Flying Celestial (Apsara), from a set of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva and Flying Celestials

China

c. 951–953

Fresco

Minneapolis Institute of Art

A fresco depicts a figure with a halo, possibly a celestial being, in a reclining pose against a backdrop of stylized clouds and waves. The figure holds a small dish in its outstretched hand. These paintings were once part of a much larger composition—now dispersed among several collections in the United States—that originally formed the wall of a temple in north-central China, possibly Cishengsi in far northern Henan province. All together the set depicts a trio of seated bodhisattvas. Each one is flanked by standing attendant bodhisattvas and surrounded by other attendants performing rituals. They are also accompanied by flying celestials (apsara) in a paradise-like setting based on Esoteric Buddhist teachings. The seated bodhisattva here, originally the leftmost of the three primary figures, is backed by a halo and we