Mogao Cave 12

CHINA, Gansu, Dunhuang

This shrine cave is located in the south area and dates from the Late Tang period (846–907). It consists of an antechamber and a main chamber connected by a corridor. The cave is known as the Cave of Suo, in honor of its sponsor, Suo Yibian. The donor figures depicted on the front (east) wall above the doorway are believed to be his grandparents.
The ceiling of the antechamber is decorated with images of the Thousand Buddhas. On both sides of the doorway on the back (west) wall are Heavenly Kings, and below these are donors and offerings. Four groups of Bodhisattvas and monks are located on the side walls. The corridor contains more portraits of both male and female donors.
The main chamber has a truncated pyramidal ceiling and a niche on the back wall. The ceiling in the main chamber has illustrations of a lion and a lotus on the caisson, surrounded by various floral and geometric patterns. Sixteen apsaras encircle the caisson, and on each of the four ceiling slopes, the Thousand Buddhas surround a Buddha Teaching the Dharma.
Within the niche on the back wall of the main chamber are sculptures of a Buddha, two disciples, four Bodhisattvas, and two Heavenly Kings. Repairs to these figures were made during the Qing dynasty (1644–1911). The center of the niche’s truncated pyramidal ceiling is painted with interlocking flowers, and the four slopes are covered with the Thousand Buddhas. On the three walls of the niche are a series of panels depicting the Life of the Buddha, and above the panels are 16 seated Buddhas. On either side of the back wall niche are illustrations of Manjusri and Samantabhadra Bodhisattvas, with five seated Buddhas painted above each.
There are three sutra illustrations painted on both the north and south walls of the main chamber. From left to right are illustrations of the Avatamsaka Sutra, Medicine Buddha Sutra, and Devata Sutra on the north wall, and the Maitreya Sutra, Amitayurdhyana Sutra, and Lotus Sutra on the south wall. Eleven panels on each wall are located below the murals and display more scenes from the sutras.
Above the doorway on the front (east) wall are a male and a female donor flanked by four servants. An inscription in the center displays the name Suo Yibian, the sponsor of the cave. Paintings to the right and left of the entrance illustrate the Returning Favors Sutra and the Vimalakirti Sutra respectively. Below each of these are three panel images.