Mogao Cave 17: Eleven-Headed, Six-Armed Avalokitesvara

CHINA, Gansu, Dunhuang; Later Zhou dynasty

This faded painting from Mogao Cave 17 depicts Avalokitesvara with eleven heads arranged in four rows with the head of a Buddha at the top. Ornaments and a dhoti cover the body. A stole floats and wraps around the six arms. Two raised hands hold a red sun disc and a white moon disc, the two middle hands form mudras in front of the chest, and the two lowered hands carry a vase and a willow branch. A canopy hangs at the top of the picture. Flowers are painted in the background. In the lower register, an inscription within a cartouche in the center is flanked by three male figures and three female figures. The inscription dates the painting to 956 of the Later Zhou dynasty.