious paintings shows that Central Asian Loroastrianism
retained elements from the earlier indigenous cult of the Sun and Moon Some
of the scenes in the secular works are linked #! their su#0ect matter )#ut not
their st!le* to a small group of older Si#erian gold and #ron"e &-shaped
#uckles and to the Si#erian and 1rdos pla2ues that are thought to illustrate
local epics 1ther secular scenes give full expression to Sogdian interest in the
splendour of contemporar! court life and prowess in hunting and warfare The
love of overall decoration and of animal motifs is as prevalent as in nomadic
art Fetails incorporated in Sogdian paintings proclaim the eclecticism of the
societ! the! depict and for which the! were created Sasanian influence from
+ersia is seen in crowns trimmed with ri##ons, veils, and #ells- in the st!ling
and trimming of hair and #eards- and in man! of their vessel shapes The
helmets worn #! the warriors in the +end"hikent li#ation scene resem#le those
depicted in the murals of eastern Turkistan The clothes follow local fashions,
and certain horse trappings displa! disks the shapes of which recall nomadic
t!pes
Sogdian textiles are known to have #een in great demand among their
neigh#ours Sasanian motifs must have reached Sogdian weavers #! wa! of
imports from +ersia, indirectl! routed through +arthia, and also from
Loroastrians seeking protection in Sogdiana from +ersian persecution These
motifs often figure #oth on surviving textiles and on those recorded in the
paintings The murals at 3arakhsha, for example, include motifs taken from
textiles, and a 7th-centur! mural from &alal!k Tepe displa!s the head of a
tusked, #oarlike animal set in a roundel that is almost identical to that on a
Sasanian fa#ric found at Astana in eastern Turkistan
&etween the 7th and >th centuries, the Sogdians made dried-#rick caskets
shaped like rectangular rooms to contain ossuaries, or urns for the #ones of the
dead The sides and lids of the ossuaries were decorated The ornamentation
on an ossuar! from &ia 'aiman )State %ermitage Museum* has so man!
points in common with the decorations on a series of silver vessels that were,
until recentl!, assigned to &actria that the latter have come to #e accepted as
Sogdian Several ewers have niches containing nude women rendered in a
markedl! Indian st!le, there#! recalling man! a carved ivor! pla2ue from
&agram 3er! similar niches adorn the &ia 'aiman ossuar!, #ut these contain
crowned figures In #oth cases the niches owe their form to /estern influence,
#ut those on the ossuar! are formed of columns surmounted #! capitals
upholding pearl-studded arches, while on the ewers the Central Asian rosette
replaces the capitals and the pearls
Sculpture, #oth in relief and in the round, was widel! produced in Sogdiana
Much of the earlier work takes the form of panels or frie"es made of ala#aster,
stucco, and wood :osettes, roundels, disks, and vegetation provide the chief
motifs Audience cham#ers and large reception rooms often contained statues
in the round Even the statues attached to the wall had the appearance of #eing
worked in the round The earliest wooden car!atids, or columns in human
form, are found at +end"hikent The car!atids in the form of women have their
hair ela#oratel! dressed, and, although nude at the waist, the! wear #oleros, as
well as close-fitting, heavil! trimmed skirts and splendid necklaces of Indian
appearance 1nce again, these figures recall those on &agram$s ivor! pla2ues
and &uddhist statuettes of the 6st to 7th centuries
F"!,a$a a$& C*o!asmia.
8ergana produced much potter! of 2ualit!, #ut, as !et, there have #een no
finds of compara#le importance to those in Sogdiana Its arts appear to have
paralleled the developments in the more prosperous, more heavil! populated,
and more highl! ur#ani"ed state of Chorasmia )later Chware"m* Chorasmia$s
defensive architecture was particularl! nota#le Its great citadels and palaces
were enclosed #! two lines of walls strengthened #! massive towers that were
fitted with lookout posts and firing slits and topped #! archers$ galleries
Chorasmian entrance gates were la#!rinthine in plan Man! of these splendid
#uildings have disappeared #eneath the desert$s encroaching sands Toprak
kala, recentl! excavated, near Tashau", is thought to have served not onl! as a
citadel #ut perhaps as Chorasmia$s capital until a#out the >th centur!
Fefended #! stout walls, the palace of sun-dried #ricks was e2uipped with
three lookout towers The ground floor of this two-storied #uilding acted as a
foundation for the living rooms and storerooms a#ove Man! of the rooms
were adorned with sculpture, its most impressive room, the %all of Cings, had
niches fitted with grills ranged along the tops of its walls to hold statues of
Chorasmia$s rulers and nota#les- the Ala#aster %all contained man! sculptures
executed #oth in the round and in relief- a %all of 3ictories contained statues
of kings seated in the presence of a goddess of victor!- statues of warriors
carr!ing shields adorned the /arriors$ %all All of the Chorasmian figural
works are so lifelike that it is evident that portraiture had reached a high state
of development #! the ?rd and Ith centuries AF Surviving decorations in the
fortified manorhouse of Teshik Cala displa! the palmette, rosette, lotus, and
ace-of-spade motifs that the Sel0u2s later carried westward to Anatolia and
#e!ond in the 66th and 6Bth centuries
ac%!ia.
