Fragment of a Wall Painting

4th–5th century

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Object Label

Western China and Central Asia were home to many Buddhist institutions, some of which were housed in human-made caves. Murals originally covered every surface of these cave temples, depicting Buddhist legends and hundreds of images of Buddhas. This fragment was removed from a cave at Kumtura, near the border with present-day Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan in western China.

Caption

Fragment of a Wall Painting, 4th–5th century. Mineral pigments on clay, 17 1/8 x 17 3/8 in. (43.5 x 44.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Museum Collection, 35.1963. No known copyright restrictions (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 35.1963_bw.jpg)

Title

Fragment of a Wall Painting

Date

4th–5th century

Medium

Mineral pigments on clay

Classification

Painting

Dimensions

17 1/8 x 17 3/8 in. (43.5 x 44.1 cm)

Inscriptions

Carved in plaster back: IV. Reise (K77) Kontura gr. Ang. II Höhle in D. Ecke an D. gr. Schlucht Inscription written faintly in blue on plaster back: Herr S. Culin zur ______ Erinnerung an der Besuch in Berlin 14/8/23 AvLeCoq

Credit Line

Brooklyn Museum Collection

Accession Number

35.1963

Rights

No known copyright restrictions

This work may be in the public domain in the United States. Works created by United States and non-United States nationals published prior to 1923 are in the public domain, subject to the terms of any applicable treaty or agreement. You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this work. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties, such as artists or artists' heirs holding the rights to the work. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. The Brooklyn Museum makes no representations or warranties with respect to the application or terms of any international agreement governing copyright protection in the United States for works created by foreign nationals. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

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