Frontal from the base of a funerary couch with Sogdian musicians and dancers and Buddhist divinities

550-577

This is the front of a funerary couch, or platform, that supported a coffin. Scholars suggest it was made for Cave 4 at northern Xiangtangshan; it was rare, however, for a Buddhist cave to serve as a burial place. The couch is also unusual for its combination of Persian and Chinese elements. In the center, the censer topped by a bird and flanked by heavenly beings is a typical Chinese Buddhist image. The musicians and dancers in the pearl-encircled roundels represent secular Central Asian entertainers depicted in a Persian style.