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FINE ART OF TAJIKISTAN.
Monuments of the culture of the earliest Central-Asian radical settled East Iranian population and the nomadic tribes are still preserved in Tajikistan. Location of Tajikistan on the commercial routes between the East and the West, its cultural and economic ties with Iran, India, East Turkestan, China, Mediterranean countries, and also tribes and peoples of Eurasian steppes √ all these promoted development of ancient and medieval art of Tajikistan. Ancient population of Tajikistan greatly contributed to the art of Bactria, Kushan kingdom, Soghd, Toharistan and Fergana, as well as to the artistic cultures of neighboring peoples (e.g, the art of East Turkestan was formed and developed under the strong impact of Soghd and Tokharistan arts).
Prehistoric and Ahemenid period. (art of ancient period). On the territory of Tajikistan there were discovered the earliest monuments of the depictive art:
╥ Cave drawings made by ocher in a grotto of the mine (40 km southwest from the settlement Murgab, East Pamirs), which go back to the Mesolithic period (XV - X millennium BC);
╥ The settlements of Neolithic Hissar culture on the ancient settlements close to Nurek town (Tutkaul, Sai-Sayod √ VI - V millennium BC) and the settlement Dangara (Kui-Bulien, the late neolith).
During the epoch of developed and late bronze (middle II - early I millennium BC) there were dated numerous settlements (sometimes area approx. 10 ha) with signs of dwellings (length up to 20 m, width of 12-15 m) in Kairakkum district, rough plastic ceramics with geometric patterns, and also the simplest forms of jewelry articles (North Tajikistan). In South Tajikistan, in Vakhsh and Bishkent valleys, in the tombs of nomadic cattle-breeding tribes of bronze epoch there can be found plastic and potter engobe ceramics (pots, basins, cylindrical containers, middle √ second half of the II millennium BC), bronze knives, daggers, mirrors, pins. During the second millennium BC there was the primitive schematic clay sculpture of a man from the burial of bronze epoch in the area Tandyr- Yol (near Regar). There are also discovered the remainders of ancient Bactrian dwelling made of raw brick, with the rectangular rooms (VI - IV centuries BC - the epoch Ahemenids) √ settlement Kalai]- Mir in Nasir Khisrav area. Gold and silver jewelry articles of the so called Amu- Darya treasure show us the fine art of that time. An integral part of the artistic culture of Tajikistan of that time was the art of the nomadic saki tribes (bronze boilers with sculptural decor, cast figured plates with images of animals, findings in the burial mounds of Pamir; petroglyphs √ North and Central Tajikistan, West Pamir).
Hellenism. Descriptions of the antique authors show us the existence of Hellenistic towns fortified with defensive walls and the regular planning in IV - III centuries BC on the territory of Tajikistan. To Greek-Bactrian (III - II centuries BC) and Kushan period (I - IV centuries AD) refer the ruins of towns in South Tajikistan (Saksan-Ohur, Shakhrinau, Munchak-Tepe, Yavan, Kay-Kobadshah, Kuhna-Kala settlements), which in many respects preserved the features of Hellenistic construction culture, and also Pamir fortresses Kahkaha, Yamchun and others on GBAO area. The found rock tetrahedral capitals with the turns of volutes and acanthus leaves, basements and columns (Saksan-Ohur, Munchak-Tepe, etc.) testify usage of an order system based on the assimilation of Hellenistic elements in the local construction tradition. In general, the art of this period in Tajikistan is the compound mixture of local artistic traditions and Hellenistic elements. This is indicated by excavations remainders of the architectural construction (a complex Saksan-Ohur of a palace-temple type, Central Asian type of planning - yard with four-column ayvan and bypassing corridor, with Hellenistic components of architectural order), works of architectural- decorative sculpture (capitals with high-relief images of people and animals from Shahrinau settlement), toreutics (an earring in the form of sphinx protomai and copper gilded locket with high-relief bust of Dionysus from Dushanbe settlement), corroplastics and ceramics (terracotta statuettes and engobed ceramic vessels from Saksan-Ohur, Kay-Kobadshah, Uzbekon-Tepe, Yavan settlements). The findings from Tulharskiy tomb in Bishkent valley (II - I centuries) represent us the art of the nomadic tribes of that time; an earring in the form of amphora, drop-birds. In the tomb Ittifok near Parhar there was found the embroidery with depictive and ornamental
motives.
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