From Afghanistan to Xinjiang: Notes on some types of Buddhist chapels (6th/7th-8th centuries CE)

This study presents a preliminary comparison between Buddhist shrines in Afghanistan and those in the Khotan oasis, also with regard to certain aspects of their clay sculpture, here analysed from a historical-cultural perspective rather than a technical one. This article focuses on two types of Buddhist shrines or chapels that might appear to be rare within specific regions and sites, but that actually display a significant cross-border diffusion in the late 6th/7th-8th centuries CE if a broader area is taken into consideration, stretching in this case from Afghanistan to Xinjiang. A brief reference is also made to the region of Tajikistan, to highlight how certain traditions were part of broader phenomena of the circulation and diffusion of ideas, thoughts, religious practices and cultural models that deserve further investigation.