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   971

across breast light crimson ; stole light green with reverse of bluish grey; ornaments pale yellow hung with pear-shaped blue-grey and green jewels and relieved with scarlet lotus flowers ; flesh uniform pinkish white, outlined with dark pink. Face round and plump with small features placed close together in middle ; eyes straight, with straight under and curved upper lids, and red inner. Arched eyebrows and small moustaches and imperial drawn in green over black. These eyebrows are placed very high, and between them and eyes are another pair faintly drawn in pink over black. From this it seems that the Japanese custom, in Heian epoch, of shaving eyebrows and painting (?) others higher on forehead was derived from an existing Chinese fashion.

Vesica and halo are circular, painted in plain variegated rings of same colour as dress. Indian flame border is preserved, but has lost its significance, being painted round inner ring of vesica instead of outer edge. Canopy overhead is not of drapery but formed of three clusters of vermilion, white, and purple flowers and green leaves on conventional stems, hung with jewel drops, green, vermilion, and blue-grey. On either side infant floats down seated on purple cloud, with hands in adoration or offering lotuses and wearing only flying stole of vermilion and green.

The attendant Bodhisattvas are ranged above each other, three a side, turning towards central fig. ; the two upper pairs with hands in adoration, and robes and hair in *Ch. 002 style ; the lower pair kneeling on either side of altar offering dishes of scarlet lotuses, and wearing robes of Indian' fashion like Avalokitesvara. Treatment and colouring of all resembles that of central fig. Altar shows a good example of draped valance like Ch. 00278. Colouring throughout remarkably fresh, but light and thin in tone. Chief colours are light vermilion of robes, white of flesh, green of stoles and accessories, blue-grey of background, and black of donors' robes below.

Donors stand three on either side of dedicatory panel, men on R., women on L. Their dress and head-gear are same in style and colour as those of donors of *Ch. 00102 ; but men's coats are seen here to reach to ground. Their skirts are dark pink and yellow ; fashion of trousers or under-robe appearing below them (white striped with red) is not obvious. Women's skirts are dark grey and brown, their girdles and sleeve-bands white flowered with red and grey, their stoles pale ochre yellow. Their head orns. are exceedingly elaborate and painted white, except for floral part, which is gamboge.

The dedicatory panel contains 6 lI. Chin. inscr. well preserved, recording date, name of principal donor, a military officer of Tun-huang, and dedication for spiritual benefit of defunct parents; cf. Chavannes, App. A. V. B. Other inscriptions before each of donors and parents, one before each of kneeling Bodhisattvas, and a short salutation to Avalokite§vara on flower-printed altar-cloth.

For other two-armed seated Avalokitevaras, with attendants, in corresponding style, see Ch. 00124, 00221 ; xxii. 0016 ; xlvi. 00E4; lvii. oo4 ; cf. also Ch. xx. 005. 3' 4'" x 2' 4 f'. Pl. LXI.

Ch. ooi68. Nine frs. of figured silk in long narrow

strips, and one broader. Weave, fine satin twill. Pattern : repeating flower spot, circular, c. 21." in diam., composed of rosette of six heart-shaped petals, surrounded by wreath of six similar flowers in profile, their centres on outer edge and their petals turned back towards middle of spot. A heart or trilobate shape in outline appears on outer edge between each of these profile flowers. Interspaces filled with lozenge-shaped spots, made of two pairs of confronting ducks and foliage reversed about short diagonal of the lozenge. Widest fr. shows only half of lozenges, as pattern breaks for beginning of new colour-scheme.

Above, a bronze ground with design in bright blue, golden yellow, green, and dull brown ; below, ground pale pink, and design in myrtle-green, white, brown, and pale blue. Strips belonging to either scheme incomplete, so that width of respective bands cannot be determined. Colour well preserved. Birds and flowers in naturalistic Chinese style. Widest frs. 8*" x I-b" ; strips 6" to 1' 5' X '. PI. LV and (reconstruction of design) Pl. CXVIII.

Ch. oox6g. Border of head-piece to banner in figured silk. Weave, satin twill. Pattern : a lattice-work of cream-coloured bars on greyish-brown ground, centre of each lozenge filled by cream quatrefoil rosette, and crossing points of diagonals by cream square containing elliptical brown ring. Diagonals themselves striped crosswise with greyish brown. Through middle of each row of lozenges runs stripe alternately of light blue, green, and salmon-pink. Colouring delicate and well preserved. Length of sides 1 or" Pl. LV.

Ch. omo. Fr. of silk brocade, doubled and made into suspension loop ; ends finished off in point with small silk tassels. Woven in small twill with very fine yarn ; weft flat and untwisted. Pattern preserved shows two striped bands of colours, ice" wide, one mainly red, other mainly green, bounded by bands of dull brown r wide. Outer stripes of red band are apricot pink, colour shading through scarlet and salmon-pink to yellow central line ; outer stripes of green band dark greenish-blue, shading likewise to yellow through stripes of true green.

Into each band is worked a row of alternately six-petalled (large) and four-petalled (small) rosettes, those on red band being bright blue, and those on green (faded) pink ; their centres and centre row of petals are in each case dark brown, but brown has almost completely disappeared from green band. Into the r brown dividing bands are worked triangular groups of white or yellow rings ; triangles reversed alternately along edges.

Where lines of flowers are to be formed, second weft (blue, brown, or pink as the case may be) is used. This second weft carried along back of web unattached and brought into fabric only where a flower occurs, changing place with first weft which is taken to back. Neither, however, is interwoven with the warp. They pass loosely across it at back and front resp., and return to their orig. sides of fabric when enough space to form flower petal has been passed. The fabric thus not woven at all where these

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