The picture shows a fragment of the head of a clay sculpture.

Head of a Bodhsiattva

Location Karakorum

Dating 13th-14th cent.

Epoch Mongolian empire

Material Clay

Technique Burnt

Type Excavation find

Description

The fragment belonged to a hollow, underlife-sized clay sculpture. The red clay is glazed green. On the head is a crown or bonnet ornament reminiscent of a tiara. It probably depicted a bodhisattva. In Buddhist teachings, bodhisattvas are beings who have already attained enlightenment but renounce Nirvana in order to help the suffering beings of this world. The depiction with a crown and rich jewellery is typical of bodhisattvas.

3D Visualisation

3D Model: C. Mackenzie / DAI

Images: H. Rohland / DAI

Literature

Hüttel, H.-G. (2005) ‘Kopf eines Bodhisattva (?)’, in Dschingis Khan und seine Erben: Das Weltreich der Mongolen. München: Hirmer, pp. 157–158.