National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

PLATE V

PAINTED FRAGMENTS FROM FARHAD-BÉG-YAILAKI;

SHRINE XII

F. XII. 007, 008

Two seated Buddha figures from a diaper of such figures at the south corner of the shrine. The upper figure (008) is seated on a blue padmásana in an attitude of contemplation, the head slightly tilted, looking towards the left. The hands, the left lying in the right and the tips of the thumbs touching, rest in

front of the body. The close-cropped black hair has a well-developed top-knot

(usniSa). The ears have greatly elongated lobes pierced with long slits. The flesh,

in greyish tones, is delicately shaded and there is a blue-grey line along the lower

part of the white of the eye. The robe, which seems to cover the feet, is pale green

with a red border. Behind the head is a shaded pink nimbus bordered with blue and

outlined with a thin white line. The vesica is pink, bordered with green.

The lower figure (007) differs from the other mainly in the colour scheme. The

flesh is shaded with burnt sienna and outlined with red; but there is some con-

fusion in the drawing of the hands. The nimbus is shaded pink and the vesica green

with a dark brown border. The robe is red-brown. The padmásana is pink. The

background is pale green.

There is peculiar charm in these two figures; a good-natured complacency; the

calmness of physical and mental well-being combined with a watchful eye on

events. A certain plastic quality in the painting distinguishes it from much of the

later work, more especially that of Bezeklik where the sharp contour lines take

the place of the soft lines used here. As at Mirán, the faces are human; and here

the drawing of the nose is better than at Mirán. The low, round usnisa, the strong

hands with short finger-nails and the flesh-like quality of the faces are character-

istic of these and the Mirán paintings. But the drooping upper eyelid here is not

found at Mirán. The lengthened eyelashes and slightly extended outer angle of the

eyes are suggestive of Persian influence. The probable period of these paintings is

between the seventh and eighth centuries A.D.

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