English: One of the earliest known papercuts, this specimen was recovered by Paul Pelliot in the Dunhuang grotto. The stupa, cut from blank paper, is pasted on a sheet of paper painted in black and offers a contrasting two-dimensional graphic effect. A wooden stick on the lower edge and two holes in the upper edges allowed the object to be hung, like a kind of banner, on the cave wall. The construction evokes the pavilions located in the background of the paradise on the murals. The volutes on the roof and under the base of the stupa are intended to symbolise a transcendent world. The cutting method is clearly visible: the sheet of paper was folded in half vertically and then cut with a pair of scissors or a penknife. The resulting product exhibits perfect symmetry in the two unfolded halves, including small accidents left by the blade. Dunhuang, tenth century. Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Pelliot chinois 4518 (38)