Early sculpture
Mongolian sculpture encompasses a wide diversity of genres, including ancient deer stones and prehistoric human statues, buildings, commemorative monuments, small Buddhist figures, large brass castings, terra cotta figures, papier-mâché cam masks, small ornaments on everyday objects, and stone, bone and wood carvings.
Among the earliest known examples of Mongolian sculpture is the Norovlin Mountain stone sacred figure discovered in Dornod aimag. The oval-shaped sacred figure measures 22.5 x 4 centimetres, and has dug-out eyes and engraved nose and mouth. It is believed to have been produced by the Paleo-Asiatic people who lived in Central Asia towards the end of the stone age.
The so-called "animal-style art", typically representing figures of deer, was widespread throughout Central Asia and western Eurasia. Approximately five hundred deer stones can be found in the territory of Mongolia, the majority of which are distributed in the north and northwest parts of the country. These monuments have an average height of 3-5 metres and breadth of 50-60 centimetres, and bear stylized carvings of deer and other figures. The typical composition of the deer stone reflects the cosmology of the early Central Asian nomads, involving a division of the universe into the upper world of the Heavens (tenger), the human world of the Earth (gazar), and the underworld of the spirits (lus), symbolized respectively by the sun and moon, hoofed creatures, and snakes and fish: the upper part of the monument depicts the sun, source of life; the centre depicts the totemic deer and other hoofed animals; and the lower section depicts bows and arrows, knives, daggers and other symbols of the world of death.
Approximately two thousand years before the Common Era, the tribes of Central Asia took up nomadic animal husbandry and learned to smelt iron, opening up new opportunities for sculpture and decorative arts, and leading to the transposition of the animal-style to these areas.
The "Scythian Deer" image, seen in Mongolian monumental art, has branching antlers and a long, beak-like snout. Among the various artefacts unearthed from the Xünnü-era Noyon Uul tomb are a gold-plated round silver sacred figure, bearing an image of a yak standing in the woods with the hair under its belly blowing in the wind, and with its head facing forwards as in a human portrait. This was possibly the sacred figure of one of the leading tribes from that period. A similarly-produced embossed gold ornamental item, bearing a human portrait, has been discovered in an ancient grave in Büregxangai sum in Bulgan aimag, and is also attributed to the Xünnü.
Of the various nomadic peoples who successively inhabited the territory of what is now Mongolia, the Türks produced the most abundant monumental heritage, reflected in the several hundred human statues (known in Mongolian as xün chuluu or "man-stones") throughout the Altai and Xangai regions. Such statues were erected above the grave of an ancestor, facing the direction of the sunrise. The monument generally depicts a seated man wearing a rounded hat, a gown folded from left to right, and a belt from which a pouch is suspended on the right and a knife from the left; with his right hand he holds a cup at the level of his chest, while his left hand rests on his belt or the handle of his knife. According to the descriptions of some historical sources, such monuments would be constructed to commemorate a heroic warrior, and the number of enemies he had killed would be indicated by the number of stones laid out in a straight line extending from the monument, known as "bal-bal". Such statues can be found both individually and in groups.
Although most of these statues represent either the full, standing body or only the upper torso of their subjects, the statue known as "Asgatyn Xöshöö" in Mogod sum of Bulgan aimag is unique insofar as it depicts three human figures presented in bas-relief on a large, grey stone, above which can be found bird and mountain-goat symbols, the lower part being decorated with the "nose pattern" (xamar ugalz).
Other significant statuary monuments dating from the Türkic period (8th century) can be found at Xöshöö Caidam and near Nalaix, in the memorial complexes dedicated to Bilge Xan, Kül-Tegin and Tonyokuk. The Kül-Tegin memorial includes figures of attendants and members of Kül-Tegin's entourage, placed in two lines facing one another, along with the cross-legged figures of Kül-Tegin and his wife. The head of the Kül-Tegin statue, found separately, depicts its subject wearing a tall hat ornamented with eagle figures and the clan's totemic figure, as a man of approximately forty years of age, with a look of bravery and determination suiting the military hero.
There are also a fair number of monuments in Mongolia created by the Uighurs, who rose to power in the 8th and 9th centuries. Near the ruin of their former capital of Xar Balgas can be found the fragment of a stele describing the heroic deeds of Alp-Kutukuk Ulug Bilge and five other Xaans, in Türkic, Sogdian and Chinese scripts. The border along the top of this granite stele is ornamented with three dragons depicted almost as lizards, in a manner quite distinct from the traditional Chinese style, and revealing the conception of the early people of the steppe. Two stone lions found at the ruins of Baibalyk near the Selenge River, now preserved in the Mongolian Natural History Museum, also represent a non-traditional, less detailed, somewhat more primitive and indigenous form of representation.
Although few examples of Mongol Empire period sculpture remain extant, there are occasional human statues, stelae and architectural ornaments. The Mongol human statue found in Dariganga sum of Süxbaatar aimag, for example, is completely different from similar statues of the earlier period, in terms of the hat, clothing and jewellery represented, as well as from the representation of the subject as seated in an armchair; technically it is also much more refined.
Stelae make up an important part of the monumental heritage of the early Mongols. Among the most significant of these are the "Chingis Stone" now located in the Hermitage Museum in Saint-Petersburg, the stele dedicated to Mönx Xaan in the collections of the Mongolian Museum of National History, and the stone turtles located within the ruin of Karakorum, which formerly served as the pedestals for such monuments. The stone carvings of dragons and crocodile heads in the palisade connected with the second floor of the Xöndii Palace near Chita (Russia) are unique findings in the sculpture tradition of the nomadic peoples. A total of 102 out of the former 150 dragon figures remain extant; they depict dragons crouching with the front legs bent under the chest, as though in a creeping motion, with the head facing outwards.
The two sculpted female heads discovered during the course of excavations at Karakorum are small in size but are significant in providing an understanding of the concrete arts from the Mongol Empire period. The first of these figures depicts a half-smiling woman with partly-closed lips, large eyes and a chain of flowers in her hair, recalling the traditional school of sculpture of the Turfan Uighurs; the second depicts a strikingly well-proportioned Mongolian-featured woman. Both of these figures are produced in a realistic style, unlike the highly formalized representations of dakinis and boddhisattvas found in the Buddhist tradition, allowing us to form a clear understanding of the true artistic abilities of Mongolian sculptors from this period.
 | In commemoration of the legacy and teachings of His Holiness Dulduit Danzanravzhaa Fifth Wrathful Noble Xutagt of the Great Gobi (1803-1856) I did not overbearingly sophize Nor preach with pride and arrogance But having found a sense in this world Spoke the truth of my dear heart. |   |