Khalchayan

Discovery

Khalchayan lies in the Surkhandarya valley near modern Denov. Galina Pugachenkova excavated it in 1959–1963. It is usually attributed to the early Kushans or their ancestors, the Yuezhi (Tokharians), and is thought to have been a small palace or reception hall.

Its interior walls were decorated with clay sculpture and paintings dated to the mid-1st century BC, which may depict events as early as the 2nd century BC.

The sculpture

The panels show scenes of Kushan life: battles, feasts and portraits of rulers. Some appear to depict the Yuezhi fighting the Saka, the former shown with majestic bearing, the latter with side-whiskers and in rather grotesque poses. Among the sculptures is the bust of a Parthian king; from coin likenesses, scholars suggest Vardanes I, who sought refuge in Bactria around AD 35.

The art historian Benjamin Rowland argued that Khalchayan sculpture derives from Hellenistic art and may have influenced the rise of Gandharan art; the famous head of a Yuezhi prince bears a striking resemblance to Gandharan bodhisattvas.

Did you know?

Khalchayan lies in the upper Surkhandarya valley, in historic Chaghaniyan. The Yuezhi reached Bactria in the 2nd century BC and later founded the Kushan empire, which makes these sculptures a rare visual record of nomad chiefs becoming rulers of a great empire.