Winged and Flaming Shoulders:A Comparative Study of the Differences,Similarities and Exchanges of Divine Images between Central Asia and the Central Plains
Images of deities with wings or flames on their shoulders have been found widely in ancient cultural sites from Greece to East Asia,particularly during the Kushan Empire period.Wings and flames were both symbols of the sacred or otherwise transcendent special identities of various gods and important figures.The origins of these motifs can be traced back to the artistic traditions of the Sun God Shamash and similar deities in Central Asia and Western Asia.These traditions were disseminated along the Silk Road through places like Kucha,resulting in the development of crescent-shaped wings on both shoulders in Han dynasty depictions of deities like the Queen Mother of the West in China.After centuries of cultural interaction between China and the West,decorating the shoulders of important figures eventually led to the emergence of Buddha statues with flames on both shoulders,examples of which have been found in cave temples in the Dunhuang caves and the Yungang Grottoes,dating from the Northern Dynasties to the Sui dynasty.The decorative motif of flames or wings on the shoulders of deities or Buddhas serves as a focal point for the exchange and adaptation of artistic styles and religious beliefs between China and the West,and thus possesses significant historical and artistic value.
flaming shoulderswingsKushan EmpireGandharaQueen Mother of the Westcultural exchanges
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