Sogdian Daēnās

Sogdian Daēnās,[1] also known as Sogdian Deities[2] (French: Deux divinités féminines; Chinese: 粟特神祇白畫) is a line drawing discovered by the French Orientalist Paul Pelliot at the Mogao Caves, Dunhuang, dated to the 10th-century Guiyi period.

[note 1][4] This piece is part of the Pelliot chinois collection of the Bibliothèque nationale de France.

This sketch, painted on paper in black ink with light colouring, depicts two ladies sitting opposite each another, their heads being encircled by nimbi.

The dress of the lady on the left, at least, does not seem to correspond to the Chinese fashion at the time, and both representing the expression of foreign beliefs.

[1] Jiang Boqin agrees with Grenet and Zhang that the deity on the left being Daēnā, but he determined the one on the right is the goddess Nanâ.

Fresco of 10th-century Uyghur princesses of the Kara-Khoja Kingdom wearing similar hairstyle and headdress found at the Mogao Caves .