Abstract
The article introduces a peculiar Old Turkic statue from Borili, discovered in the hills of Ulytau, Central Kazakhstan. It differs from other Old Turkic statues in that both arms are down and the hands are on the weapons––a sword and a battle pickaxe, the latter replacing the traditional vessel. No exact matches to this sculpture are known. Only isolated traits such as clothing style, weapons, and belt mountings are paralleled by other Old Turkic specimens. Items shown on the Borili statue are similar to those relating to the Sogdian and Turkic traditions, as well as those depicted in works of East Asian art from the time of the earliest states. Compositional features of the Borili statue could be due to the sculptor’s acquaintance with the art of the neighboring regions, primarily that of Sogdiana and China, which is spatially closest. The distinctive features of the Borili statue prompt us to examine its semantics in several ways relating to the visual and emotional aspects of the funerary rite. Based on the artistic and material parallels, the statue dates to the 7th or early 8th centuries.