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

Sec. ii] LIST OF PAINTINGS, TEXTILES, ETC., FROM CH'IEN-FO-TUNG Io0I

Ch. 00447. a—b. Two silk streamers of complete type, prob. from valance Ch. 00279 ; materials same. (a) in fair condition, (b) torn away from lining and faded. Length I' 5' and I' 2".

Ch. 00448. Fr. of silk embroidery, on strong gauze of dull purplish black ; twined weave like that of Ch. 00332, etc. No backing. Embroidery remaining shows parts of two leaves worked in satin-stitch ; one in dark brown, red, and lemon-yellow ; other in Chinese blue, dark brown, and scarlet. Colours fresh. 7*"x

Ch. 00449. Three frs. of silk embroidery, on black silk damask joined to plain black 'silk, and backed with brown. Shows traced running band of leaves, part of which only is worked ; stems light yellow and blue in satin-stitch. On smaller fr. one leaf tip in crimson and yellow spiral. Damask woven in small twill with floral (?) pattern in larger twill running in same direction. Larger fr. 3-"x 28".

Ch. 00450. a—c. Three frs. of silk embroidery. (a) and (b) strips of solid floral embroidery in satin-stitch, worked in white, scarlet, purplish black, green, and light blue on same gauze as Ch. 00444. Gr. length .74". (c) Buddha head and halo, complete, prob. from large embroidery Ch. ooroo. Worked in chain-stitch on buff silk ; halo and flesh buff ; us.ûsa, eyes, and eyebrows indigo ; nose and outlines red. H. z*".

Ch. 00451. Large silk painting, with Chin. inscr., showing upper part of Avalokilesvarci (Kuan-yin), evidently standing, without attendants. Painting considerably broken and surface damaged, but fine example of ' Indo-Chinese' style of Bodhisattva, much like Ch. liii. 005. Workmanship of same graceful and refined quality ; features and physical type of fig. same ; and pose also, with its gentle inclination of body to L. shoulder. But latter line here counterbalanced by pose of head, which is leant over R. shoulder, the eyes looking down and backwards, to L. p. Of willow spray in R. hand only few hardly intelligible lines remain.

Dress, jewellery, and colouring (of Indian red, red-brown, dark olive, and • black) are same, almost in detail, as in Ch. liii. 005; but paint upon body (white shaded with pink) has been much more thickly laid on, and more of it remains. Halo of plain circular rings of dark olive, red, and white; remains of canopy visible above. Inscr. in 5 11. on large cartouche on R. 2' 5-i"x I' I Ii". Thousand Buddhas, Pl. XLIV.

Ch. 00452. Large silk painting representing Thousand-armed Avalokilesvara with attendants. Somewhat broken about top and bottom but otherwise complete, with border of faded red silk; surface considerably worn.

For general arrangement, and treatment of central fig. see *Ch. 00223. Attendants here number only six: in top corner garlanded and flower-bearing nymph flying down on either side of Avalok.'s canopy; fire-headed Vajrapâni in each of bottom corners ; and in tank from which Avalok.'s lotus rises, Nymph personifying Virtue, and Sage. Nagas are absent, and lower part of Nymph and Sage and whole front half of tank lost. The background is divided into

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upper and lower halves, respectively dull green and brown ; the upper diversified by floating flowers, purple, orange, or pale blue.

In details figs. show no diversity from usual. Avalok. is single-headed with third eye in centre of forehead ; tiara solid cone of chased metal-work with large Dhyani-buddha in front ; orange of flesh and black of hair entirely lost ; jewellery painted red picked out with white. Among emblems appears quiver. Nymph wears Bodhisattva dress (so far as preserved), and amongst flames surrounding the Vajrapâni in R. corner appears crested yellow head of Fire-bird (?) as in Ch. ooro5.

Workmanship generally not bf the first rank, and colour lost to considerable extent ; but painting in original condition must have been good average example of its class. General effect of background is greenish brown, pink and sky-blue being largely used on figs. and haloes. 5' 2" X 3' 21".

Ch. 00453. Two frs. of silk damask, deep golden yellow, soft and well woven ; ground plain, pattern twill. Design : chevron lines alternating with rows of elliptical rosettes as in Ch. 00294 (q. v.), but simpler and on small scale. Chevron line formed in same way of leaf-like forms set at right angles to each other ; from its outer angles grow pairs of small leaves. Inner angles filled with single small leaves. Rosettes solid and four-petalled, the petals distinguished from each other only 'by difference in direction of the twill. Good condition. 62" sq. and 6" x 2*".

Ch. 00454. Two frs. of banner streamers of silk damask, white or natural, now discoloured ; regular weave ; ground plain, pattern twill. Design : a repeating quatrefoil rosette, lozenge-shaped, c. " across. Material soft and torn. 2' 7f" and 1' 8" x 3".

Ch. 00455. Fr. of silk banner : head-piece and fr. of body of printed silk only preserved. Printed silk, much perished, shows lozenge-shaped floral groups or rosettes, like Ch. 00309, etc., in dark blue and pink. Head-piece of plain cream-coloured silk, discoloured, with border of dark greenish indigo silk damask. The latter shows repeating lozenge-shaped rosettes, eight-petalled, with circular centre, diam. c. 3", woven in coarse twill on fine plain ground. Much torn. Remains of suspension loop made of green silk and strip of floral embroidery. Length of whole r' 6i", base of headpiece I' 4'.

Ch. 00457. Remains of large silk painting representing Paradise prob. of Amitirbha or .. eikyamuni, with side-scenes showing legend of Ajâtaiatru and meditation of Queen Vaidehi as in *Ch.lii. 003. Five-inch border of faded brown silk preserved for top and sides, showing size when complete. About half (longitudinally) of Vaidehi scenes preserved ; Ajâta§atru scenes cut down through middle, and considerable part of each lost ; interior of painting preserved only in a number of large fragments, chiefly from the sides ; whole of lower end and centre, including central Buddha, lost.

Remainder similar to *Ch. Iii. 003 in general treatment and arrangement; the drawing of considerable refinement and particularly recalling the above named in faces and poses of

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