The ''Chilek silver bowl'' ("Čilek bowl") is a silver bowl found in the area of

Samarkand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...

, and considered as the "best known specimen of

Hephthalite The Hephthalites (), sometimes called the White Huns (also known as the White Hunas, in Iranian as the ''Spet Xyon'' and in Sanskrit and Prakrit as the ''Sveta-huna''), were a people who lived in Central Asia during the 5th to 8th centuries CE, ...

art". More specifically, the bowl seems to belong to the

Alchon Huns The Alchon Huns, ( Bactrian: ''Alkhon(n)o'' or ''Alkhan(n)o'') also known as the Alkhan, Alchono, Alxon, Alkhon, Alakhana, and Walxon, were a nomadic people who established states in Central Asia and South Asia during the 4th and 6th centurie ...

, south of the

Hindu-Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and eastern Afghanistan into northwestern Pakistan and far southeastern Tajikistan. The range forms the western section of ...

, during the last third of the 5th century CE. The Alchons have long been considered as a part or a sub-division of the Hephthalites, or as their eastern branch, but now tend to be considered as a separate entity. The bowl is similar in composition with the

Hephthalite silver bowl The ''Hephthalite silver bowl'' is a bowl discovered in the Swat region of Gandhara, Pakistan, and now in the British Museum. It dates from 460 to 479 CE, and the images represent two different Huna tribes, suggesting a period of peaceful coexi ...

, but represents "six dancers in Indian costume with Iranian ribbons and Hephthalite-short heads". It, too, is considered as an Alchon object, but possibly manufactured in India at the request of the Alchons. It is now in the Samarkand Museum. The man in the medallion at the bottom of the Chilek bowl has a clearly elongated skull, characteristic of the

. He wears royal ribbons in the Sasanian style, and holds a flower in his right hand, as seen in the coinage of

Mehama Mehama ( Bactrian: ''Meyam'', Brahmi: 𑀫𑁂𑀳𑀫 ''Me-ha-ma''), ruled c.461-493, was a king of Alchon Huns dynasty. He is little known, but the Talagan copper scroll mentions him as an active ruler making a donation to a Buddhist stupa in ...

. The bowl should probably be dated to the time of

Khingila Khingila I ( Bactrian: χιγγιλο ''Khingilo'', Brahmi script: 𑀔𑀺𑀗𑁆𑀕𑀺𑀮 ''Khi-ṇgi-la'', Middle Chinese: 金吉剌 ''Kim kjit lat'', Persian: شنگل ''Shengel''; c.430-490) was the founding king of the Hunnic Alkh ...

(430/440-490 CE). The general style of such silver bowls with outside decoration and without stem is derived from earlier

Sasanian Empire The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...

prototypes, and ultimately from the

Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian peoples, Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, i ...

, and has been described as "post-Sasanian" or "sub-Sasanian". File:Chilek bowl (top right detail).jpg, Detail of a dancer File:Chilek silver bowl Alchon ruler.jpg, The Alchon ruler in the central medallion of the bowl File:Khingila holding a flower.jpg,

holding a flower, in his coinage

References

{{Central Asian history Hephthalites 5th-century artifacts Archaeological discoveries in Uzbekistan