The ‘Sogdian Deities’ Twenty Years on: A Reconsideration of a Small Painting from Dunhuang
In this article I reconsider the reasons why the so-called ‘Sogdian deities’ became so well-known in Dunhuang (敦煌) studies, Zoroastrian studies and Silk Road studies and present new evidence that supports my original view that a small painting on paper, P. 4518 (24), was made for a specifically Uygh...
| Published in: | Dynamics in the history of religions |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2022
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| In: |
Dynamics in the history of religions
Year: 2022, Volume: 12, Pages: 153-204 |
| Further subjects: | B
Altaische & Ostasiatische Sprachen
B Asia B Sprache und Linguistik B Allgemein B Asien-Studien B Art history B Religionswissenschaften B Uralische B Ostasiatische Geschichte B History |
| Online Access: |
Presumably Free Access Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | In this article I reconsider the reasons why the so-called ‘Sogdian deities’ became so well-known in Dunhuang (敦煌) studies, Zoroastrian studies and Silk Road studies and present new evidence that supports my original view that a small painting on paper, P. 4518 (24), was made for a specifically Uyghur donor in Dunhuang, who was most probably Buddhist. It may also show Manichaean features, as Uyghur Buddhist art in the early period frequently did. Finally, I consider the possibility that the female deity on the right may have an astral meaning and is seated on a dog symbolising Sirius the dog star. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Dynamics in the history of religions
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/9789004508446_007 |