Ancient Khotan

This volume collects a series of articles focusing on various aspects of the art of Persia and Central Asia in the pre-Islamic era that the author has published over the last fifteen years. The period examined goes from the reign of the Sasanian dynasty (224-651) to the arrival of the Arabs in the seventh century, and the consequent (but not immediate) process of Islamization of the entire territory between the eastern borders of the Roman Empire and China. This vast territory – during the period examined in those articles – was mainly inhabited by peoples who spoke Iranian languages such as Persian, Bactrian, Chorasmian, Sogdian and Khotanese. They followed the precepts of the so-called “Zoroastrian” religion, although the Turkish cultural element had already begun to appear throughout the region at least since the sixth century CE. Due to the slow progress of archaeology in contemporary Iran, the articles on Sasanian art mainly concern objects that have long since entered various collections and for which many obscure points are still noted. As for Central Asia, the subdivision concerns some historical regions that had been part of the territory subject to Sasanian authority, such as Margiana (the region around Merv, in Turkmenistan), and Bactria-Tokharistan (between southern Uzbekistan and Tajikistan and northern Afghanistan). Proceeding east, we can find Sogdiana (between central Uzbekistan and western Tajikistan) and Chorasmia (northern Uzbekistan). The last historical region examined concerns Khotan, in the modern Chinese Autonomous Uighurs’ Province of Xinjiang.

The oasis of Khotan represents a fascinating crossroad of cultures and artistic influences mixed in a unique environment. Paintings, which are visually eloquent, yet very elusive with their mysterious symbolism, have fascinated scholars since the beginning of the 20th century, when they emerged from the sands of the Taklamakan desert. The oasis, one of the largest and most prosperous on the Silk Road, functioned as a transit point between the two huge cultural entities of India and China and, inevitably, absorbed inspirations from all the visitors passing through. It became a Buddhist stronghold whose monastic establishments were praised and where monks travelled to obtain sacred scriptures. Such a heterogeneous environment favored the birth of original artistic manifestations which in many cases resist a unanimous interpretation. For the large quantity of materials spread across different sites in the oasis of Khotan, a restrictive choice was made to better fit the format of this article. The site of Dandan Oilik has been selected as an example, principally because of the great variety of themes represented on mural paintings as well as on wooden votive panels and tablets. The primary goal of this study is to attempt to identify and classify the iconographies of deities belonging to an auxiliary Buddhist pantheon, therefore depictions of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are purposely left out. The aim is to describe what could be foreign or local admixtures to an iconographic heritage already heavy with significance and symbolism at its South Asian origins.