Serindian art is the art that developed from the 2nd through the 11th century C.E. in

Serindia The term Serindia combines '' Seres'' (China) and India to refer to the part of Asia also known as Sinkiang, Chinese Turkestan or High Asia. See main entry under Xinjiang. The art of this region is known as '' Serindian''. See also *Chindia Refe ...

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

, the western region of China that was within the cultural sphere of

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

during the time. It derives from the Greco-Buddhist art of the Gandhara district of what is now

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

. Gandharan sculpture combined Indian traditions with Greek influences. Modern researchers hypothesize that Buddhist missionaries travelling on the Silk Road introduced this artistic influence, along with

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

itself, into Serindia, resulting in a style that is a hybrid of Greek, Chinese and Persian. In modernity, Serindian art was rediscovered through the expeditions of

Sir Aurel Stein Sir Marc Aurel Stein, ( hu, Stein Márk Aurél; 26 November 1862 – 26 October 1943) was a Hungarian-born British archaeologist, primarily known for his explorations and archaeological discoveries in Central Asia. He was also a professor at ...

in Central Asia at the beginning of the 20th century.

Gallery

Image:LoulanCarvedWoodenBeam.JPG, Carved wooden beam in Hellenistic style, 3rd-4th century Image:SerindianGroup2.JPG, Serindian group, 6th-7th century terracotta,

Tumshuq TumxukThe official spelling according to , (Beijing, ''SinoMaps Press'' 1997); is a sub-prefecture-level city in the western part of Xinjiang, China. The eastern part of Tumxuk is surrounded by Maralbexi County, Kashgar Prefecture. The smaller ...

(Xinjiang) Image:SerindianHead2.JPG, Head of a Serindian man, 6th-7th century terracotta, Tumshuq (Xinjiang) Image:SerindiaHead.JPG, Head of a Serindian female

Bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...

, 6th-7th century terracotta, Tumshuq (Xinjiang) Image:Serindian.JPG, Serindian head, 6th-7th century terracotta, Tumshuq (Xinjiang) Image:BuddhaTumshuqXinjiang5thcentury.jpg, A Buddha statue from Tumshuq, Xinjiang. 5th century.

References

* Hopkirk, Peter (1980). ''Foreign Devils on the Silk Road: The Search for the Lost Cities and Treasures of Chinese Central Asia''. Amherst: The

University of Massachusetts Press The University of Massachusetts Press is a university press that is part of the University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts a ...

. .

External links

*Francine Sliwka
Two aspects of Serindian art: Serindia, where etymology and geography meet
{{art-hist-stub Ancient Central Asian art