Kooros couch
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Kooros couch is a 6-7th century (Northern Zhou/Sui dynasty) funeral monument to an anonymous Sogdian nobleman and official in northern China (the epitaph has been lost).[1] The tomb was probably discovered in the northern city of Tianshui in a clandestine excavation. It belonged to the "Vahid Kooros collection" after which it was named, and was briefly presented in the Musée Guimet in 2004, but has since disappeared.[2] It is one of the major known examples of Sogdian tombs in China.[3]
| Kooros couch | |
|---|---|
The Kooros couch, Vahid Kooros Collection.[1] | |
| Created | 557-618 CE |
| Discovered | Tianshui, Northern China |
| Present location | Gansu Provincial Museum |
| Location | |
.png)  Tianshui  Tianshui | |
The stone couch, similar to other Sogdian tombs in China and contemporary Chinese tombs, is composed of a pedestal with stone slabs around the couch, decorated with reliefs showing the life of the deceased and scene of the afterlife, particularly hunting, drinking and feasting.[4][5][2] The iconography of the panels is rather excentric, or "Bacchic".[2][6]
Given the iconographical content of the tomb, the owner may not have been Sogdian, but rather may have originated from northern India or Tokharistan (Bactria).[7]