202 PICTURES FROM HIDDEN CHAPEL CU. LXYII
execution ; but the interpretation of them is in many cases very difficult. Some types, like the Bodhisattva with the censer or the one carrying a transparent bowl (Fig. 195), are manifestly new mythological creations. In others, again, we look vainly for any recognizable attributes. Such are the two striking figures reproduced in colour, Plate VII., from silk banners which, except for the streamers, are practically complete. The Bodhisattva on the left, with its undulating line of figure and its elaborate dress and adornment, shows no essential divergence from the type to be met with in the frescoes and stucco sculptures of Eastern Turkestan ruins. The light pink robe hanging from the waist, the dark green chiton-like garment partly covering the breast, and the stole, purple outside and green inside, which is gracefully draped round shoulders, body, and arms, all correspond to the traditional garments of Indian Buddhist saints as Central-Asian painting and sculpture show them. Yet Chinese influence is strongly evident in the flowing ease of the draperies as they gracefully fall with studied carelessness, partly inside, partly outside the open lotus which serves as pedestal, in the hair festooned across the forehead and hanging in long tresses behind to below the elbow, as well as in a mass of details contributing to the picturesque effect of the whole.
The same qualities of freely sweeping line, of graceful movement, and harmoniously blended intense colours, are even more conspicuous in the fine figure of a Bodhisattva seen on the right. There is neither recognizable emblem nor any other mark which would allow us to identify him. The figure is seen in full profile striding forward in vigorous action. The right hand uplifted carries a pink object largely hidden by the elaborate head-dress,
and its pose is cleverly balanced by the left hanging down to grasp the floating drapery. The movement of
the body is admirably expressed also in the trailing masses
of the rich red robe draped round the legs and feet, and in the gyrations of the stole or Uttariya at the back. I t is
reflected, too, in the swing of the jewelled tassels hanging from the canopy and in the curls of the flames which encircle the jewels on its top. The bold curving shapes
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