Abstract
We describe an unusual Old Turkic statue at Borili (Ulytau, Central Kazakhstan), distinguished by a peculiar position of hands and by an unusual object––a pickaxe held instead of a vessel. Stylistic features and possible prototypes among actual pickaxessuggest that the statue dates to 7th to early 8th centuries AD. The composition attests to the sculptor’s familiarity with Sogdian/ Iranian art and with that of China. Several interpretations of the statue are possible. The standard version regarding Old Turkic statues erected near stone enclosures is that they represent divine chiefs––patrons of the respective group. Certain details carved on the statue indicate an early origin of the image. It is also possible that such statues are semantically similar to those of guardians placed along the “path of the spirits” near tombs of Chinese royal elite members.