Head of a Buddhist Deity

Although this is only a small fragment, the head of this deity clearly embodies the mural technique of Xinjiang. The head is framed with curly black hair and a halo with a thick black border. It has a broad face, with arching eyebrows and lips placed close to the nose. The typical red shading around the eyes, lips, and neck give depth to the facial features in a few vital brushstrokes.

Buddhism spread from India to Central Asia and China through the northern and southern branches of the Silk Road. Kucha, a royal city-state on the northern route, was a favorite stopping place for caravans and pilgrims. In the seventh century the city was a flourishing center of Buddhist studies; it was the largest monastic community in Central Asia, with more than a thousand stupas. The caves of Kucha and the surrounding cities were once filled with wall paintings.

This object was found in the rubble in a high cave at the gorge entrance of Sim-sim near Kirish by the German archaeologist Albert von Le Coq (1860-1930) on the Fourth German Expedition in 1913. Le Coq excavated many sites in Xinjiang (also known as Chinese Turkistan), once removing entire walls of murals in Bezeklik Caves that were destroyed during WWII. The remaining murals were preserved in the Museum für Indische Kunst, Berlin. This fragment was a gift presented by Le Coq to the father of the donor.