The Turkic Uighurs were first converted to Manichaeism by Sogdians and then later to Buddhism. Banners from both religions survive from ninth or tenth-century Gaochang on the Silk Road, but the majority are Buddhist like this one. It is typical of the Buddhist form with a triangular headpiece containing an image of the Buddha and a main section showing Avalokiteśvara, a bodhisattva or being ready for enlightenment who has stayed in this world to help others. Banners were suspended from poles and used in processions or to decorate Buddhist temples. Many had side and bottom streamers (see cat. no. 58).
Pigments on silk
Museum für Indische Kunst, SMPK, Berlin,
III 521 & 6963