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

CHINA, Gansu, Dunhuang; Five Dynasties to Northern Song dynasty

This painting from Mogao Cave 17 depicts the Eleven-headed, Eight-Armed Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva sitting on a lotus throne above an altar. A Buddha image is painted in front of the stomach. The body is covered with golden jewelry and a stole billows around the arms. Patterns adorn the aureole, and the nimbus is filled with swirling colors. A canopy hangs at the top of the picture. The two hands in front of the chest hold lotuses, the two raised hands support a hovering sun disc and a moon disc, the two middle hands hold a sutra case and a vase, and the two lower hands carry beads and a vase.
There are 14 figures on the sides of the painting, including Heavenly Kings, Bodhisattvas, Vasu, Sarasvati, and Wisdom Kings. The seven treasures of the cakravartin are painted within panels in the lower register.