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Panel with a Goddess Riding a Lion
First half of the 8th century
Tadjik town of Pendjikent
Carved wood H 25 cm
Executed in high relief, this carved panel represents a goddess seated on a lion. She is reminiscent of the figure of Nana found on Kushan coins and in Soghdian paintings. In the latter, however, the goddess is given four hands. In the dynamic nature of this composition the panel has much in common with Pendjikent wall-painting, but the high reliefs are more decorative. Not only iconographic borrowings are to be found in them, but also foreign stylistic features (in this case of Indian derivation). The sculptor has not tried to imitate a prototype but rather to give his own interpretations, bordering on parody in their witty perception of the typical features of an alien style.
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