In this artwork, how is the Analysis discussed?
The drawing had been published in Jao Tsung-I's The Line Drawing of Dunhuang in 1978, but has only attracted the interest of researchers since it was displayed in the Sérinde exhibition in 1995.The peach-shaped headdress resembles the hairstyle of the Uyghur princess. The dress of the lady on the left, at least, does not seem to correspond to the Chinese fashion at the time, and both representing the expression of foreign beliefs.According to Jiang Boqin (姜伯勤)—a professor at Sun Yat-sen University—it is a piece of Zoroastrian art, and the four-armed deity is a Sogdian goddess worshipped in their Zoroastrian cult, whose name is Nanâ, or Nanaia, the goddess originated from Mesopotamia. Frantz Grenet—a French specialist on Sogdiana and Zoroastrianism—and the historian Zhang Guangda argue that the lady on the left representing Daēnā, the good according to Zoroastrian vision; the other one represents Daēva, the bad. Jiang Boqin agrees with Grenet and Zhang that the deity on the left being Daēnā, but he determined the one on the right is the goddess Nanâ.
Chinese Zhang Guangda Nanâ Sérinde Frantz Grenet French Daēva Sogdia Jao Tsung-I Dunhuang Zoroastrianism cult Mesopotamia Daēnā Uyghur Sun Yat-sen University Sogdian Zoroastrian