We shall make a reservation at once that under the title of this miniature/mean multiple collections of the Sughdian antiquities - the monuments of archeology, ethnology, philology, the entire culture and civilization of Sughd kept now in the museums and funds of the State Hermitage and other centers of Russia; of Berlin, Paris, London and other cities of Europe; of Washington, New-York and other centers of the USA; of Cairo, Ankara, Istanbul, Tehran, Yerevan, Tbilisi; of Delhi and other cities and towns of India; of Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara and other towns of Uzbekistan; of Dushanbe and a number of Sughdian towns of Tajikistan- Penjikent, Istaravshan, Isfara and Khujand. In all the enumerated collection funds and also in those ones not mentioned here the enormous quanta of wares are gathered: ceramics, toreutics, jewellery, carving, ganch, clay, manuscripts, miniatures, fabrics and clothes, carpets, ammunition and military erections and etc. In order to discover and explore them the toil of many generations of leading and rank and file scientists was spent, among them there are archeologists, restaurateurs, culturologists, linguists; their list having been brought out by me in “Varorud” bulletins (2001, # # 4,5,7). Here we shall present a selective description of only two masterpiece monuments from the two districts of Sughd viloyat.
1. The finding of two bronze sculpture heads of sheep, an iron dagger and a ten and a half iron ingots for moulding wares, seemingly swords, originates from the Isfara valley. All of them are referred to V-IV c.c. B.C.
The sculpture heads (the weight of the first one being 14.5 kg, that of the second-.1 kg) are empty, in neck parts traces of chopping are seen distinctly. The horns are smoothly bent backwards, their ends being broken. The low rims of horns roots are marked with a protuberant ring with notches and yearly aged rings on the horns are hatched under an acute angle. The ears are broken almost at the roots. The heads are performed realistically, in a static pose. The eyes cut is very distinct, the pupils are protuberant, and the arches over the eyebrows are expressive. The nostrils are swollen. The signs of wild sheep are singled out distinctly enough: no elongated hair of the beard and pendant, a characteristic form of horns bend, a common profile of the snout. Both heads have swollen nostrils. According to the calculations of zoologists G.N. Sapozhnikov the weight of a head with horns is 10% from that of a whole body with wild sheep (Asian mouflon). If a sculptor tried to preserve natural proportions one can approximately define a weight of the heads: the first one is about 200 kg, the second- 110-120 kg. We should mention that the skulls of the sheep inhabiting the Turkistan range were always distinguished with massiveness. The zone of wild sheep habitation includes also the contiguous areas of the Sary- Ghileck lake (near Namanghan), the spurs of the Ferghana mountains- the Yaipak, the Vorukh, the Rushtan and the Sokh.
The found sculptures of a sheep head have no direct analogies in the art of Central Asian archeology; the finding being unique. But this plot was widely spread in antiquity among the Skythian -Sarmatian and Sako-Massaget tribes of the Eurasian steppes and their Iranian ethnocultural heirs from Kushans and Kangyuis, Sughdians and Parfyans up to Tajiks and Ossets, especially among ancient inhabitants of the Syr-Darya reservoir-the bearers of Kaunhi, Otrar-Karataus and Djetiasar cultures. This plot expressed “fary” -a divine patronizer of tribe, clan, house, family and a separate human being. In antiquity in the Saco-Sughdian- speaking Ferghana valley it was a black sheep included into the system of mythological and religious notions, which was a “fary” bank.
The Isfara small heads are fragments of the sculptures or details of the big thing from the palace inventory (a type of a throne). In “Beishi” and “Suishu” Chinese chronicles they say that the governors of Bokhan (Ferghana), Khe (Kushania), Unage (Merv), Bosy (Persia) sat upon a gold throne formed as a sheep. The gold throne of Guitsy (Kucha) governor resembled a lion by its form, An (Bukhara)-a camel, Tsao (Usturushan)-a horse and etc.
Thus a superhuman, divine origin of a possessor was accentuated. The Isfara small heads undoubtedly present a deity of the local Ferghana-Sac pantheon fixed both in the written sources and the material culture (in particulars: H.H. Негматов. Ьронзовые скульптуры из Исфаринской долины и их историко-культурное значение. B книге: Скифь-Сибирьский мир. Искусство и идеология. Новосибирск, 1987: Bronze Sculptures from the Isfara Valley and their Historico-Cultural Importance. In the book:Scythian -Siberian World. Culture and Ideology. p.p. 49-55).
2. If from the pearl cultural-ecological Isfara valley to cross the Syr-Darya in order to find oneself in the northern-western part of the Ferghana valley it will be the Kuramin mountains indentated into minor valleys and gorges of Asht region with no less rich and ancient history and culture. Here there are the some consanguineous “Saks who are behind Sughd”. The ancient culture and ideology of the latters is presented with thousands of rock drawings-petroglyphs of the epochs of bronze and but early iron, discovered beet not yet studied “Tajik Kobystan”- Asht enormous museum under the open sky already scrutinized by many hundreds of dirge “ughonas” and “kurums” of the Pre-Islamic period.
Here, in Asht district there is another unique masterpiece monument of the Islamic culture- a pise-walled carved mekhrab of X-XI c.c. preserved in the structure of later Khashtsahob mosque in Old Asht settlement; now with the aims of restoration and museum preservation it is removed to the Academy of Science of the Republic of Tajikistan - to the National museum of Tajikistan antiquities created anew.
The rectangular niche of the mekhrab is 70 centimeters in length and 30 centimeters in depth. At the height of 115 centimeters the rectangular niche is crowned with a not deep concave in a form of a lancet arch along a faзade plane (63 cm in flight). Along the butt end wall of the niche there is a second lesser arch with seven semicircled festoons.
