New Turkic Sculptures in Central Altai

The article focuses on comprehensive analyses of four new Turkic statues from the territory of the Ongudai and Ust-Kan districts of the Altai Republic and introduction of the new data into scientific circulation. All the sculptures have been relocated from their original places and, as a rule, were discovered in the course of agricultural works. The analysis of these sculptures by the author was possible thanks to the information provided by a local historian. The considered sculptures belong to two most numerous groups of such monuments in Altai: sculptures of man-warrior in canonical pose and the so-called facial sculptures. The four sculptures can be preliminary dated to the 7th–9th centuries and attributed to the Karluk population. Two sculptures (from Amaldai and Yabogan) representing vivid examples of the Turkic monumental art of Altai, are particularly notable. The head of the Yabogan sculpture belonged to a noble man-warrior, probably in a canonical pose - one of the most expressive and skillfully made Turkic sculptures of the Altai. This is evidenced by the thoroughly and artistically rendered facial features, as well as the presumed size of the sculpture of 2–2.5 meters high. The Amaldai, which gives the full impression of a round sculpture, probably reproduces a left-handed man holding a vessel in his left hand. This fact is as vivid evidence that the Turkic sculptures portrayed real people rather than a generalized image of a warrior, as some researchers believe. Taking into account the four Turkic statues published in this article, their total number in Altai today is close to 340, which puts the Russian Altai among the most studied regions in terms of early medieval monuments.