Manichaean Art: A Glance at the Old & New Findings and the Importance of Different Attitudes in the Study of Manichaean Art

Manichaean paintings, known as Manichaean art, are a part of the identity of Iranian art history. These paintings are the visual language of Manichaeism, or better to say, the visual representation of Manichaean doctrines, some of which have emerged in the vicinity of non-Manichaean concepts.The first group of these works of art was discovered in the early 20th century in the Turfan oasis – Xīnjiāng, in northwestern China – which, due to its proximity to Greater Iran, contained signs of the Sasanian art. However, the second group of Manichaean works of art, which appeared in the early 21st century, presented a completely altered appearance to scholars. This art was replete with Buddhist and Daoist elements and different from what we knew from Turfan’s works. This article gives a brief report of the number of Manichaean art pieces found in Turfan and the newly discovered silk paintings in Japan and America. It also points out some of the artistic features, the importance of different attitudes in the study of Manichaean art, and studies of Manichaean art in Iran.