6th-7th century
This mural shows a Buddhist
being with the thumb and index finger on his right hand touching. His facial
features are elegantly outlined in ink with ochre highlights, and the
glittering headdress and mandorla
(halo) are lavishly colored a vibrant blue with lapis lazuli mineral pigment.
The Kizil Caves are located
west of Kucha city in Xinjiang province in west China. Over 250 caves survive
today and are renowned for their Buddhist mural paintings in a Central Asian
style that reflects Indian and Persian influences. This fragment was probably
among many artifacts brought to Germany by explorer Albert von Le Coq
(1860–1930) from expeditions to the Silk Road. It was collected by Edgar Worch
(1800–1972), a Chinese art dealer active in Berlin and the uncle of former
Seattle Art Museum curator Henry Trubner.
Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.
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