The traditions of stone cutting in Tuva

Budegechieva Tamara Budegechievna

The article addresses the origins of Tuvan stone small-scale sculpture. Among Russian handicrafts this type of art is highly valued for of its style and original national identity. The establishment and development of this unique craft was encouraged by the different types of stone carving that existed throughout the history of nomadic people of Tuva. Such as cave drawings that were created in Tuvan territory up to the modern age, spiritual deer stones, small figures for sanctuaries, kizhi-kozhe stone figures, steles with ancient Turkic writing, household items etc. Contemporary Tuvan stone small-scale sculptures are carved out of special material – ornamental stone Agalmatolith and are intended only for aesthetic purposes. Nevertheless, an extensive past experience of stone carving can be considered as a living tradition transformed into a small-scale sculpture of Tuvans.

Keywords:Nomadic culture, Tuvans, stone cutting, tradition, modern cultural transformation, small-scale sculpture.