Author: Rana Brentjes, Sonja Brentjes and Monika Zin | AAV 39 (2026) | Pages: xxx–xxx | https://doi.org/10.60018/AcAsVa.ruxd9724 
Abstract
The murals in Cave 31 at Kizilgaha (Kucha region) depict a previously unknown combination of Zodiac signs and associated deities, likely representing the nakṣatras (lunar mansions). This integrated astral scheme – comprising 27 figures alongside 12 Brahmin ascetics – is unique to Kucha and as it can be tentatively dated to the 8th–9th century, it possibly makes one of the earliest surviving examples of this iconography. Several features of the cave, including donor representations, are without parallel in Kucha and suggest either a distinct, possibly Mahāyāna or Tantric interpretive framework, or influences from other regions. The material is therefore particularly valuable for comparison with other Central Asian zodiac representations in order to clarify patterns of transmission and local adaptation.
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