The Cold War Iron Curtain hid a great many things from the Western view. Perhaps most extraordinarily, an entire civilisation remained unknown to Western scholarship for some forty years as a result of the ongoing tensions. Discovered in the AD 1950s, this mysterious and major civilisation was labelled the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC) by Viktor Sarianidi in AD 1976. The Soviet Union, which dominated Central Asia for most of the Twentieth Century AD sponsored Sarianidi to make multiple expeditions to the civilisation’s main sites in Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, and a wealth of work was published on the BMAC. However, it was not until the break-up of the USSR in the AD 1990s that this work disseminated to the West. The BMAC, also known more elegantly as the Oxus Civilisation, probably originated in the Third Millennium BC, when we have the first evidence of an urban phase at sites across the area historically known as Bactria. At sites like Altyn Depe, in modern Turkmenistan, the urban area grew to 25 hectares (61 acres), and encompassed living quarters for different social classes, a street plan, and a great pyramidal temple (ziggurat) on the Mesopotamian model.

Alongside their penchant for urban living, the Bactrians produced outstanding, sensitive artworks which resonate with moderns as much as with their ancient makers. Female figurines nicknamed ‘Bactrian Princesses’ are among their most famous output, consisting of seated female figures carved in coloured stone (usually chlorite), with paler faces carved separately, with a penetrating gaze. But the people of the BMAC were ingenious workers of various media, with especially notable metalwork. Works in copper, bronze, gold and silver can be found in many of the world’s major museum collections (most notably the Metropolitan Museum of Art).

The most unusual works to survive to us from the BMAC are curiously known as ‘handle-weights’ or ‘handbags’ (sac à main). They come in the same basic form: a rectangular lower portion, which is usually decorated with relief imagery, and a curving upper ‘handle’ which rises in an arc. This category of finds are also known from other ancient civilisations of the Near East and Central Asia, and were the characteristic artefact of the recently rediscovered Jiroft Culture. ‘Handle-weights’ are characteristically very heavy, usually made from the dense stone chlorite (3.3 g/m3, 2 oz per cubic inch). This has been seen by many as confirming their designation as ‘weights’. What exactly might have been weighed with them is a mystery. They are far too large, and too heavy, for many of the economic uses to which weights were put in contemporaneous ancient civilisations. They were little use, for example, in measuring out gold or precious metals. We might instead propose a bulk commodity, like cereal grains, but given that the accepted daily average nutritional requirement of an active adult male in antiquity, if their diet was 70% cereals, was less than 1 kg (2 1/8 lbs), these objects would have accounted for multiple weeks of food, or a daily ration for perhaps 10 men.

Instead, many scholars have sought out ritual uses for these weights. Similar ‘handbag’ shapes appear in numerous reliefs from the ancient Near East. They most commonly appear in Assyrian temple carvings, where they are held by gods in one hand, while the other bears a kind of pinecone shape. Most archaeologists agree, however, that the ‘handbags’ held by Assyrian deities are not, in fact, representations of these weights, but rather two-dimensional profile images of buckets or baskets. The ‘pinecone’ would be dipped into the bucket or basket, which contained perfume, sacred oil, or another liquid, and was then sprinkled in blessing. If BMAC ‘handle-weights’, and those of neighbouring cultures, had a ritual purpose, we must seek it elsewhere from these images. One reasonable suggestion is that these were items which were intended to bestow status on their owner or user. Holding this object (especially one-handed) by the handle for any significant period of time is something of a feat of strength, attainable only by those in fairly good physical condition. Bearing such an object during ceremonies would demonstrate one’s physical prowess, and presumably, therefore the attributes which make for an effective ruler.

This particular ‘handle weight’ is a delightful example. Compared to others of the type, the rectangular ‘body’ is much narrower, reducing the overall ‘handbag’ appearance. The handle is large and looping, and ergonomically surprisingly well designed; if this piece was designed to be held, it would at least not apply too much pressure to individual parts of the hand, and would fit snugly in the fist. Two other remarkable features set this particular ‘handle-weight’ apart. The first is that it is made not of chlorite, but of a complex metal alloy. The main component in this alloy is lead, which accounts for its considerable mass. Other identified elements include tin, copper, and iron, the oxidation of which is responsible for the slight orange tinge in parts. The second remarkable feature is the decoration. Most ‘handle-weights’, such as those in the British Museum (), bear geometrical designs, resembling the kaunakes, the elaborate woollen cloaks worn by both men and women. Where figurative images exist, they are almost exclusively lions, often depicted fighting. This is probably symbolic of the martial prowess of the King or civic leader (it is likely that the BMAC culture consisted of numerous city-states). The artisan who created this ‘handle-weight’ chose instead another, less dynamic, but no less affecting subject.

The water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) was probably first domesticated some 6,500 years before present. An important capital asset for small farmers, tame water buffalo are some of the most effective pack and driving animals in Asia, able to pull carts and ploughs and to trample seed into farmland. Their meat and cheese are highly-prized; their highly nutritious cream churns faster and at higher fat levels than cow milk, produce nutritious hard and soft cheeses, and produce a butter which is more stable at higher temperatures than cow butter. These features made water buffalo preferable to the local cattle breed (the zebu, Bos taurus indicus), and presumably a valuable commodity to be traded, sacrificed and displayed as a signal of wealth and status. The rendering of the water buffalo on this ‘handle weight is exquisite. Each has a long face with a snub nose, a rounded muzzle, large almond eye, and extraordinary curling horns. The dewlap (skin fold below the neck) is delicately rendered with incised lines, while the teardrop-shaped ear is similarly incised. Each has a squat muscular body, the legs of which are held together in a relaxed pose. The cloven hooves are carefully rendered. The artist clearly spent considerable time in the presence of these animals, and may have used living examples as models. Their presence on this object may be as a result of their considerable strength – perhaps the ruler was thought to mimic the water buffalo in his physical characteristics – and of their sociability.