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0120 Archaeological Researches in Sinkiang : vol.1
Archaeological Researches in Sinkiang : vol.1 / Page 120 (Color Image)

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[Figure] 20 Outline of the collar 7. A:6.

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doi: 10.20676/00000195
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winged quadruped dominating the bold pattern in piece a belongs to the monster world of the Near Eastern art sphere. From corn-

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bining the three pieces of a the pattern has

Fig. 20. Outline of the collar 7. A: 6.      been slightly enlarged, but not sufficiently
to show the complete pattern.

One of the Chinese pieces, e, carries a line of an interwoven character, Ch'ang (Glorious, Prosperous). The red pieces c and d are too worn to allow of a proper examination of the pattern.

This one collar is a strong manifestation of the mixed cultural relations prevailing in the Lou-lan kingdom, and so typical of its status. It is the first article composed of silk both from the East and from the West that has come to my knowledge.

In the third century A. D. a flourishing textile industry developed in Persia, the factories obtaining not only fabrics but also raw silk from China (Rebel, p. 55). Whether our Western silk pieces belong to this period or not remains an open question.

When examining the mummy I got a strong impression of standing face to face with a non-Chinese and non-Mongolian type, and as a matter of fact I was thinking the whole time of an Indian. I cannot be too, positive on the last point, but the photo Pl. XI b certainly confirms my first observation.

Grave 7 B.

The coffin in grave 7 B on the eastern rim of the same hillock was half destroyed and covered with dune sand. Like the coffin 7 A just described the lid had also had a cover of brushwood. It çontained a skeleton, the skull of which has been subjected to anthropometric examination by Professor GASTON BACKMAN to whose forthcoming report I must refer. The coffin was situated roughly NW-SE, the head being placed NW.

The nostrils were shut with "stoppers" wound with red silk, Pl. 25: 7-8, just as was the case in grave 7 A. Of the dress very little remained : fragments of white felt from the coat, edged with red-patterned silk (of Western origin, too worn to allow any description of the design), grey woollen material from the trousers, a cornet-shaped piece of dark-red silk found near the head, and some other fragments of silk fabrics.

Grave 7 C.

Immediately to the east of grave 7 A there was a dismembered coffin of the same construction as in Fig. 26, to be described presently. It was 2.25 m. long, the end boards measured 40X26 cm., and the corner posts were 50X 14X 13 cm. One of the

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