Bezeklik Cave 20: Uighur Princesses as Donors

CHINA, Xinjiang, Turpan

This mural was originally located on the right side of the front (east) wall of the main chamber. The figures face the doorway in semi-profile, standing with folded arms and holding long-stem flowers. Their faces possess a traditional Uighur appearance: full lower chins, long eyebrows, fine eyes, high-bridged noses, and small mouths. To the right of the mural is a cartouche in Uighur script, identifying the figure beside it to be Princess Joy.
The princesses are dressed in tangerine one-piece coats with narrow sleeves and a vine-like pattern embroidered on the lapel. Their hair is tied in topknots, adorned with gold hairpins and plaques, and engraved with scepters and phoenixes. Behind them are red stoles with big bows hanging to the ground. According to the “Chapter on Uighur” from the Old Book of Tang, when Princess Taihe married an Uighur King, the princess changed from her Chinese robe into the large, red one-piece coat of a Khatun, along with a gold embellished crown. This mural is in accord with that record.