History of Art and Architecture

Eclipse Spirits in Dunhuang Visual Culture

Wednesday, October 26, 2022 - 12:00pm to 1:00pm

Presenter: Michelle McCoy
202 Frick Fine Arts Building

The medieval circulation of Central and South Asian astrology to China resulted not only in new mantic techniques and doctrines but also in new practices of visual representation. This talk addresses the case of the eclipse, among the most ominous astral phenomena in premodern China. Examining the evidence from Dunhuang, we will see how the eclipse came to acquire a deified, humanlike form through a distinctively local process of pictorial transformation.