Since their creation over 1,500 years ago, the Mogao Caves, located on the outskirts of the city of Dunhuang in northwestern China, continue to narrate the history of religious art – Buddhist, Daoist and other religions – and connect the Eastern and Western worlds through their once central location at the gateway to the Silk Road. This fall, the caves come to Princeton through a time capsule of objects dating from A.D. 270 to the 1960s. Sacred Caves of the Silk Road: Ways of Knowing and Re-creating Dunhuang explores the aesthetic and transcontinental nature of this World Heritage Site. The exhibition is on view at the Princeton University Art Museum from Oct. 3, 2015 through Jan. 10, 2016. The more than 700 surviving Mogao caves are a treasure trove of artistic riches, including 45,000 square meters of wall paintings, 60,000 texts and more

Read More: Paintings, sculpture and manuscripts from the Mogao Caves on view at Princeton University Art Museum