国立情報学研究所 - ディジタル・シルクロード・プロジェクト
『東洋文庫所蔵』貴重書デジタルアーカイブ

•

confirming the reputation for skill enjoyed by Indian barbers. He wears a red-

brown robe with green borders, and a green stole over his left shoulder, but no

ornaments. The damage to his face spoils that which appears to be a good piece of

characterization. The halo he wears invests him with a saintly standing.

Behind and above the barber is an older monk, with heavy, superorbital ridges

meeting above his nose. A small eminence between the ridges is indicated by a

short convex line. His eyebrows and eyes are similar to those of the elderly figure

in plate xlv. The mouth is delicately curved, and the chin, rather prominent, is

darkened with brown, as is the upper lip, to suggest shaven surfaces. Although

partly bald, the hair at the sides of the head is brown. The field of his nimbus is

green, surrounded by red, dark buff, and yellow. His robe is similar to that of the

barber, but with a yellow stole over his shoulder. All three of these figures show

considerable skill in characterization.

At the top is a Vajrapáni with vajra and fly-whisk. His wide, animal mouth,

grinning, shows its row of upper teeth, with tushes at the corners. The prominent,

cleft chin has no beard, but the heavy moustaches are brushed out fiercely; and his

hair, long and lank, streams out behind his shoulders and rises in a flame-shape

top-knot. The mukuta or tiara is composed of a group of three gold bosses at the

centre, a gold boss at each side, and a red and green palmette above. Each ear-ring

carries a gold boss with a bunch of coloured beads attached. His costume is of the

same character as that of the Vajrapáni in plate xlv. The vajra, diamond shaped, is

coloured red, green, and gold.

The third subject, divided from the last by a vertical band of `cloud' flower

ornament, shows three figures to the left of a large vesica, the outer border decor-

ated with a repeating bunch of wavy flames in various bright colours, pointed, and

directed outward and upward. The lowest figure, an interesting one, is that of a

standing Brahman, turned towards the vesica. Owing to damage at the middle of

the figure, the action of the hands cannot be fully understood. That of the right hand

is quite uncertain, and that of the left, with palm outwards, thumb and index finger

directed downwards, and the other three fingers flexed upwards, is not very clear.

Across the left wrist hangs part of a tiger skin which appears again beside the right

thigh, and may be intended as a gift for the Buddha. The donor's face is that of a

mature, bearded man, probably of northern Indian race. His hair is dull blue, wavy

across the forehead and decorated with a row of red volutes. His slightly oblique

eyes are long and heavy lidded. His angular eyebrows, blue like the hair and beard,

72