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

688   THE ANCIENT CEMETERIES OF ASTANA   [Chap. XIX

Ast. ii. 2. o11. Shaped piece of wood ; resembling Ast. ii. r. oro. Flat strip with one long edge straight, the other slightly arched. For 1" from ends wood is cut away entirely on straight side to depth of 1" ; remainder of end cut into tenons one-third of orig. thickness. Traces of white paint. Length 91", gr. width ii", thickness #".

Ast. ii. 2. 012. Strip of wood, cut sq. at edges and ends. Band of blue paint along one edge, on wide face ; three black lines on thickness adjoining blue divide length into four equal spaces. 8" x if' x ".

Ast. ii. 2. 013. Shaped piece of wood, exactly like Ast. 09, and of same size. Length over all 8f".

Ast. ii. 2. 014. Piece of wood, oblong in section, tapering slightly towards one end, broken at other. Painted all over red, with wavy black line down each wide face, and light green spots in hollows. Narrow faces painted with black cross-lines alternating with light green. q" x if (gr. width) x 1".

Ast. ii. 2. 015. Four wooden sticks tied together with frs. of hemp (?) rope. Natural sticks split in half lengthways and bark stripped off ; one pointed at each end ; two others broken and broken ends laid over each other in antiquity and bound with string. Average length 2', and thickness a".

Ast. ii. 2. o16. Shaped piece of wood, sq. in section, with projection, 1" high and c. 4" long, left at each end on one side. Immediately within these projections 1" hole is bored through stick, and in one remains wooden peg. Round tenon of Ast. ii. 2. orq fits empty hole, and faint depression on surface of o16 indicates the probable connexion of these two. The addition of a similar piece

OBJECTS EXCAVATED

Ast. iii. I. 01-12. One dozen pastry ' straws'; plain straight bars like modern cheese-straws. Average length 3", diam. 35-g". Pl. XCII.

Ast. iii. I. 013-20. Pastry wafers ; thin, flat, apparently roughly triangular when complete. Seem to have been made of fine strips of pastry coiled flat ; inner part in three spirals, with species of rayed border surrounding whole. 31" x 2" X r. Pl. XCII.

Ast. iii. I. 021. Pastry tartlet, in form of star-shaped flower, with five short pointed petals rising up round hollow centre, in which is decayed matter, evidently fruit (cf. iii. 2.040-4). Well made. Excellent condition. Diam. 2". Pl. XCII.

Ast. iii. x. 022. Pastry tartlet, in form of circular flower with eight long narrow petals rising from hollow centre (for fruit) as in Ast. iii. 1. 021 ; between each pair of petals a ridge of short erect close-set spines'. Both petals

• and rows of spines strongly convex. One petal made double by mistake. Hole through centre. Well made ; excellent condition. For another, see Ast. iii. 2. 039. Diam. 2f". Pl. XCII.

belonging to tenon still in other hole and the piece marked ii. 2. or would complete a four-sided frame. Length lob", average thickness I" sq.

Ast. ii. 2. 017. Shaped piece of wood, same as Ast. ii. x. 09 and ii. 2. 013, except that end which in the other two has tenon is here cut as a mortice and fits tenon of Ast. ii. 2. o16. Peg also passes transversely through bar 1" from other end. No paint ; cf. preceding object. Length of

whole 9}"   x s".

Ast. ii. 2. 018-20. Pair of wooden wheels, from model carriage ; like Ast. ii. r. 012-13, Pl. XCIV. Incomplete ; or8 and 019 prob. form about ; of one rim, o18 retaining three spokes. 020 forms about f of rim of second wheel and has ends of spokes remaining in several grooves ; burnt at broken ends. Rims high and narrow as in Ast. ii. r. 012-13 ; painted black all over. Outer diam. c. 9", inner diam. 71", thickness V".

Ast. ii. 2.021. Elliptical lacquered wooden bowl, with ear handles. Typical Han shape as T. ox, Pl. XLVII, and Ser. iv. Pl. LII, T. vs. b. ii. oor. Large size. Lacquered plain black all over, outside over canvas, inside mostly directly on wood but over canvas for about 1" downwards from rim. One ear has broken off and been clamped on again in antiquity with piece of bronze sheet and rivets, but has again broken off. Ast. ii. 2. 03 is another piece similarly broken off and repaired. Length 8", depth 2i", gr. width (with handles) 5k"

Ast. ii. 2. 022-3. Pair of pottery tazzas ; wheel-made. Grey distempered with black. Wide shallow basin, with elegant outward and down-curving rim, short pedestal, and spreading foot. Rough work generally. Basins of both broken. H. 21", diam. of foot 2f", of basin 6". Pl. XC.

IN TOMBS OF GROUP iii

Ast. iii. 1.023. Pastry tartlet ; round, with hollow centre and raised fluted border. Plain. Hole through middle. Diam. 2". Pl. XCII.

Ast. iii. 1. 024-5. Couple of pastry tartlets. Circular, having funnel-shaped centres with hole at bottom ; flat below. Sides turned over and moulded in form of downward-hanging petals (015 and 020), with high thin edges and deep hollows in middle of, 'and between, each petal. Tartlet from top therefore presents appearance of disc with edges closely serrated or foliated like under-side of mushroom. Remains of decayed fruit inside. Cf. Ast. iii. 2. 045, 046. Good condition. Diam. re". PI. XCII.

Ast. iii. I. 026-9. Bun ; round, well risen ; divided into four by two cuts at right angles and interior sandwiched with some darker-coloured matter, probably fruit. Top ornamented with close-punched rows of holes. Diam. 3". Pl. XCII.

Ast. iii. I. 030-41. Pastry ' bow•knot ' twists ; five . complete and frs. of others. Each made of single rope of dough, twisted into pair of large loops, the ends inter-