Goose (Hamsa) with Floral Tail
China (Xinjiang Autonomous Region)
Not on view
This panel was the interior base molding of a Buddhist temple. This goose (hamsa) was part of a large group that ran along the base of the wall surmounted by lozenges withpearls (see 30.32.10). The hamsa is associated with the heavens and thus metaphorically located the sacred space of this temple within a celestial realm.