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''Sogdian Daēnās'', also known as ''Sogdian Deities'' (french: Deux divinités féminines; zh, t=粟特神祇白畫) is a 10th-century line drawing discovered by the French Orientalist Paul Pelliot at the Mogao Caves. It was painted during the late Tang dynasty and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, and is probably associated with the Zoroastrian cult of the
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 ()—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 , 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
Pelliot chinois 4518 (24) : Deux divinités féminines
at {{in lang, fr Ancient Central Asian art Sogdians Zoroastrianism Drawings of people Tang dynasty paintings Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Spiritual and religious images Bibliothèque nationale de France collections Deities in art
Sogdia
Sogdia (Sogdian language, Sogdian: ) or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian peoples, Iranian civilization between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, and in present-day Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Sogdiana was also ...
n people. The historian , who is a member of the Academia Sinica
Academia Sinica (AS, la, 1=Academia Sinica, 3=Chinese Academy; ), headquartered in Nangang, Taipei, is the national academy of Taiwan. Founded in Nanking, the academy supports research activities in a wide variety of disciplines, ranging from ...
of Taiwan, recognised this "paper image" as one of the "pieces of paper depicting Mazdean deities for the celebration". The drawing is preserved in the Bibliothèque nationale de France
The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...
in Paris.
Description
This sketch, painted on paper in black ink with light colouring, depicts two ladies sitting opposite each another, their heads being encircled by nimbi. Both are represented holding various attributes: the lady on the left, who sits on a rectangular throne supported by a row of lotus petals, holds a foliated cup and a tray with a dog seated on it. The one on the right is seated on a dog or wolf, and has four arms, the upper two supporting the sun and moon discs, the lower two arms holding a scorpion and a snake. They wear a characteristic hairstyle, surmounted by a water-drop-shaped or peach-shaped headdresses that are probably made of metal.Analysis
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 ()—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 , 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
Daēnā () is a Zoroastrian concept representing insight and revelation, hence "conscience" or "religion." Alternately, ''Daena'' is considered to be a divinity, counted among the ''yazata''s.
Nomenclature
Daena is a feminine noun which transla ...
, 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.
See also
* Xianshenlou * Viśa Īrasangä * Zoroastrianism in China * Nestorian pillar of Luoyang * '' Ancient Arts of Central Asia''Notes
References
External links
Pelliot chinois 4518 (24) : Deux divinités féminines
at {{in lang, fr Ancient Central Asian art Sogdians Zoroastrianism Drawings of people Tang dynasty paintings Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Spiritual and religious images Bibliothèque nationale de France collections Deities in art