Mogao Cave 435: Heavenly Musicians

CHINA, Gansu, Dunhuang; Northern Wei dynasty

These figures are on the upper north wall. The three heavenly musicians each play a musical instrument and stand within a heavenly palace. The central figure stands beneath a gabled roof, and wears a long robe which crosses one shoulder. The other two heavenly musicians stand within archways and are bare-chested, wearing stoles draped over their shoulders and long lower garments. All three wear headdresses and are dark-skinned, their eyes and noses delineated in white paint. The heavenly musician on the left has a bowed head and leans forward to play a lute, the heavenly musician in the middle holds a conch shell in both hands and blows into it, and the last plays a drum and is turned toward the others. A flower stalk falls through the air on the left of the drummer.