The most %elleni"ed of these states in western Turkistan and Afghanistan was
&actria Its fine coinage, for example, was distinctl! %ellenistic in st!le, and
&actrian silversmiths were often influenced as much #! :oman as .reek
%ellenistic metalwork Alexander the .reat annexed Ca#ul to &actria and
founded Alexandria-Capisu, a cit! astride the Indian caravan route, to serve
as the province$s capital The multiracialism of Capisu$s population is reflected
in the origins of the o#0ects found there Imports included articles from India,
China, and the .reco-:oman world, especiall! from S!ria Artistic
conventions characteristic of all these countries #lended with the local Central
Asian ones, with the Indian conventions predominating, to create &actria$s
own distinctive st!le in sculpture, whether in ala#aster, stone, ivor!, or wood
Its mural paintings are wholl! &uddhist in content, #ut the! often contain
features that link them to 8undukistan in India and the Sasanian +ersian world
The decorative arts were highl! developed in &actria Man! of their
sun-dried-#rick houses were large enough to include several reception rooms,
which contained man! luxurious decorative o#0ects
+otters remained attached to animal forms derived from nomadic art
The large production of votive statuettes, especiall! representations of Anahita
and S!avush, ma! #e partl! attri#uted to the #elief that Loroaster was #orn in
&alkh This tradition was also evident at Merv until the Ara# invasion of
Central Asia The &actrians mastered the techni2ue of working metals at an
earl! date A Ith-centur!-&C lion-griffin )&ritish Museum* in cast #ron"e is
descended from a Sc!tho-Altaic protot!pe, and so, too, is a pair of slightl!
earlier gold armlets )&ritish Museum*, em#ellished with inla!, from the 1xus
Treasure A series of silver dishes )State %ermitage Museum* from the end of
the 6st millennium &C are, on the other hand, decorated with scenes from the
tragedies of the .reek dramatist Euripides and .reco-:oman m!tholog!
rendered in a %elleni"ed st!le 1ther silver dishes emplo! Indian motifs such
as elephants &! the ;th centur! these diverse ornamental motifs had fused, as
on a silver-gilt #owl )State %ermitage Museum* dated from the 7th to ;th
centur! AF, into a Cushan st!le that ma! well have provided the #asis for
+ersia$s later :e! figural potter! st!le
KUSHAN
The Cushans replaced the .reeks in &actria a#out 6?= &C The! are thought
to have #een of HKeh-chih stock with a strong admixture of %ephthalites,
Shaka, and Tocharian 1ne #ranch of this group migrated to the Tarim &asin
and founded a short-lived empire, while the other, under the name of Cushan,
gained control of Central Asia Capturing a section of the great trade route
leading from India and China to the west, the Cushans derived much of their
revenue from the transit dues the! exacted from the caravans crossing their
territor!, which often were carr!ing supplies of Chinese gold, silver, and
nickel from the Tarim oasis towns to the Seleucid +ersians A#out 6=5 &C the
first caravan to carr! silk from China direct to +ersia passed through territor!
that had #elonged to the Seleucids #ut was now divided #etween the Cushans
and +arthians
Cushan art reached its fullest development in the Bnd centur! AF, when
the great king Caniska is #elieved to have reigned A magnificent, almost life-
si"e, now headless sculpture of Caniska )Archaeological Museum, Mathura*
shows him wearing an elegant version of nomadic dress %is kingdom
extended from Central Asia to include .andhara and Mathura, where the
Seleucids had so firml! esta#lished %ellenistic art that /estern influence
continued to maintain its hold even in the reign of the first mem#ers of India$s
.upta d!nast! /hen Maha!ana &uddhism reached .andhara during the Ith
and 7th centuries AF, its sculptors turned to the %ellenistic world as a matter
of course for a visual conception of &uddha and 2uickl! evolved several
%ellenistic versions In the popular Apollo version, &uddha is long-faced,
long-nosed, and has wav! hair This t!pe survived into the 7th centur! and
penetrated as far as Cashmir and Turkistan
A school of religious sculpture e2ual in importance to that of .andhara
developed almost simultaneousl! at Mathura Its earliest &uddhist images are
virtuall! contemporar! with the earliest ones produced in .andhara, #ut, in
Mathura, Indian influences predominate The portra!al of &uddha in the
Mathuran st!le is softer !et more direct The features are more Eastern-
e!e#rows extend in a continuous, sinous line- hair is straight- the earlo#es are
elongated- and an enigmatic smile replaces the withdrawn expression of the
%elleni"ed &uddhas of .andhara /hile the sculptors of Mathura used a red
sandstone, the .andharans worked in limestone or a local gra! schist The!
generall! chose the latter for the small, uniform-si"ed panels with which the!
faced their stupas and vishanas, carving them with scenes of &uddha$s life 1n
the panels, the stor! unfolds from left to right, each scene #eing framed within
either trees, leaves, or Corinthian columns sometimes linked #! arches These
religious narratives often include furniture and details drawn from
contemporar! life The figures, which use gestures of Indian origin to conve!
emotion, displa! racial characteristics that range from Indo-European to
Mongolian Man! figures are presented in the frontal position favoured #!
