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

Sec. in LIST OF PAINTINGS, TEXTILES, ETC., FROM CWIEN-FO-TUNG 987

pattern with white, scarlet, and dark blue yarn ; cf. the preceding. 3" X $ . Pl. CXII.

Ch. 00300. Strip of silk tapestry, full orig. width, fine, hand-made, like Ch. 0058. Pattern : an elongated elliptical spot occupying full width of strip and repeating vertically at intervals of i". Between appear pairs of half-spots, touching horizontally, and with their long diagonals lying along edges of strip. Spots composed of conventional scroll and leaf forms, worked in white, yellow, green, dark brown, and buff on soft blue ground. Colours faded. Strip has been used for suspension loop and worn through. For other tapestry strips of like character, see Ch. oor66, 00301, and manuscript-roll cover Ch. xlviii. oor. 72" x s". Pl. CXII.

Ch. oo3oa. Two frs. of silk tapestry, like the preceding in make and pattern, but coarser. Ground salmon-pink ; spots dark brown, white, greenish yellow, and true green, or dark brown, white, pale and royal blue. Each 2A" X r. Pl. CXII.

Ch. 00302. Strip of figured silk, frayed. Loose satin weave as Ch. 0076. Pattern too fragmentary to reconstruct ; in pale green, dull brown, white, and blue on scarlet ground. Colours brilliant. 8A" X ". PI. CXII.

Ch. 00303. Silk banner with Chin. inscr. ; complete except for side streamers, and made throughout of indigo blue silk. In place of bottom streamers it has undivided length of silk, to which weighting-board is attached in usual fashion. Condition good.

Subject : Bodhisattva of the Sun ; inscr. reading Jihyao p`u sa. Stands facing spectator on lotus rising from water of tank, with decorated railing in background. Hands together at breast support disc containing Sun-bird, a two-legged cock outlined in red. Dress consists of long skirt held by draped girdle at hips, and gathered short of ankles in voluminous light folds, and of band of drapery across breast. There is no stole, but two streamers of drapery fly from headdress to elbows. Hair drawn up from forehead and done in very high top-knot almost covered by elaborate tiara orn. with flowers and large trilobate jewel in front. Elaborate armlets are also worn, besides usual necklace, bangles, and earrings. Face large oval with half-closed level eyes. Behind head circular halo with flame border, and above an elaborate draped valance.

Fig. is drawn throughout in white outline only, and not painted except for the touching-up of jewels and flowers in yellow, floral spot patterns in yellow on robe and breast draperies, outlining of cock in red, and solid painting of lips in same. Inscr. appears on cartouche to R. of head.

The lower part, replacing streamers, shows a repeating diamond spot pattern also outlined and probably stencilled in white. The spots are c. 9A" from tip to tip, and are composed of pairs of naturalistic geese (also birds of Sun) facing each other and surrounded by foliage. For a closely resembling pattern, cf. Fenollosa, Epochs of Chinese and Japanese Art, i. p. r io, on a fabric of Shôsiiin Collection. Head-piece has also lotus flower and leaf design in white ; weighting-

board painted with conventional rosettes in green and black on red.

Whole design of banner is repeated on back, but not traced through as in the case of gauze paintings, so that position of parts is not reversed : e. g. the cock looks to L. on each side, and inscr. space is on R. edge. Workmanship rapid and by a well-practised hand.

Length of whole 7', width 9A". (' Goose design ' of lower part) Pl. CXIII.

Ch. 00304. a—b. Two head-pieces of printed silk from banners, edged with fine lozenge-diapered sage-green silk, and retaining part of faded brown side streamers and one set of sage-green silk bottom streamers. Printed with large repeating design derived from a Sassanian type, reconstructed in Pl. CXIV, and consisting of circular medallions, about z' 9" in diam. when complete, set out in rows on indigo ground ; spandrels between them filled by lozenge-shaped masses of flowers and feathery leaves.

The sides of these lozenges are hollow and their points all but meet, so that they practically enclose the circles. Middle of circle is occupied by complex four-petalled flower, trilobate petals, and field by four pairs of confronting geese standing on open flowers, each pair separated from the next by'a green floral motif. Borders of circle orn., inner with quatrefoils, outer with elliptical discs which have flattened rosette for centre and a bead border. Ground of circle white ; of spandrel orn. white and yellow ; other colours used are indigo, purple, green, and red, discoloured in places. a retains suspension loop of red silk and strainer.

Mixture of Sassanian and Chinese elements obvious in design (see above, p. 910. Chinese style clearly marked in semi-natural treatment of lozenge-shaped floral spot and of central flower, and especially in the geese, which are quite naturalistic. The rigid definition of circles, however, preserves stiffness of design as a whole, and this is emphasized by formal treatment of discs on border. H. (a) 7A", (b) 8-" ; bases (a) i' rk", (b) r' 34". Pl. CXIII and (reconstruction of design) CxIV.

Ch. 00305. Two frs. of printed silk, plain weave. Pattern : a diaper of red, green, and blue four-petalled rosettes, the red forming every second row, while the intermediate rows are formed of green and blue rosette (with red centre) recurring alternately. Red rosettes placed straight, green and blue diagonally (in St. Andrew's cross fashion). Interstices filled with elongated dark brown hexagons, placed sideways or on end in alternate rows. Outlines of hexagons, dark blue ; of rosettes, white or natural colour. Somewhat discoloured. r' x 3" and 6" sq. Pl. CXIII.

Ch. 00306. Three frs. of fine silk gauze, woven in small lozenge diaper, and printed with maroon background and scattered bunches (fragmentary) of large crimson and blue flowers, outlined white, and dark green leaves, outlined yellow. Outlines strengthened in places with lines of silver-grey paint or paste. Background between floral pattern covered with further design in same paint, consisting of small

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