The thick layer of mekhrab casing is made of special clay elaborated by an ancient way on a solution with coupling grapes boiled stuff called “shinni”. The clay is utterly homogeneous and in solid state it resembles a sculpturally elaborated gleaming stone of a schist type. Carving was done along a clay layer when the latter was yet plastic. A hand of a virtuoso performed it: in the mostly complicated and exquisite pattern of jewellery ornamentation there are no traced even of minor correction.
The decorative design of the mekhrab is very harmonious. The inner festoon small arch is surrounded with П-like framing responding to the configuration of the low rectangular part of the niche. This rectangular frame is embellished with a motive of a wavy band with tough curls and intermediate figures having a form of “cornucopias”. The spans at framing edges are terminated with a row of sharp throngs.
The field of the inner small arch tympana is completely covered with spiral curls of the “islimi” ornamental motive closely set to one another. Deep carving is performed in a free picturesque manner: the stamp of resilient, slightly angular sprouts is done masterly. The “castle” crowing the small festoon arch has a form of a splendid goblet and sharp-edged flank “wings” and resembles upon the whole the motive of “stretched wings” being traditional for the Near and Middle East.
The decorative design of the big arch concave is extraordinarily conspicuous and refined. A round medallion (26 cm in diameter) at the low row of the concave contoured with a chain of small ring pearls serves as a compositional center of the concave. Inside the medallion is filled with double trefoils and meanders alternating in a chessboard order. Around the medallion is framed with 13 almond-like petals each of which is covered inside with a subtle tracery of rhombs and stylized leaves with miniature volutes.
The archvolute of the big arch of the mekhrab is ornated with a carved Arabic inscription made by kufi handwriting. The preserved part contains the Koran text - the beginning of sura 23 “1. In the name of Allah, merciful, compassionate. 2. The believers prosper. 3. Those who are resigned in their pray (Koran. XXIII).”
In the ornamentation of the mekhrab also the pre-Islamic symbolic of Zoroastrian fire and sun is perceptible. The undoubtful peculiarity of Asht mekhrab is in its inordinary system of decoration and in its concave form. The device of filling the arch and thus hiding its inner constructive surface - that of soffit - applied here is exclusively rare in Middle Asian architecture. Unique is also the system of the decorative ornation of the concave, its luxuriousness and solemnity. Asht mekhrab is a monument of an extraordinarily artistic historical significance. It embodied in itself the links of the epochs of culture and art development: Sughdian and Tajik proper having reflected their undoubtful succession. (In particulars see: C.Г. Хмельницкий, H.H. Негматов, Mихраб B C Ашт.- Советская археология, M, 1963 №2- Mekhrab in Asht settlements. (Sovetskaya Arheologia), p.p. 192-202).
The inventory-description of Sughd viloyat masterpiece monuments can be proceeded durably. Their multitude counts hundreds and thousands and as for rank and file, series, commonly knowledgeable historic monuments it’s difficult to count them in general. But behind simple wares, things, tools of labor and etc. there stand all mass producer and consumer - the whole people, the creator of history who is entitled to the right of glancing at its former history and culture in order to recall them.
In our publications we already spoke about the right of Sughd viloyat to be an assignee of the cultural heritage (“Varorud”, 2001, #3, p.24), we told that the creation of the big and worthy Museum of Sughdian antiquities in connection with the rebirth of the historic name of Sughd viloyat becomes the most important prestigious goal of Khujand - as the main modern town of this yet mostly enigmatical region of both the ancient and contemporary world (“Varorud” 2001, # 3, p. 24). In relation with this twofold necessity of the creation of the Museum of Sughdian antiquities, or it’s better to say “Sughdian Hermitage”, one would like to outline a row of circumstances relieving this goal. Already the third year at a running according to the directive resolution of Sughd viloyat Chairman Kasym Kasymov when the town Hukumat allots finances for Khujand the building reanimation of the fragment of the eastern wall of Khujand fortress is being implemented; the latter pertaining to the Samanids’ epoch and counting three millennia history with an incessant archeological culture. This year the jobs concerned with the plot where eastern gates and towers in front of them are located are in the phase of termination. Here they have already successfully carried out a unique reinstatement in the history of restorative practice and museum complexes construction in Central Asia: simultaneously combined restoration and reanimation of walls, towers and gates with the usage of intermural and intertower spans for expositional rooms. Thus, the Museum of archeology and fortification of the town of Khujand with the functions of the exponent of reanimated erections and the expositional exhibition of the urban archeological material inside the vacant squares of walls and towers has been created and is already working. One has managed to create the multifariously unique and very non-deficient inexpensive museum.
In the nearest years it is outlined to proceed with the reanimation of the eastern wall of the fortress up to its south-eastern corner. It is very expedient to adapt at once the inner squares of this part of the fortress wall with the intermediate towers under the above-titled Sughdian Hermitage. The group of scientists conducting this work -archeologists, architects and restaurateurs- are sure for hundred percent in the success concerned with the creation of such common Sughdian museum complex, and as for expositional material it can be enriched with the solicitude of the above-mentioned foreign and Tajik museums and collection funds. I am sure, the State Hermitage of Saint-Petersburg will render a tangible aid being a permanent participant of our archeological-restorative jobs and digs. I shall also note that in the Hermitage there are many monuments of archeology, painting and wood carving digged out in the ruins of ancient Penjikent, Shakhristan and other places of Sughd; these artifacts being temporarily kept there.