+arthian artists, while others appear three-2uarter face, as in %ellenistic art
Some wear %ellenistic ro#es and headdresses such as those worn in +alm!ra,
an ancient cit! in S!ria The .andharan st!le of sculpture was no longer
produced after this area was invaded #! the /hite %uns, in the 5
th
centur!
Central Afghanistan is rich in Cushan sites Ateshkadeh!e Sorkh Cowtal,
situated in the 4ondu" valle!, close to the Ca#ul-Ma"ar-e Sharif road, is dated
#! an inscription to the time of Caniska$s reign The architecture of the region
was ver! highl! developed there The town was protected #! a dou#le row of
walls that ascended the hill on which it stood The most impressive site within
the wall was occupied #! a d!nastic fire temple, #uilt to an Achaemenid plan
in large #locks of well-dressed stone and approached #! an imposing staircase
/ithin, columns topped #! Corinthian capitals supported the roof 'umerous
sculptures had originall! adorned the interior, those worked with floral and
animal motifs conforming to the .andharan tradition, while figural works
followed Sc!tho-+arthian and, to some extent, %ellenistic traditions
The &uddhist art of central Afghanistan is admira#l! represented at &amian,
where Mani, the Iranian founder of the Manichaean religion, pro#a#l! lived
and encouraged the growth of a religious pictorial art in the ?rd centur! AF
At #oth the eastern and western approaches to &amian, a huge statue of
&uddha as ruler of the world was cut into the face of the rock The smaller
statue measures 6B= feet )a#out I= metres* and dates from soon after the
town$s foundation in the Ith centur! AF- the other measures 6>= feet )7=
metres* and dates from the 7th centur! In their commanding monumentalit!,
#oth reflect the influence of the Mathuran image of Cing Caniska and the
portrait sculpture of Sasanian kings and +arthian nota#les Traces of painting
show Sasanian and Indian influences in the rock-hewn niche #ehind the earlier
&uddha
:egardless of Manichaean influence, Sasanian elements prevailed at &amian
#etween the Ith and 5th centuries At Fuktar-e 'owshirvan, near &amian, a
Ith-centur! painting of a Sasanian king flanked #! attendants survives The
murals in &amian$s 7th-centur! temple of Cakrak include one of a deified king
of Sasanian appearance, while others displa! the figure of &uddha set within a
circle and wearing a costume of the Sasanian t!pe Sasanian motifs of paired
#irds and griffins placed in medallions or pearl circlets are common In the
murals at Imgur-Enlil, &uddha wears a close-fitting tunic resem#ling that
worn #! the Sasanian king depicted on the rock carvings of Ta2-e &ostan The
traces of %ellenism, which are also evident in these wall paintings, #egan to
disappear #! the 7th centur!, when Sasanian influence graduall! gave wa! to
the .upta st!le of India
Stemming from .upta art is the practice adopted at &amian #etween the 7th
and 5th centuries of painting in the dome of a sanctuar! a &uddha within a
circle or hexagon .raduall!, these circles and hexagons #ecame s!m#ols of
the heavenl! &uddha Man! developed into rosettes and eight pointed stars--
motifs that were retained in the 6=th and 66th centuries #! the Islamic Sel0u2s,
who carried them to +ersia and Asia Minor As .upta influence increased,
sculpture gained in importance A new st!le had evolved #! the ;th to <th
centuries, #ut it did not penetrate into western Turkistan, where the Ara#
con2uerors religiousl! opposed figural art In the <th centur! man! &uddhists
left Cashgaria, and Islam gained ground 8igural sculpture was forced
underground and was primaril! produced #! secret shamanistic cults of an
indigenous Central Asian origin Although figural art was never to flourish in
western Turkistan as gloriousl! as it had prior to the Ara# invasion, there was
a revival under the Mongols in the form of #ook illuminations
EASTERN TURKISTAN
Ui,*u!s.
The figural arts found new patrons in eastern Turkistan among the Turkic
(ighurs, who while living in T$ang d!nast! China had #een influenced #!
