Читать книгу Central Asian Art - Vladimir Lukonin - Страница 4

The architectural heritage of Central Asia offers great diversity. The oldest period is characterised by the vestiges of mighty castles, houses, workshops, palaces, and temples decorated with mural paintings and sculptures. Of these edifices nothing remains today except pieces of walls, bases, and fragments of columns or capitals on which can be seen elements of old western or Hellenistic architecture. During the Middle Ages (6^th-8^th centuries) particular attention was given to the building of edifices dedicated to worship, palaces, and fortresses. The decoration of palaces and houses with paintings and sculptures was ample and so was sculpture on wood or on stucco, primary elements in architectural ornamentation that was to blossom during the following centuries. The medieval castles constituted one of the most characteristic forms of architecture in Central Asia. Their forms were simple and severe: over a vast terrace of beaten earth, bind walls were raised and sometimes decorated with engaged columns.