Buddha and monks from Fayaz-Tepe,
1st-2nd century. Museum of the History of
the Peoples of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

 

 

Khwarezm sculptures

 

The process gradually leading to abstraction in representations appears in the Khwarezm sculptures. The man’s head of Giaour-Kala (1st and 2nd century) with the face’s plasticity carefully elaborated is full of a nervous tension that seems to reflect the mood of the model. The sculptures of Khwarezm at Toprak-Kala (2nd and 3rd century) where the central theme is the celebration of the dynasty in power, are differently perceived.

 

An example is the plaster fragment of a great king’s head crowned by a conical royal toque. The face marked by years with eyes wide open and knitted brows is a bit stylised and conventional.

 

In spite of the diversity of their aspects, the figures of military chiefs, sovereigns, and gods were distinguished by the absolute impassibility of their faces and their distant giving them a certain transcendency.

 

 

Sogdian sculptures

 

Sogdian sculptures in Central Asia were already noted in the 3rd century and early 4th century because of their styles. In the sanctuary of the old town of Erkurgan, near Karachi, fragments of clay statues have been discovered dating from this time. The fragment of a head, summarily sculpted and enhanced by painting posseses something archaic that reflects the style of the ancient east. Two men’s heads found at the same place on a great flagstone of clay show the Sogdian ethnic type: the face has wide eyebrows and almond eyes, a flat nose, long twisted moustache, and pointed beard.

 

They probably represent noblemen, as is testified by their crowns bordered with a strand of pearls. The plasticity of the faces is expressive.

 

 

Bactrian sculptures

 

Plastic art in Central Asia presents notable changes in the 3rd and early 4th centuries. Even though the acquired knowledge of the preceding epochs are preserved, new artistic norms appear. This can be seen distinctly in the sculptures discovered in the sun-driedbrick houses large enough to include several reception rooms which contain many luxurious decorative objects. The clay statues are painted. The heads are in rounde-bosse and high relief. The compositions include the royal couple, and a group of women (with two dancers and two servants). Compared with Bactrian statues of high dignitaries of the preceding epochs, those of Kuev-Kurgan present another ethnic type.

 

Furthermore, these people wear different garments, in particular the headgear of the king, with two wings, as in Central Asia during the 4th century. The heavy eyelids half hide the almond eyes, letting out a piercing gaze which gave the face a particular expression.

 

 

The early Middle Ages

 

The period of the early Middle Ages introduces a great number of new social ideas in the East to which the masters of the artistic culture reacted with great attention.

 

From the 6th through the 8th centuries, painting and the decorative arts blended with architecture and entered into decoration, not only in cultural edifices but also in civil construction: palaces, castles, and private houses of rich people, as well as bazaars and caravanserai.