Manichaean figurative art The overthrow in China in AF ;I5 of &uddhism #!
official Confucianism forced the &uddhist (ighurs to migrate to eastern
Turkistan .raduall!, the! gained control over the Tien Shan region, Turfan,
and the northeastern section of the Tarim &asin The Turkic (ighurs especiall!
favoured portraiture In the >th and ;th centuries (ighur artists alread! had
ac2uired great proficienc! in rendering likenesses in a st!le heavil! influenced
#! Chinese portraiture of the T$ang period These portraits were painted on silk
and were fre2uentl! inscri#ed with the sitter$s name
K*i%a$s.
The figural st!le is #elieved to have #een transmitted to the Mongols #! the
Chitans when the latter were living on the middle reaches of the Henise! The
wealth of the Chitan princes is reflected in the furnishings of #urial mounds
discovered at Copeni, some B== miles )?== kilometres* to the south of
Crasno!arsk Fating from the >th to ;th centur!, these mounds were similar in
t!pe to those constructed #! the nomads of the 6st millennium &C 1ne of the
richest graves contained four gold 0ugs set on a silver dish and a num#er of
gold, silver, and #ron"e ornaments )State %ermitage Museum* Two of the
0ugs, although undecorated, carr! 1rhon inscriptions on their #ases Two
others are covered with delicate relief representations of #irds and fish
surrounded #! flowers and vegetation, executed in a st!le influenced #!
Islamic art A Sc!tho-Altaic hunting motif of riders pursuing a tiger, a deer,
and a panther appears on a #ron"e ornamental o#0ect
Turkic tri#es had #een concentrating their num#ers in Central Asia from a#out
the 7th centur! AF In the 5th centur! the Cul Tepe and &ilge Chan tri#es
esta#lished a state of their own in the 1rhon valle! The inscriptions that the!
carved on the valle!$s rocks are of considera#le historical importance In the
>th centur! the Turkic 1gu" people were so numerous that the! constituted
BI tri#es The Samanids, .ha"navids, .hurids, and Sel0u2s were of 1gu"
extraction
Sama$i&s.
The Samanids centred their kingdom in Chorasan In the <th centur!, under
the leadership of Esma$il, the! ruled over Transoxania and eastern +ersia from
their capital of &ukhara Esma$il$s tKr#e, or mausoleum, the oldest Islamic
monument surviving in &ukhara, reproduces the form of the Loroastrian
chanar ta2, or fire temple In Samanid and Sel0u2id hands, the tKr#e generall!
took the form of a small circular or octagonal #uilding, roofed with a turret
shaped like the point of a pencil Mounted on a solid or single-vaulted
su#structure, its single cham#er had a domed ceiling and a mihra#, or niche
indicating the direction of Mecca In the more ela#orate tKr#es, the single door
was framed with #ands of geometric decoration, and the turret was sometimes
ri##ed
G*a/$a'i&s a$& G*u!i&s.
Alp Tigin, a slave of Turkic origin at the Samanid court, escaped in AF <5B to
Ca#ul, where he rapidl! gained control of the town %e transferred his
head2uarters to .ha"na in central Afghanistan and esta#lished his d!nast!
there 8ew .ha"navid works of art have survived, #ut the admira#l!
proportioned and decorated mortuar! towers at .ha"na are architectural
achievements of great splendour Still finer is the minaret of Eam, a .hurid
structure of the 66th centur! Standing alone in a desolate region, it escaped
discover! until 6<7> It is con0ectured that the minaret ma! mark the position
of the lost .hurid capital of 8iru"kuh
S"l0u1s.
The art of the Sel0u2s, who founded kingdoms in +ersia, eastern &!"antium,
S!ria, and Ira2, eclipsed that of the Samanids, .hurids, and .ha"navids The!
were great architectural patrons and constructed numerous mos2ues,
madrasahs )Islamic religious schools*, hospitals, orphanages, #aths,
caravansaries, #ridges, and tKr#es nota#le for their decorative masonr!,
ela#oratel! ornamented portals, and use of Cufic script as an architectural
decorative device The Sel0u2s also attained a high standard in their decorative
arts, especiall! metalwork, wood carving, and potter! The Mongols, who
terminated the Sel0u2 period, adopted certain Sel0u2id artistic conventions,
particularl! the use of ornamented portals and gla"ed-tile paneling
Mo$,ols.
.enghis Chan )died 6BB>*, the renowned Mongol con2ueror, sacked and
destro!ed &ukhara in 6BBI, sparing onl! the 6Bth-centur! Cal!an tower,
which was used for throwing criminals to their death The 6Ith-centur! Turkic
con2ueror Timur, however, endowed Samarkand with new glor! #! #uilding a
series of religious monuments widel! renowned for their splendour and
decorative use of gla"ed tiles In the 65th centur! &a#ur, prince of 8ergana,
coveted Samarkand 8ailing to capture it, he chose Ca#ul as his head2uarters
for his con2uest of India %is tom# there )he died in 67I=* is the onl! visi#le
testimon! to the !ears he spent in the cit!
