Mogao Cave 17: Apsara
Ink and color on silk
Mogao Cave 17: Apsara
Mogao Cave 17: Apsaras
CHINA, Gansu, Dunhuang; Five Dynasties to Northern Song dynasty
These images from the 10th century are part of a 303 cm long banner made of silk. The banner is painted with five apsaras surrounded by clouds. It is one of several similar artworks found in the Dunhuang caves.
Appearing serene and dignified, the apsaras hover in the air, joining their palms or playing instruments such as clappers, cymbals, or a flute. They are outlined with bold red lines and lightly shaded with ink. Because many similar banners were discovered in Dunhuang, the original artwork was thought to be much longer.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Painting I-O, page 540.
Cite this article:
Hsingyun, et al. "Mogao Cave 17: Apsaras." Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Painting I-O, vol. 15, 2016, pp. 540.
Hsingyun, Youheng, Youlu, Graham Wilson, Manho, Mankuang, and Susan Huntington. 2016. "Mogao Cave 17: Apsaras" In Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Painting I-O, 15:540.
Hsingyun, Youheng, Youlu, Wilson, G., Manho, Mankuang, & Huntington, S.. (2016). Mogao Cave 17: Apsaras. In Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Painting I-O (Vol. 15, pp. 540).
@misc{Hsingyun2016,
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Youlu and Wilson, Graham and Manho and Mankuang and Huntington, Susan,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Painting I-O},
pages = 540,
title = {{Mogao Cave 17: Apsaras}},
volume = 15,
year = {2016}}
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Youlu and Wilson, Graham and Manho and Mankuang and Huntington, Susan,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Painting I-O},
pages = 540,
title = {{Mogao Cave 17: Apsaras}},
volume = 15,
year = {2016}}