Funerary statuette: Sogdian merchant

Description The unusual plasticity of the figure suggests that it was shaped freehand rather than produced from molds. The man is represented as if he were sitting on a stool or on the back of an animal. The arms folded towards the chest and the hands, closed in a fist facing frontally towards the chest, may suggest that they hold the reins of a mount. Of the face of the man, certainly a foreigner, one can see only the thick eyebrows, the protruding Western-cut eyes and the large aquiline nose partially covered by a triangular veil that is connected to a particular type of turban. The nape of the neck is covered by another triangular cloth that covers the ears and falls on the left shoulder.