Emi!a%" o# uk*a!a.
Although fine-2ualit! potter! decorated with animal, #ird, and figural designs
was #eing made in 'ew 'isa in the 67
th
centur!, the artistic revival of the
Mongol period that Timur had launched in western Turkistan had died out #!
the 65
th
centur!, when the emirate of &ukhara, incorporating much of
Sogdiana, was esta#lished Except for gold-thread em#roider! and carpet
making, in most of Central Asia the visual arts largel! stagnated In Mongolia
the conversion of the &ur!ats to 9amaism in the 6;th centur! #rought into
their tradition of ornamentation such Ti#etan motifs as the lotus, dragon, and
lion
Russia$2So'i"% +"!io&.
In 6;;B the emirate of &ukhara was incorporated as a :ussian state This
political act had little cultural effect, and European art remained unknown to
Central Asians Traditional indigenous architecture of #aked or un#aked #rick
construction was revived in the 6;th centur! Carved doors and screens were
again produced 1ld st!les of Islamic script were com#ined with ara#es2ues to
adorn metalwork Loomorphic 0unctures persisted in the animal designs
created #! metalworkers and potters alike, although the ornaments worn #!
nomadic women had #ecome so st!li"ed as to have lost all resem#lance to the
ancient animal motifs from which the! were descended 1penwork remained a
feature of much of the 0ewelr!, nota#l! of the necklaces formed of small
openwork pla2ues linked #! rings or chains
8ollowing the :ussian :evolution, a new phase of art #egan in the Soviet-
controlled regions of Central Asia Although the Soviet authorities took steps
to maintain the existing carpet and textile industries, the! encouraged the
inclusion of genre scenes and native animals and vegetation The! also
founded schools to train artists in the traditions of European art +ictorial arts
are naturalistic in st!le, conforming with the principles of social realism as
defined #! the Soviet authorities The first &ur!at-Mongolian Turkmen painter
to achieve distinction in this st!le was Ts!ren"hap Sampilov
ARCTIC REGIONS
In the arctic "one of Central Asia, the prehistoric age extends from the ?rd
millennium &C to the arrival of Europeans around AF 6;== Cnowledge of
the region$s arts is still ver! limited, for it is wholl! dependent upon the
sculptures produced #! Eskimos living on the shores and in the hinterland of
Si#eria and the &ering Strait These sculptures are mostl! in walrus tusk,
though wood and reindeer horn examples also exist The ma0orit! are small in
si"e and worked in the round to form terminal ornaments for utilitarian or
ceremonial o#0ects or statuettes The latter are not provided with #ases and
thus must have #een designed to #e carried a#out Man! of the implements are
decorated with incised patterns formed chiefl! of lines and dots As in all earl!
arts, the statuettes and terminal ornaments are largel! concerned with hunting
or the magical practices of shamanism The earliest and finest statuettes of
which there is knowledge are assigned to the 1kvik culture, which some
scholars date to the pre-Christian era, #ut which others assign to its earl!
centuries 1kvik art is concerned primaril! with the representation of the
human figure, differing in that respect from the contemporar! or slightl! later
1ld &ering Sea culture, where interest largel! centres on animals, such as
reindeer, elks, #ears, and seals
/orks of the 1kvik and later Arctic schools often depict women, sometimes in
the nude, sometimes clothed The nude figures seldom include more of the
arms than shoulder stumps Their #odies are short and flat, their heads large,
pear-shaped, and carefull! worked, as are hands when included The faces are
carved and are sometimes incised with lines, pro#a#l! denoting tattooing The
so-called 1kvik Madonna )(niversit! of Alaska Museum, 8air#anks* is
perhaps the most expressive of these statuettes
Some 1kvik animal designs are particularl! interesting #ecause of certain
st!listic details that point to a relationship with works of the Sc!tho-Si#erian
school :eindeer are so fre2uentl! depicted that the discover! at +a"!r!k of a
horse$s mask in the form of a reindeer$s head led to the suggestion that the
mask was a survival from a reindeer cult ac2uired #! the Altaians from a
northern people such as the Eskimo That theor! has #een discounted, !et
some 1kvik works are undou#tedl! related to certain slightl! older examples
of Si#erian metalwork Thus, the heads of some terminal ornaments #ear a
close resem#lance to those of certain Si#erian works The lo"enge-shaped
muscles that appear on Eskimo carvings amid lines intended to portra! the
animal$s skeleton are ver! similar to those of the +a"!r!k dot and comma
markings In late- or post-1kvik times certain specificall! Eskimo o#0ects,
such as masks, were decorated with st!li"ed animal heads executed in relief
and accompanied #! #osses that recall the Altaic, especiall! those that reflect
Chinese influence Compositions such as that on an unidentifia#le o#0ect
)possi#l! a rake or com#* in the (niversit! of Alaska Museum, which includes
as its central motif the head of an animal resem#ling a #ear or a seal, displa! a
marked affinit! with west Si#erian ones
Climatic changes in the 6>th centur! led to contacts with the outer world in
the 6<th centur! and #rought the traditional Eskimo school of sculpture to an
a#rupt end /hen, toward the end of the centur!, art started to revive, it did so
under European influence, eventuall! developing a greater concern for
aesthetic than religious considerations The new st!le retained much of the
directness of approach and formal conventions of the traditional st!le, #ut, in
addition, there was a greater emphasis on naturalism .roup scenes, too,
#ecame popular, as did animal and #ird compositions There has #een an
extensive production of small sculptures, chiefl! of fish, #ird, or animal forms,
in the B=th centur!
