Iberian Peninsula to the indus

parted in the middle and assembled 
on the neck in a large bun striated in 
a whirl, creating an elegant conk-shell 
effect. 
The stone, a black vacuolar basalt, 
indicates a possible provenance in 
northern, volcanic areas which were 
accultured to Sumerian art, perhaps in 
Northern Syria.
C.A.
Reference:
 
Spycket 1981, pl. 72.
74
Head of feMale figure
Mesopotamia
Early Dynastic III period
(ca. 2300–2200 BC)
Gypsum alabaster, H. 9.5 cm,
W. 6.3 cm
Private Collection, London
The stone, gypsum alabaster, is 
common to the Syria-Mesopotamian 
mountain ranges. Like the previous 
figure, this statuette has an elaborate 
coiffure, the hair parted in the middle 
and ending in a massive bun on the 
nape, striated in a rhythmic whirl. 
The face is soft, the eye sockets very 
large, the mouth smiling faintly – a 
very much alive image of a worshipper 
gazing a little diffidently at her deity.
C.A.

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219
218
FROM IRAN
TO THE OXUS

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221
220
“oxuS lady” WitH Bird Body
Eastern Iran, Central Asia
Oxus Culture (ca. 2200–1800 BC)
Private Collection, UK
(cat. 75, detail)
Art from the oXuS
T
he oxus civilization, or BmAc (for Bactria-margiana Archaeological complex), 
now better known thanks to the discoveries of the russian archaeologists 
Vladmir masson and Viktor Sarianidi and the progress of the exploration 
of central Asia, was a privileged moment in the history of central Asia. it emerged 
at the end of the third millennium, around the upper valley of the Amu darya, the 
oxus river of the Greeks. monumental urban centres, palaces and cultic buildings 
were uncovered, notably at Gonur depe in turkmenistan. elite cemeteries yielded 
composite female statuettes, vessels in precious metal and exotic goods imported 
from the indus valley and Syria-mesopotamia. trade with these distant regions is 
probably among the causes for the fast development of the area, conveniently placed 
at mid-distance. the frequent relations of central Asia with the iranian plateau 
resulted in the formation of a mixed, intercultural identity extending from elam to 
central Asia. figurative artefacts in intercultural style were created in production 
centres like Jiroft or tepe yahia in eastern iran and were exported as far as Arabia, 
mesopotamia and northern Syria. this prosperous civilization vanished around 1700 
Bc for reasons yet unclear.
Artefacts which reappeared on the market in the 1960s have long been the object 
of debate as to their origin and meaning. laboratory analysis being so far inconclu-
sive to eliminate forgeries,
one has to rely on flair, an unsatisfactory instrument and, 
more reliably, on the examination of materials, techniques and iconography. thus, 
a coherent artistic movement is now in the process of reconstruction, around two 
core iconographic groups: the “oxus lady” (a term that we prefer than the so-called 
“Bactrian princess”) and the “scarface”, a dragon snake genie in human guise. 
to this core group, two iconographic types recently identified are added here, for 
the first time: the “Bird spirit” (
cat. n° 75
), possibly an avatar of the “oxus lady”, and 
the kneeling youthful figure, (
cat. n° 95-97
), young and handsome, who embodies 
the opposite characters of the “scarface”. 
All these statuettes are made by combining and assembling materials of con-
trasting colours. the preferred materials are chlorite (or similar dark green stones), 
a whitish limestone or mottled alabaster or marine shells from the indian ocean. 
Copper alloy or lapis lazuli, a semi-precious blue stone mined in the upper mountains 
of Afghanistan, were also used. the art of faïence, an artificial vitreous composi-
tion, was invented simultaneously in syria-mesopotamia and the indus. the oxus 
craftsmen used the technique for the production of mosaic scenes in mosaics and 

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223
222
1
Bowl decorated with scorpions
Eastern Iran-Central Asia
Oxus culture (late III millennium)
Chlorite
Ligabue Collection, Venice,
inv. CL 3452
2
Standing “Oxus Lady”
Eastern Iran Central Asia
Oxus Culture (late III millennium BC)
Chlorite and limestone
Musée du Louvre Abu Dhabi
figures (
cat. n° 93-94
). in the stone statuettes, the different elements of body and 
costume were carved separately and joined, as in a puzzle, by tenon and mortices 
or glue (
imm. ligabue collection
). the body of the female figures, entirely covered by 
an all-enveloping mantle, are carved in dark stone, contrasting with the white face 
and arms. the “Scarface” statuettes are in a reversed coloured pattern – the body 
in dark stone, contrasting with a (generally) light-coloured kilt; the kneeling youths 
are carved in either a light or dark body with a coloured kilt and dark hair. the sym-
metry/opposition of the colour pattern was a characteristic of the art of the oxus, a 
feature observable also in the iconography. many different interpretations have been 
proposed for these mythological characters and the question is still debated. But one 
factual evidence is clear, regarding the testimony of the images themselves: taken as a 
whole, the statuettes embody complementary and symmetrically opposed concepts – 
beauty versus ugliness, male/female, age/youth, earth (dragon snake)/air (bird spirit), 
human/animal, as they introduced hybrid creatures that combine human and animal 
natures. Added to the imagery of other figurative arts of the oxus, like the stone and 
metal vessels, and the seals, the statuettes appear as part of a larger narrative where 
opposite and complementary forces interact in the eternal battle of the cosmos, life 
and death, the yearly cycle of nature, Wild and civilized, the attraction of Beauty for 
the Beast. in the broader perspective of the cosmic speculations elaborated by the 
mesopotamians and the indo iranians, central Asia acted as both an intermediary 
and a creative centre in the construction of a complex universe in action.