Sogdian Daenas

Sogdian Daenas is a 10th-century ink line drawing with light coloring on paper, discovered among the manuscripts of the Mogao Caves at Dunhuang by the French orientalist Paul Pelliot and now held by the Bibliotheque nationale de France in Paris. It measures about 30.5 by 37.8 centimeters and shows two seated women facing each other, their heads ringed by nimbi, one enthroned on a lotus holding a cup and tray beside a dog, the other with four arms holding celestial and serpentine attributes. Scholars studying the drawing connect its figures to Zoroastrian divine imagery current among the Sogdian community of Dunhuang during the Guiyi Circuit period, most often identifying them as forms of the deity Daena alongside either the demon Daeva or the goddess Nana. The artist is unknown. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/