HIMALAYAN CULTURES OF NEPAL AND TIET
N"+al.
The art of 'epal is centred in the Cathmandu 3alle!, in an area of less than
B7= s2uare miles )57= s2uare kilometres* The artists are 'ewars, or
Mongoloids, different ethnicall! from, though partl! intermingled with, the
peoples of India, whose art the! made their own--whether its themes were
%indu or &uddhist
A!c*i%"c%u!".
There is onl! one 'epalese architectural st!le, varied according to its function
as private dwelling, palace, &uddhist monaster!, or &uddhist or %indu temple
The st!le is the protracted local flowering of an Indian architectural tradition-
of #rick and wood architecture with tiered, sloping roofs--other varieties of
which are found in the western %imala!as and in Cerala in the southwest
Essentiall!, there are two kinds of 'epalese &uddhist shrine, or stupa )also
called cait!a*, the large stupa and the small, monolithic stupa Characteristic
of the large stupa like the one at &odnath is the low #ase from which it rises
and its crowning dome-shape The small stupa was generall! set in the
court!ard of a &uddhist monaster! The extant monasteries, none of which
dates earlier than the 6Ith centur!, are consistent in their plans and structures
A central court!ard flanked #! residential #uildings is entered through a gate
with a richl! carved t!mpanum )torana* and porch 1pposite the gate and in
the centre of the court!ard is the main #uilding, the stupa- with its one- to
three-tiered roof, it rises higher than the #uildings that surround it and forms
the s2uare of the court!ard Most %indu temples are freestanding The more
ancient temples have two superimposed roofs- the later ones are five-roofed
temples, given further height #! tiered #rick socles, or #ases 1n each stor! of
the towerlike structure, wooden #eams and struts )a structural piece designed
to resist pressure in the direction of its length* support a widel! pro0ected
slanting roof, the struts ascending diagonall! from the central structure to the
edge of the tiled roof The ma0esticall! tapered, ascending profile of the
structure, with its strong contrast of light pla!ing on the roofs and masses of
shade looming #elow, is peculiar to 'epal :ich in textures and colours, the
temples are em#ellished with carved and painted struts, carved doorframes
and window frames, and em#ossed gilded copper sheets 9ike the pantheon on
the stone temples of India, the pantheon of 'epal is laid out mainl! on the
exterior of the temple--in contrast to Ti#et, where it is displa!ed on the interior
of the temple
Scul+%u!" a$& +ai$%i$,.
Com#inations of %indu and &uddhist iconograph! came a#out easil!,
though there is something facile a#out them, a smoothness found also in the
form of the 'epalese images, which lack the surging d!namism of Indian
form Characteristic of the 'epalese transformation of Indian st!les is a loss of
depth #ut a gain in grace Suavit! of line, temperance of modelling, tonal
clarit! of vivid, contrasting colours raise 'epalese works far a#ove the merel!
derivative An indigenous ph!siognom!, too, modifies the ph!sical formulas
for sculpture laid down in India
/hile 'epalese sculpture is known to exist from the Bnd centur! &C )terra-
cotta pla2ues, a stone #odhisattva, and a &uddha image*, it was in the 7th to
the >th centuries &C that stone sculpture in 'epal came into its own 3ishnu
3ikranta )the three strides of 3ishnu*, dated AF I5>, and 5th-centur! panels
illustrating the Cumarasam#hava )G&irth of the /ar-.od,G an epic #! the 7th-
centur! Indian poet and dramatist Calidasa* are masterworks of narrative
relief and dramatic m!thical composition 1n the more intimate level of dail!
