Hundreds of tiny terracottas have been found around Yotkan, the ancient capital of the kingdom of Khotan dating from the third to sixth centuries. The function of these Khotanese terracottas have puzzled scholars since their discovery. Animal figurines dominate and particularly typical are the monkeys. Monkeys are not found in Khotan but images of them came from India with Buddhism. They are modelled in miniature with a great deal of attention being paid to the depiction of their expressions and poses. Their human-like postures led Aurel Stein to speculate that the monkeys were made to imitate human emotions in a caricature of the Khotanese. It is also suggested that they were used as amulets. Similar terracotta monkey figurines have been found at several archaeological sites in north India and Sogdiana.
Terracotta
The British Museum,
MAS.84 (Yo.0034.d)