Buddhist painting in the South of the Tarim Basin: A chronological conundrum

The article deals with Buddhist mural paintings from the Southern track of the Silk Road (Xinjiang), with a particular focus on those unearthed in the Khotan oasis and, farther east, at Karadong, in the basin of the Keriya river. The findings were yielded by excavations distributed in a long period, from the early 20 th century to the beginning of the 21th. The methods of field research which led to their discovery and the accuracy of their documentation are dramatically diverse, as are the criteria upon which the chronology of the murals has been formulated: from the 3rd century (Karadong) to the 6th -8th centuries (Khotan oasis), a long chronological span which seems to be at odds with the relative proximity the murals display in their iconographic and stylistic orientation. The article presents a state of art of the topic as well as a preliminary attempt to spot clues which may lead to a more balanced chronological perspective.