life, sculpture takes the form of the man! fountains that adorn watering places
)pranali* of 'epal /ater spouts forth from makara )%indu water monster with
the #od! of a crocodile and the head of an elephant* snouts sheathed in gilt
copper into reservoirs laid out with architectural dignit! As far as present
knowledge goes, 'ewari sculpture was dominated from the ;th centur! into
the 6;th #! gilt-copper images In their glowing splendour, the gilt, sometimes
0ewel-encrusted images em#od! the &uddhist 2ualit! of compassion that leads
to enlightenment
+ainting in 'epal is known from the 66th centur! on palm leaves and
wooden #ookcovers of manuscripts, some of them hardl! distinguisha#le, at
first, from the &engali protot!pes The 'epalese st!le, less nervous, more
conscious of the #eautiful line and clear, compartmental order of the surface,
is full! developed in scrolls, or pra#has )most of them, vertical*, on cotton
known from the 6?th centur! These scrolls are of two kinds, one consists of
arra!s of religious images with a large figure of the main deit! in their midst-
the other consists of a mandala, the %indu and &uddhist s!m#ol of the
universe--a circle enclosing a s2uare with the deities disposed within
'arrative panels or sections in the margins of #oth t!pes of scroll soften the
rigour of the composition /hile this 'epalese hieratic, or sacerdotal, st!le
was at its peak, a narrative st!le developed in manuscript illuminations such
as the %itopadesha )67<I- Cathmandu* and hori"ontal scroll paintings such as
the :atha!atra Scroll )656>- +rince of /ales Museum of /estern &om#a!*
Its planar intricacies reveal a new and vital aspect of 'epalese painting, an
immediac! of emotion and action of its protagonists, the figures of which are
placed on an opa2ue, velvet! ground The colours of these #ook illustrations
and scrolls retain the strength and depth of those of the hieratic scrolls, which
continued to #e painted into the 6>th centur! The influence of the more
realistic Indian, :a0asthani paintings, from the latter part of the 6>th centur!,
finall! overwhelmed the hieratic st!le Its disappearance was further hastened
#! a wave of Chinese-influenced Ti#etan painting
Ti)"%
Ti#etan art comprises ancient pre-&uddhist decorative and domestic
crafts and the all-pervading religious art that was graduall! introduced from
the ;th centur! onward from surrounding &uddhist countries and developed
su#se2uentl! as recogni"a#l! distinct Ti#etan imager!, sculpture, and
decorative architectural motifs In all its forms Ti#etan art has remained
su#servient to special la! or religious intentions and has never #ecome an art
pursued for aesthetic ends alone The religious art is primaril! didactic and
s!m#olic- the la! art, decorative Therefore, while la! art ma! #e easil!
appreciated, to understand the significance of the religious art re2uires
knowledge of Ti#etan religion and religious s!m#olism Since the destruction
of Ti#etan cultural traditions #! Chinese-trained Communists from 6<7<
onward, a greater interest has arisen in the /est in the surviving Ti#etan o#0ets
d$art preserved in museums and private collections
(p to the <th centur! AF, Ti#et was open to cultural influence from Central
Asia, especiall! Chotan, and from China 8or two centuries, up to the collapse
of the old Ti#etan kingdom in ;IB, the Ti#etans controlled the whole Takla
Makan and the important trade routes from the Middle East to China Stone
carving and metalwork were certainl! practiced in the pre-&uddhist period,
and +ersian, Indian, and Chinese influences, all received through Central Asia,
have #een noted
The introduction of &uddhism from the ;th centur! onward led to the arrival
in Ti#et of &uddhist craftsmen from Central Asia and later from 'epal and
northwest India, all of which were then &uddhist lands Some cast images
from this first &uddhist period ma! survive in 9hasa After ;IB, central Ti#et
dissolved into political chaos for over 6== !ears, and from the 6=
th
centur!
onward the cultural initiative passed to a line of kings in western Ti#et 8or
temple decorations, such as wood carving of doorwa!s and posts, decorative
painting on ceilings and woodwork, temple frescoes, and terra-cotta and
stucco images, the! drew heavil! on the cultural resources of pre-Islamic
Cashmir Surviving monasteries and temples, with their magnificent contents,
were made known to the /estern world in the 6<?=s /ith the esta#lishment
of religious hegemonies in central Ti#et from the 66th centur! onward,
cultural contacts with 'epal and the &uddhist centres in the main .anges
3alle! flourished as never #efore Conversel!, cultural contacts with China
dwindled for several centuries, at least in central and southern Ti#et 8rom this
time until the B=th centur!, Ti#etan religious art and 'epalese &uddhist art
remained a single unified tradition Meanwhile, eastern Ti#et, where the
ancient pre-&uddhist crafts of metalwork had never died out, #egan to develop
religious st!les under the influence of craftsmen from central Ti#et 8rom that
time, the spread of Ti#etan culture and art #ecame coterminous with the
spread of Ti#etan religion- and, thus, from the 6?th centur! onward, when
Ti#etan lamas #egan to convert the Mongols, Mongolian religious art
developed as a #ranch of Ti#etan art Through the Mongols, China #egan to
extend its political influence over Ti#et, and this led to a stead! increase in
Chinese cultural influence, especiall! in the east 8rom 6>B6, when the
Chinese emperors #ecame the su"erains of Ti#et, Chinese influence was felt
much more strongl! throughout central as well as eastern Ti#et, and Ti#etan
religious paintings and especiall! domestic decoration reveal distinct Chinese
features
D"co!a%i'" a!%s.
