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Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

close parallels to this buckle, except the wrongly turned hook, from Minusinsk (Martin 1893, Pl. 31: 20 and Tallgren 1917, Pl. XI : 43, especially the former one).

A true representative of the Ordos and kindred bronze cultures is the f ragmentary plaque or buckle Pl. 30: 4, which was found by NoRIN at point 416 on the map Fig. 37, viz. not very far to the north of the northernmost branch of the present delta. Unfortunately only the front part is preserved and only the rim of the central part where the main decorative element must have been placed. The nippled buttons in the corners are, however, typical of the Ordos bronze art, and so is the projecting hook for fastening the strap end.

The occurrence here of objects showing affinities with the Ordos bronzes might possibly be regarded as a proof of intercourse between the Lou-lan people and the Huns, as the Huns are said by several authorities to have been the carriers of the Ordos bronze art and we have, moreover, literary evidences of connections between these two peoples. It is, however, by no means certain that the Huns were the sole carriers of this art.

Pl. 30 : 2-3 are two identical buckles of the "ordinary" construction with a tongue, in these cases hinged to the central bar running across the oval frame. Besides the two specimens in this collection I know of six others of exactly the same shape: Stein 1921, Pl. XXXVI, L. A. 0013, and Pl. LIII, T. VII. ooi ; K. 13470 :165 —166 and K. 11003 : 1565 of the MFEA in Stockholm, and finally one specimen found by me at Edsen-gol. Five of these have been recovered scientifically and can be proved to be of Han date. A slightly different variation of this type has one edge straight. I know of three specimens in the MFEA : K. 13483 : 9 (from STEIN'S tower XLIIe in the Tun-huang limes), and K. 11003: 732A and 1566 (both bought in Kuei-hua). Both of these two variations seem to be of the Han and immediate post-Han periods, and they probably formed part of the soldier's outfits.

The strap end of bronze Pl. 30 : 23 has close parallels among the early migration age types. The same construction with a freely hanging tongue is found on a silver fitting from a grave near Stalingrad on the Volga from about the fourth century, probably Sarmatian-Gothic (ESA 1, p. 37). A similar ornamentation is seen on a girdle fitting on a painted figure from Kucha (Grünwedel 1912, Fig. 56): The bevelling somewhat recalls the treatment of associated strap ends from the Isle of Gotland (4th-7th century).

Various metal objects.

NORIN found a complete armlet, Pl. 30: 24, the flattened ends of which are decorated with some coarse lines, probably meant to represent snake heads.

A fragmentary finger ring Pl. 31: 6 may come from the Lou-lan station, but the place of finding has not been definitely verified. In Dr. HEDIN'S old collection there is a similar one (Bergman 1935c, Pl. XI: 12) and STEIN has found several

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