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

986 CAVE-TEMPLES & ANTIQUES OF THE THOUSAND BUDDHAS [Ch. XXV

coarse embroidery on bottle-green silk gauze, showing narrow leaves and flowers in dark green, salmon-red, buff, and light green, and bird's wing to R. in brown and faded pink. Length 4' 4', depth r' 7".

Ch. oo28i. Remains of embroidered silk hanging (?), of dark greenish-blue silk gauze backed with fine indigo plain silk. Very bad condition. Complete design now irrecoverable, but was an all-over pattern of birds, butterflies, and flowers on a small scale, in naturalistic Chinese style. It is worked through both gauze and silk in satin-stitch like that of Ch. oox x9 ; chiefly in buffs, yellows, and terra-cotta, with green and white. Gauze of open lozenge weave, sewn to backing in strips c. 3' wide at top and widening to c. 6'; but direction of gores reversed in R. and L. parts of hanging, so that whole preserves roughly rectang. shape. 4' 10" x 3'4'.

Ch. 00291. Silk banner made in four sections with bamboo stiffeners at junctions. First section composed of two pieces of printed silk, the design on which can be completed from another piece of same in Ch. 00292. It is derived from a Sassanian type and shows within circular border a pair of deer facing each other on either side of a stylized tree, with cloud scroll below. Deer standing with one fore-leg lifted and muzzle raised ; they have short necks, thick bodies spotted with pear-shaped spots, and horns sweeping back in long curve. Borders of circles studded with elliptical discs lying on their flattened sides, and having quatrefoil centres ; similar quatrefoils lie between legs of deer.

The circles measured about r' ro" in diam. when complete, and are repeated in rows, touching at their four cardinal points, where their circumferences are broken by sq. orn. uniting the two borders. Spandrels between circles filled by lozenge-shaped masses of semi-natural flowers and foliage, obviously resembling those of Ch. 00304 but preserved only in small part. Design printed in dark blue on (faded) pink ground ; all contours white, and markings on deer white and yellow except for pear-shaped spots, which are white with pink centres. Spandrel orns. as far as preserved, white, yellow, and blue. Blocks well cut.

Regarding the design which shows transformation of a Sassanian model through Chinese workmanship, cf. above, p. 910. For attitude and figs. of deer, cf. figured silk reproduced in Shôsôin Catalogue, ii. PI. 99 ; also Pl. 113.

The other sections of banner, triangular top and side and bottom streamers, are of various tones of faded buff or saffron plain silk. Length with streamers 8' 6r, width for". Pl. CXIII, (reconstruction of design) Pl. CXVI. A.

Ch. 00292. Triangular head-piece from banner of printed silk, doubled, of same pattern as Ch. 00291 ; q. v. for descr. of design. This piece shows tree between deer, sq. orn, uniting borders of two circles, and point of spandrel orn. Less faded than Ch. 00291. Border is of plain saffron-coloured silk, side-streamers respectively of dark blue and sage-green silk. H. 8', base of triangle 1' 2'.

Ch. 00298. a. Square of silk damask, salmon-pink, edges fringed ; has been folded diagonally and made up with border, prob. into banner-top. Surface exposed faded to pale yellow and much worn. Part of design remaining shows fine peacock in profile to R., and on R. edge part of interlacing band pattern resembling Ch. oo86. Ground plain ; pattern large twill. r ry x re. (Design) Pl. CXVIII.

Ch. 00293. b. Silk damask border of preceding. Warp, fine grey yarn, slightly stiffened ; weft, broad untwisted dark blue yarn. Large pattern (section of which only is preserved) shows crested heads, and part of wings and tails of two confronting peacocks. These probably repeat, forming a variant of the Sassanian type of pattern. Ground plain; pattern twill. Poor condition. 2' 7' x 3 ".

Ch. 00294. Triangular head-piece of silk damask from banner, saffron-coloured, well woven, with both ground and pattern in fine twill, but running in reverse directions. Bordered with plain silk of pale yellow and retaining ragged frs. of body and side-streamers of dull fawn. Basis of damask design is obviously chevron bands enclosing rosettes, a simple form of which is seen in Ch. 00342. b (PL CXXI). But here the rows of rosettes widely separated, and chevron band transformed into band of conventional floral orn. I' 9' (width) x I I" (height). (Design) PI. CXXI.

Ch. 00295. Two strips of figured silk (suspension loop and streamer from valance Ch. 00280 ?). Loose satin weave as Ch. 0076, but considerably finer texture. Surface faded and worn. Ground dark green, pattern pale and bright pink ; also dark brown not appearing on surface in these frs. Larger fr. shows series of palmette-shaped semi-natural floral motifs ; smaller fr. edge of larger motif of same character. Both too small • for reconstruction of design. I' 2 ' x 2*" and 7" x Ir. Pl. CXII.

Ch. 00296. Suspension loop of figured silk, badly worn and faded. Very loose satin weave as in Ch. 0076. Weft of deep and pale blue, light green, tomato red, white, and pale yellow, but design indistinguishable except for large red-and-blue-petalled flower. 8 " x 2" (unpicked). Pl. CXII.

Ch. 00297. Suspension loop of figured silk, taken from banner Ch. lv. oo6 ; fairly preserved. Fine double cloth, closely woven in a small diaper of concentric lozenges. The colour pattern, which ignores that of weave, is a sq. trellis-work of gamboge lines, 1" wide and ' apart ; field of squares thus enclosed terra-cotta ; small squares at crossings of trellis, dull brown orn. with a rosette in white spots. Selvedge one side. 7" x I " (unpicked). Pl. CXII.

Ch. 00298. Fr. of silk braid, plaited with thick soft yarn in zigzag lines of white, light green, and deep yellow. Firm and elastic. For braids of same character as ties of manuscript-roll covers, see Shôsôin Catalogue, iii. Pl. i66. 8' x g'. PI. CXII.

Ch. 00299. Fr. of silk braid, plaited in a vandyke