Qigxin: Heavenly Being

CHINA, Xinjiang, Bayingolin

The sculpture is one of those from the Qigxin site that has been assembled from molded sections. This was originally a wall feature and depicts a heavenly being glancing to the left. The hair has the standard curly fringe of many of the sculptures found at Qigxin, while the rest of the hair is piled into a decorative topknot. The beaded floral earrings and medallion at the center of the breast-piece are of the same design. Another characteristic of figures from this site is that the skirt-like garment covering the lower body starts very low on the hips. Colors were applied after the statue’s creation. The aureole-like feature by which it was fixed to the wall and could double as a flying stole is behind the figure.