UNUSUAL images of Buddhists feature in an exhibition at a Durham museum.
Enlightened Grotesques, at the city's Oriental Museum, contains striking caricatures of Chinese holy men who had attained nirvana.
The usual image of the serene-looking man of enlightenment is distorted in the pictures on display, which come from the museum's collection.
A museum spokesman said: "Based on a set of paintings over 1,000 years old, they feature striking caricatures of legendary Buddhist holy men.
"These arresting images hint at the remarkable mystical nature of these individuals."
The museum, run by Durham University, is the only one in the country that is devoted entirely to the art and archaeology of the cultures of the Orient.
The exhibition runs until March 17 and is open on weekdays from 10am until 5pm, weekends from noon until 5pm. Admission is £1.50 for adults, 75p for concessions and a family ticket is £3.50. For further details call (0191) 334 6075.
The museum's deputy curator Kevin McLoughlin will give a talk about the exhibition on Saturday, February 19, at 2pm. The exhibition coincides with a display of propaganda posters from Communist China from the Sixties and Seventies.
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