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

> > > >
Color New!IIIF Color HighRes Gray HighRes PDF   Japanese English
0590 Ancient Khotan : vol.1
Ancient Khotan : vol.1 / Page 590 (Grayscale High Resolution Image)

New!Citation Information

doi: 10.20676/00000182
Citation Format: Chicago | APA | Harvard | IEEE

OCR Text

 

498   THE RUINS OF AK-SIPIL AND RAWAK   [Chap. XIV

into the dress and pose. R. lx and lxii have the right breast bare, while in R. lvi and lviii the robe is laid round both shoulders. The latter figure is of interest on account of the pose of the right arm which, instead of hanging down as in the pendants, is bent towards the breast within the fold of the robe, in a fashion which looks antique. This well-preserved little image also retains a dark-red paint on the robe, with plentiful dark spots distributed over it and the halo, apparently in a kind of rough pattern. The head, hands, neck, and feet are painted white.

Statues   At the foot of R. lxiv, a badly decayed large figure which may have belonged to the

R. lxiv—lxvii. preceding group, a well-preserved wu-chzt coin was found. Next followed the much injured torso of a small image (R. lxv), which, judged by the wave lines of the drapery, may have represented a Bodhisattva. The two adjoining colossal statues, R. lxvi, lxvii (see Plate X V I I. c, d ; Fig. 66), were preserved up to their necks, about 8 ft. from the ground, but could not be completely excavated, as their heavy masses of stucco threatened to collapse. Both had the right breast uncovered, and the right arm raised from the elbow. The robes retained much of the original paint, white on R. lxvi and light red on R. lxvii, which, together with the relative height of the preserved portions, suggested that these statues may possibly have been better sheltered than the rest on this wall until the drift-sand had sufficiently accumulated to protect the coloured stucco surfaces from atmospheric influences.

Statues   R. lxviii and R. lxix (see Plate X V I I. d) are colossal figures preserved only below the

of outer   waist. Their drapery and the pose of the left hand show that they must have been modelled

south-east

wall near after the type represented by the previous group. Between the feet of these images, and

south   leaning against their sides, were found small relief representations of Buddhas, measuring about

corner.   t ft. from the waist, where they were all broken. They had evidently been removed from some

other position, and closely resembled three other small figures of this size and type which were grouped near the feet of the adjoining large statue (R. lxx). The latter, though badly injured above the knees, showed remains of an elaborately-draped robe in a rich red colour. The heads of the small Buddha figures at its feet (R. lxx. i a, b, c) broke after excavation, but were removed without damage. They are well proportioned, and, as seen in Plate LXXXIV, retain distinct traces of the original colouring. The south corner of the outer wall-face was occupied by the colossal statue R. lxxi (see Plate XV I I I. a ; Fig. 66), of which, besides the feet and drapery portions from the knees downwards, only a hand was found.

Sculptures   On the south-west face outside there adjoined a small Buddha figure (R. lxxii), about 2 ft.

of outer   6 in. high (see Plate XVIII. b). Owing probably to the protection afforded by the colossal

south-west corner statue, which must have partly hidden it, this little image still showed the red colour

face near   ~   P   Y   ~   image

of its robe, crossed by white stripes, in good preservation. Its head, which had suffered damage before excavation, is reproduced in Plate LXXXVIII. The nimbus behind resembled that of R. ii, and some of its small plaques, representing seated Buddhas, will be found described in the list. An aureole formed by a cloud-scroll with fleur-de-lis ornaments descended from the nimbus. R. lxxiii, a colossal statue, broken from the thigh, deserves notice on account of its drapery being marked only by shallow outlines, quite different from the deep folds indicated elsewhere. R. lxxiv is a small Buddha figure of about the same size as R. lxxii, to which it seems to have formed a pendant. Its head, which broke off on clearing, is, however, of a different type, as seen in Plate LXXXIV. It is well proportioned ; the hair is represented in a curious fashion by a series of closely-plaited bands passing from ear to ear. Besides a horseshoe nimbus behind the head the wall showed, by the side of R. lxxxiv, a small plaque representing a seated Buddha like that found near R. xxv.