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

Sec. üj   KHARA-KHOTO AND ITS REMAINS   443

represented at ` Ming-oi ' ; pendants, 0104, &c. ; fragments of gilded tiaras, 073, &c. ; jewel-shaped

   ornaments, 027, &c. (P1. LIII). The mitre-shaped stucco head-dress, 034 (Pl. LIV), is of interest   -

owing to the peculiar arrangement of loose plaits and locks. To smaller statues belonged the

Buddha head, 0195 (Pl. LIII), and the fine hand, i. 017 (Pl. LIII).

Friezes in stucco relief, like those of Ming-oi, probably furnished the excellently modelled small Fragments.

figure of a fat laughing ` Ho-shang', K.K. 1. 0142 (Pl. XLIX) ; the demons' heads, 036, 69 (Pl. LIV) ; reliefs. Stucco

the fragments of figures clad in skin, 037, &c. ; the saddled horse, 012I (Pl. LV) ; fragments of'

mail, 0126, and others. What was the position of the realistically treated snakes, of which

heads and numerous other fragments were found, 09, 13, &c. (Pl. LIII, LIV), is uncertain. Wood-

carvings like the jewel, 0103 (Pl. LIII) ; the Stûpa-shaped finial, 042 (Pl. LXVI), &c., are likely to

have formed part of some decorative scheme. Of wall-paintings only tiny fragments have survived

in 055, 0200, while those on the plaster still adhering to the walls had suffered complete effacement

by exposure.

Of greater interest are fragments of some paintings on silk, probably banners like those found Remains

as votive offerings at Chien-fo-tung, which were discovered, most of them badly broken, on the of silk

paintings.

main platform. K.K. 1. i. b. 03 shows parts of two celestial figures, of very delicately drawn though

faded outlines. From the numerous fragments of 1. i. b. 05 (Pl. CVII) the very expressively treated

head of a man can be recovered. 1. i. b. of (Pl. LXI) is another packet of fragments which may have

belonged to a larger picture. In one of them appears a symbolic representation of the Moon, such

as is often found at the top of ` Mandala' paintings recovered from the Chien-fo-tung hoard.

The numerous fine pieces of faience, worked in high relief and glazed bright green, probably Fragments

formed part of an ornamented tiled roof. Floral scrolls and leaves are the decorative motifs of of faience

from roof.

K. K. I. 06-7 (PI. LII); i. 06-1i, 16 (PI. LII); also in the finial, i. 03 (Pl. LII). The antefixae of Chinese type in hard-burnt grey clay, i. 01-2, &c. (Pl. L), decorated at the circular end with a finely designed gorgon head in relief, are certainly from the roofing. The vigorously modelled pottery head of a monster, i. 014 (Pl. L), probably served as a gable end. I have had occasion before to call attention to the resemblance shown by the pieces of glazed faience to fragments from the tiled roof of a temple found in 1907 at the site of So-yang-ch`êng, which was occupied down to Sung times.8 A very votive

striking confirmation of close proximity in date and character of the two structures is furnished by the int c ây.

excellently preserved Stüpa model in clay, 1. 0225 (Pl. LIII), which exactly reproduces all details of the small votive Stüpa So. a. oo6, found at the So-yang-ch`êng temple, including the inscription of the usual Buddhist formula in Brahmi characters at the base.' The ground-plan of both models is derived from that of which the Rawak Stüpa, excavated by me near Khotan in 1901, was the first example.

The only other temple ruin within the walls which yielded remains of interest was the shrine Ruined

K.K. I. ii, occupying a conspicuous position at the end of the road which led from the eastern gate temple

K.K. ii.

towards the centre of the circumvallated area. It was built on a high platform of stamped clay,

measuring about 82 feet by 63 (Pl. 20), as seen in Fig. 244 ; broad stairs once led up to it from

the east. The shrine, which was badly decayed and appeared to have been repeatedly burrowed

into, was built on a plan of trefoil shape, with a chapel about 12 feet by 17 facing the stairway across

a central hall and somewhat larger rooms opening on either side of the latter.

The platform stretching across the whole width of the central chapel, and once, no doubt, Finds of

occupied by statues, yielded only some scanty fragments of stucco relievo once decorating Padmâ.- MSS. and

prints.

8 See ibid., iii. pp. I Ion, x ro8 ; iv. PI. IV.   So-yang-ch`êng are constructed of the same kind of

9 Cf. ibid., iii. p. r ro8 ; iv. Pl. CXXXIX. It may   masonry, with bricks set on edge, as the shrines and Stüpas

be noted here that the Stüpas near this temple of   of Khara-khoto.

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