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

Sec. ii] LIST OF PAINTINGS, TEXTILES, ETC., FROM CHIEN-FO-TUNG io65

Ch. Iv. 0013. Fr. of painted silk banner, retaining one bottom streamer of blue silk with leaf design traced in yellow.

Subject : Bodhisaltva. Lower half of fig. only, standing on red lotus facing spectator. Dress and painting of type *Ch.•ooz. Colouring chiefly pink, light green, and red fairly preserved.

Painting I' I" x 61", length with streamer 2' 8".

*Ch. 1v. 00x4. Painted silk banner in ' Indian ' style, with triangular head-piece, streamers, and weighting-board complete. Bottom streamers and border of head-piece of plain cinnamon silk ; side streamers and interior of headpiece of dark brown silk ; painted silk covering latter almost completely destroyed. Weighting-board green, with design of five-petalled flowers, red, white, and yellow on white grounds. Two Chin.. chars. on border of head-piece.

Subject : Bodhisattva (unidentified) with rosary. Fig. stands stiffly facing spectator on single white lotus tipped with dark pink. R. arm hangs by side carrying rosary ; L. held before breast, palm up, second and third fingers bent. Fig. very broad across chest and shoulders and curving in to slender waist. Robed from hips to ankles in grey discoloured skirt, raised in symmetrical folds at middle and sides by girdle. Latter, dark pink lined with white, is draped loosely round hips and knotted in front, whence ends fall between legs. Waved edge of skirt-folds round ankles allows red and yellow inner side of stuff to be seen. Narrow stole of green and Indian red on reverse sides passes round shoulders and thence winds stiffly about arms towards ground. A narrow scarf of Indian red lined with grey passes across breast from R. shoulder, and behind shoulders hang bunches of pink drapery reaching to elbows.

Jewellery comprises tiara, plain ear-rings, necklace, bangles, and armlets, three last being set with red and grey jewels. Tiara consists of gold circlet, set with three high gold ornaments—each formed of three circular gold plaques or balls of diminishing size, set one upon another, the smallest on top —with white fillet of drapery behind and red lotuses at ears.

Face full and impassive, with straight eyes, arching brows, small mouth, and elongated ears. Hair, black, done in double-leaf form on top of head and falls in thick spreading mass behind shoulders. Flesh painted throughout a strong hard yellow, thickly laid on, outlines being dull red.

Outlines of drapery black, in many places blurred or insufficiently filled in. Circular halo of rings of green, red, black, and white. Painting bounded below by decorative band of rhomboids, red, green, and yellow, and at top by painted valance.

Style of work primitive. Forms of body heavy and comparatively shapeless, drawing of hands alone showing something of delicacy which marks the more Chinese of paintings. Colouring is muddy and coarse, recalling that of Nepalese paintings, Ch. lvi. oor-ooxo, though this banner is of considerably better workmanship.' For other examples of the same style, see Ch. 0017 ; lv. 0032, 0034 ; cf. also series *Ch. lv. 004. Painting I' g"x 7", length complete 5' 5".

1574

Ch. lv. ools. Painted silk banner ; all accessories lost ; painting almost intact and in fair condition.

Subject : Rebirth of souls from Lake Sukhàvati. At bottom is seen surface of water, with palisade in front. From this rises lotus plant, which curves alternately to R. and L., bearing at each curve an opened flower on which sits a celestial fig. robed as a Bodhisattva. Three of these appear on R., two on L., and in L. top corner, on small newly opened pink lotus, a naked infant dancing. Dress of seated figs. is that of ' Indian ' type of Bodhisattva (see *Ch. lv. 0014) but without stoles ; and their faces are short and square with straight eyes. They sit cross-legged, except the lowest, who kneels on one knee ; two have their hands in pose of adoration, others rest R. hand on knee or have both hands raised with fingers in mystic poses whose meaning is not known. The lotuses are painted yellow and red, pink and white, or green and white, and same colours are combined for robes and haloes. Latter are oval and painted in rays or in petal pattern. Infant painted white, with red shoes, necklace, cheeks, and mouth. Colouring throughout coarse and dull, and drawing somewhat rough.

For another representation of same subject, see Ch. x1.001. I' 7â" x 7-e. PI. LXXXIII.

Ch. lv. 0016. Remains of painted silk banner, with Chin. inscr. ; companion to Ch. xlix. oo6. Incomplete top and bottôm, and considerably broken; all accessories lost ; part preserved fresh and clean. Pairs with Ch. xlix. oo6.

Subject : Scenes from Life of Buddha ; two preserved. Border and dividing bands of scenes as in Ch. xlix. oo6. Inscribed cartouche on R. and L. side resp. of each scene.

Scene I. Encounter of Prince Gautama with the Old Man. Identified by inscr. On L. appears battlemented palace courtyard wall, with sq. projecting gateway of green tiles with roofed chamber above, as in Ch. xlix. 005 ; lv. oar I. Out of this Prince rides on Kanthaka. A courtier attends him on foot. Before him under a tree old man leans upon stick, another man stands by his side. Prince's attention is arrested, and courtier explains to him old man's case.

Scene 2. Encounter with the Sick Man. Identified by inscr. From the same gateway, this time on R., Prince rides with bent head, courtier walking on his R. Under tree in his path the sick man sits upon ground supported by friend in red coat, while another in green offers him drink in bowl. Emaciation of his body (naked to waist) and of arms spread upon his knees realistically shown.

Style Chinese ; architecture and dress exactly as in Ch. xlix. oo6. Wall painted in horizontal lines of yellow and buff; pavilion over doorway shows usual red timber frame with blue roof. For timber frame within gate, cf. Ancient Khotan, i. P.447, Fig. 53 Prince and courtier are attired as Prince and Minister in Ch. xlix. oo6 ; the former again has a white lotus on his head ; the common personages wear usual long coats and tailed black caps ; the old man a black hood which falls on his shoulders. Drawing very fine ; colouring, as in companion banner, chiefly pink and light red with some dull green and black ; the workmanship

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