Sun Crow with flying celestials

East ceiling
Ohoe Tomb #4, 6th - 7th century
Ji'an, China

In this mural the sun, with its three-legged crow^1,2, is flanked by two celestials: one is riding a phoenix while playing a flute (bottom photo, right), and the other is riding a dragon (bottom photo, left). A twisting dragon (earlier page) occupies the top of the ceiling. This painting mirrors the moon that was painted on the opposite west ceiling. Notice the middle band of dragons and culture-heroes, like the god of the forge (earlier page) at the middle right.

¹The origin of three-legged sun-crows goes back to the Han dynasty, or possibly much earlier.
²The top photo is wrongly assigned to Ohoe Tomb #5 by several web sites.