The Mongols, like the other peoples of Central Asia, used large tents and yurts. According to thirteenth-century reports, there was a gigantic yurt in Mongolia, built on a cart, to which 22 bulls were harnessed. Traces of many towns and settlements have also survived, however, the most striking example being the old Mongol capital of Karakorum. This was a large city boasting 12 temples of different religions (including Buddhism), the palace of Ögedey Khan and residential quarters around the central trading area; we have a description of it from the only known European traveller who visited it, William of Rubruck.(3)

A striking example of the frescoes in ancient Mongol cities is provided by the paintings discovered during excavations beneath the palace of Ögedey. Built in 1235, the palace stood on a high mound composed of alternating layers of sand and clay beneath which were found the remains of a Buddhist temple with fragments of twelfth- and early thirteenth-century frescoes. They were painted on a layer of white plaster applied to a coat of yellow clay covering the wall. The paintings are on religious subjects. The larger figures of the Buddha are shown surrounded by small figures and three types of representation have been identified: Tibetan, Uighur and Chinese. Among the Tibetan-style pictures is a Buddha depicted with a topknot and a halo against a red background. His right shoulder is bare, his left is covered by a red cloak. Such representations of the Buddha teaching are known from Karakhoto. Images of him wearing a tall headdress, clothed in red and ‘bestowing a blessing’, corresponding to Tibetan canons, also form part of the same cycle of paintings. A fragment depicting a figure with hands clasped and wearing a red garment with broad sleeves also belongs to the Tibetan tradition. The craft products found include jewellery made of ivory, copper earrings, a filigree silver bracelet, bronze plates and finely worked clasps, and many other items. Chinese influence and, at times, workmanship are evident in the splendid vases, the ceramic dishes and the enormous number of shards of various forms of pottery which have been found.

The sculpture of the Mongol empire differed substantially from all the known sculpture of earlier periods, and this is particularly true of the stone sculptures found in eastern Mongolia. One striking example is the sculpture in the somon (district) of Dariganga in Sühbaatar aymak (province), which differs from the Turkic sculptures of western Mongolia in the pose depicted, the workmanship, and the clothing, headgear and ornamentation. For many years, this work was erroneously dated by scholars to the ancient Türk period (i.e. not later than the eighth century), but L. L. Victorova, who first dated the stone sculptures of eastern Mongolia to the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, has demonstrated that this monumental work depicts members of the Chinggisid dynasty. One of the statues represents the youngest son of Chinggis Khan, Tolui. The statues’ hats have small brims and long ribbons hanging down the wearers’ backs. Kaftans with long flaps and narrow sleeves are worn, fastening from left to right. Such belts as are visible are decorated with small plates in the form of eight-petalled rosettes or half-moon shapes. Unlike the ancient Türk sculptures, on which the legs are not shown, the sculptures from eastern Mongolia are presented in soft boots with thick soles and turned-up toes. Many figures carry purses or prayer beads. One sculpture shows an armchair with elbow-rests, something which was never produced in the west of the country.(4)

Architectural ornament also has its place in the sculpture of the Mongol period, examples being the heads or foreparts of dragons, stretching forward like animals about to leap. Figurines of women and, occasionally, of animals have been found in temples. Another distinctive decorative feature consisted of stone stelae bearing inscriptions and mounted on stone bases in the form of tortoises; one of these last still stands by the wall of Erdeni-zu.