Virgo
Golden Maiden
In the golden dusk of the Northern Wei, a serene maiden holding ripe wheat ears appears on the cliff walls of Mogao. She is Virgo, guardian of harvest and purity. Her robes flow like flying apsaras, drawn with iron-wire lines that still dance after 1,500 years. Around her, thousand-Buddha motifs shimmer in lapis and malachite, while delicate lotus well-head patterns bloom overhead — an eternal hymn to order and abundance on the Silk Road.
