This ninth-century painting on silk shows a Chinese woman being led to Paradise by a bodhisattva, most probably Avalokiteśvara, a common conceit of paintings of this time. Both figures are on clouds and Paradise can be seen in the top left. She is sumptuously dressed, made-up and has an elaborate hairstyle with several hairpins and a comb, possibly in the form of a white bird. Cosmetics were widely used by Chinese and Silk Road women. The face was powdered, the lips rouged and distinctly shaped eyebrows drawn on the forehead: referred to by Chinese poets as 'moth' eyebrows.
Ink and colours on silk with gold leaf
The British Museum, 1919,0101,0.47 (Ch.lvii.002)