Tuokuzisalai Hall D: Head of a Bodhisattva

CHINA, Xinjiang, Kashgar

The Bodhisattva’s face was cast from a mold with perhaps some later accentuation about the eyes and small, bow-like mouth. The hair in this example is the type in which regular waves are on either side of the head and a straight line across the middle. The ears have been placed within the hairline that sweeps outward at the side. The hair is arranged into a large headdress ornamented with flowers at the sides. These flowers bend outwards as they adapt themselves realistically to the material beneath, so they may have been molded and applied later. A crested shape runs straight upwards between the flowers and curves backward.