Western Thousand Buddha Cave 8: Apsaras and Thousand Buddhas

CHINA, Gansu, Dunhuang; Northern Zhou dynasty

Variations of this mural are located on the back (north), west, and east walls. The murals on the back and west walls were painted during the Northern Zhou dynasty (557–581), while the east wall was painted during the Sui dynasty (581–618).
Apsaras were a prevalent subject in paintings from the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534). The upper register of each wall features apsaras, most of which play musical instruments, such as the panpipe, flute, reed instrument, harp, or pipa. Others appear to be flying, sitting on clouds, or dancing.
A border is painted below the apsaras with two rows of patterns. They consist of a multi-colored cube pattern, with a thin row of triangular patterns below it. Rows of the Thousand Buddhas are depicted underneath the patterned border. These Buddhas are painted in various colors on a red background.