ANALYSIS OF THE ROOTS OF DUALISM SEMANTICS EXISTING IN ZOOMORPHIC AND ANTHROPOMORPHIC IMAGES BELONGING TO ANCIENT TURKIC ART

Abstract

The analysis of the processes of creation and development of material and spiritual values of the
ancient Turkic peoples leading a nomadic lifestyle before our era is possible only when studying the
subject world that has come down to us from the ancient Turks. The correct disclosure of the
content of the mythological philosophical system and its symbols, images belonging to the ancient
Turks, who left behind a rather small number of written samples and almost exclusively kurgantype monuments, is based on a thorough, serious study of the hidden semantics of various
zoomorphic or therioanthropomorphic compositions created by ancient masters on materials such as
metal, bone and wood. The samples of decorative and applied art created by ancient Turkic masters
differ not only in the plasticity of the forms themselves, compositional constructions and intense
internal rhythmics, strict observance of the canons of the image. On each piece of art created by the
ancient Turks, we can see an iconographic image of the harmony of the universe, which arose from
the struggle of two basic life principles, one of the first philosophical systems of human civilization
– dualism. The ancient Turkic art with its content was able to enrich the mythological thinking
created by archaic times with new artistic forms and with new ethical and aesthetic elements.
Compositions and images created by ancient Turkic masters could often fully express both artistic
and philosophical, religious and ritual, and ethical content at the same time. This gave a powerful
impetus to the appearance of art samples that could act as visual carriers of the mythological system
inherent in the ancient Turkic world, and had a special language of description peculiar only to it.
The research of the article is aimed at studying the influence of the aesthetic principles of dualism
on ancient Turkic art.