Tuokuzisalai Hall I: Head of a Bodhisattva

CHINA, Xinjiang, Kashgar

The Bodhisattva’s face was created from a mold and the features are centrally placed. The eyes are almond-shaped and the nose wide at the end, probably reflecting features of people living nearby. The dimple below the thicker lower lip distinguishes the smiling mouth. Extended and hollowed lobes lengthen the ears, which are one of the few signs of the figure’s spiritual standing.
The hair may have been hand sculpted and then applied later, but the oval pattern at its center, which the waves of the hair ripple, is found on other statues and suggests a pattern book was used to create various hair styles. There is an unfinished ring above the hair that may have been where a more elaborate topknot or head covering was fixed. The hair was originally colored blue-black but the fire that destroyed the monastery caused it to return to its original color.