In the main temple )fo-khang* of 9hasa there is a pre-&uddhist silver 0ug
with a long neck surmounted #! a horse$s head- and there are textual
references to all kinds of articles made of gold, a large golden goose holding
seven gallons of wine, a wine vase, a miniature cit! decorated with gold lions,
and golden #owls .old animals are mentioned as decorating the camp of
Cing :al-pa-can when a Chinese envo! visited him in ;B6 These earl!
Ti#etan skills lived on through the &uddhist period Ti#etan metalworkers
have excelled in producing fine things for ritual and domestic use, ritual
lamps, vases, #owls, #ells, pra!er wheels, decorated trumpets and horns, for
the temples, and, for home use, ornamented teapots, 0ars, #owls, ladles, and
especiall! #eautiful stands, often in silver or gold, to hold porcelain teacups,
capped #! finel! worked lids of precious metals %and-woven rugs of
magnificent Central Asian and Chinese designs, alwa!s adapted to Ti#etan
preferences, cover low seats, and ta#les and ca#inets of carved and painted
wood were commonplace in prosperous homes
Scul+%u!".
8rom the >th to <th centuries there survive pre-&uddhist carved-stone
pillars decorated with Chinese, Central Asian, and Indian motifs and also a
stone lion showing traces of +ersian influence
The art of casting images in #ron"e and other metals entered Ti#et from
'epal and India %aving first followed foreign models, the Ti#etans graduall!
developed their own st!les and #egan to depict their own lamas and teachers
as well as the vast pantheon of #uddhas, gods, and goddesses inherited from
India, each distinguished iconographicall! #! posture, hand gestures, and
accoutrements )1f lesser divinities and especiall! of lamas, the identification
is often difficult It is rare that an image is named in an inscription and even
rarer to find a date &ecause of the extremel! conservative nature of Ti#etan
art, correct dating within several centuries is often impossi#le* Images of vast
si"e, rising up through two or three stories, are 2uite often seen in Ti#etan
temples, and their construction and dedication is considered a work of vast
religious merit
Since images are mainl! cast or molded, carving is restricted to decorative
motifs, especiall! on wooden pillars and roof #eams /ood carving and terra-
cotta, particularl! in western and southern Ti#et, were common +apier-
mNchD, ela#oratel! painted, was also used for masks of divinities This use
presuma#l! originated in Cashmir
Pai$%i$,- #!"sco"s a$& %"m+l" )a$$"!s.
Temple interiors are usuall! covered with frescoes and often hung with
painted #anners, or tanka )thang-ka* 8or the preparation of the latter, a taut
cotton cloth is impregnated with a mixture of chalk and glue, ru##ed smooth
#! some suita#le o#0ect- for example, a flat polished stone A religious painter
trained in the tradition draws in the outline, often using printed designs for the
main figures There is no scope for originalit! so far as the iconographic
details of divinities are concerned, and, thus, such painting is a highl! skilled
craft 8or decorative details--for example, flowers, cloud effects, rocks, and
groups of devotees--there is wider scope The tradition of fresco painting and
temple #anners certainl! goes #ack to that of the great &uddhist monasteries
of northwest India and the .anges 3alle!, #ut these Indian origins of the <th to
6Bth centuries are now entirel! lost The Indian &uddhist paintings of A0anta
are of a much earlier period )up to the 5
th
centur! AF*, thus predating the great
increase in the &uddhist pantheon and in occult s!m#olism t!pical of the later
Indian &uddhism received #! the Ti#etans Central Asian st!les certainl!
reached central Ti#et well #efore the <th centur!, #ut, after that date, it was
India and 'epal that were to have lasting influences on the development of
Ti#etan art In more recent times, especiall! from the 6;th centur! onward,
Chinese influence #ecame noticea#le in the details of paintings, particularl! in
the freer #ut still #alanced arrangement of the main figures and the use of
Chinese-st!le landscapes as su#sidiar! decoration /ith the disappearance of
&uddhism from Central Asia and India from the 6Bth centur! onward, Ti#etan
art developed as a st!le exclusive to the Ti#etans, the 'ewari &uddhists of the
'epal 3alle!, and the Ti#etan converts of Mongolia
D"co!a%i'" a!c*i%"c%u!al mo%i#s.
8or temples, monasteries, and official residences such as the +otala
+alace of the Falai 9ama in 9hasa, the Ti#etans used their own solid
indigenous st!les #ut em#ellished these with Indian, 'epalese, and )ver!
much later* Chinese motifs Tiered, ornamented temple roofs are of Indian
origin, as received through 'epal and later through China The magnificent
interior carving is of Indian and 'epalese inspiration