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

PLATE XX

PAINTINGS FROM BEZEKLIK

Bez. xi. A—C

0 N the end wall of this shrine was a painting of the Parinirvána with a crowd of mourners gathered round the recumbent body of the Buddha. The part here reproduced shows a group of monarchs or chiefs among those assembled on this grievous occasion. Only a small portion of the halo border

surrounding the body survives in the picture and the body itself is missing. The

surface of the picture has suffered badly from streams of liquid mud washed down

from the broken roof, and although much of it has been cleared away it was found

inadvisable to attempt further cleaning because of the risk of disturbing the paint

below. Many details remain obscured or indistinct which might have helped in

determining the nationality of the mourners. The artist has given careful attention

to physiognomy and head-dress in his desire to demonstrate the importance and

solemnity of an event which drew the representatives of so many nations to

join in the universal lamentation at the scene of the calamity; and the identifica-

tion of the individual types presents an interesting task.

At the left is a Dharmapála with wide staring eyes, distinguished by a nimbus.

On his immediate left is, presumably, an Arab, with red complexion, green eyes,

and large nose; his mouth open giving voice to his overwhelming grief so elo-

quently rendered by his expression. Above is a Chinese dignitary wearing the

head-dress of a judge, and directly below is another Chinese with a broad-brimmed

conical hat like that worn by one of the pilgrims in the group to the left at the

lower part of Bez. xiv, plate xxxi. A curiously broad face is that of the elderly man

in a loosely tied white pagri, and beside him is an unmistakable Persian with

grotesquely long and bulbous nose, flowing moustaches, full beard, carefully

trimmed, gazing in wide-eyed wonderment. He and another near the bottom of

the fragment, wear the typical wing-shape Persian hat, kept in position by a chin-

strap. A Sasanian crown is worn by the person with long black curls, in front of the

second Persian, and this is also secured by a chin-strap. Rising from the middle of

this crown is a flaming jewel, its tip partly covering the chin of the face behind. At

the lower corner of the picture is a man wearing a hat of rather Chinese type, with

chin-strap. His long face has peculiar eyes, in that they slope in the reverse direc-

tion to those of the Mongol. Screening his chin is a conical cap resembling the type

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