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1056 CAVE-TEMPLES & ANTIQUES OF THE THOUSAND BUDDHAS [Ch. XXV

Amitàbha sits with legs interlocked, R. hand in vilarkantudrâ, L. below it at breast, hanging from wrist, with second and third fingers bent up. His mantle, vivid crimson lined with pale green and blue, is wrapped round both shoulders and arms ; his flesh yellow shaded with 'red, which has changed to a curious iridescent mauve giving effect of copper ; his hair bright cobalt-blue ; small moustache and imperial green.

His Padmâsana raised on high stepped pedestal, its petals pink tipped with crimson, but covered all over with floral scrolls in white, blue, and black. Similar scroll-work adorns base of pedestal, and canopy hanging on two star-leaved trees behind. Stems of latter represented as jewelled poles ; their leaves surround conical clusters of red fruit, while an Apsaras floats down on either side, scattering flowers.

Mahâsthâma and Avalokitegvara sit also on lotuses, crimson and blue, raised on high pedestals. Both have Dhyani-buddha on front of their tiara ; Avalok. has R. hand hanging over knee and L. raised, carrying flaming jewel on palm ; Mah. has R. hand upright on knee, and carries pale green alms-bowl on uplifted L. hand.

Behind central triad are ranged six disciples, three a side in ascending tier. They have square heads, and plump solid features with well-opened wide-set eyes and thick eyebrows. Their faces are alert and individual in expression, one smiling. The two at ends of row carry resp. red lotus bud and priest's staff ; all wear bright-coloured under-robes and mantles of yellow, copper-green, crimson, or bright blue. The mantles of two are also cross-barred (like Ksitigarbhâ s in *Ch. i. 003, etc.), with the same iridescent mauve as appears on Amitâbha's face and is seen also on stems of trees. Haloes of all these figs. outlined only in narrow rings of red and white, the interior being treated as practically transparent. .

Below the two enthroned Bodhisattvas, on flat red lotuses growing on short stems, sit two smaller Bodhisattvas, in profile or . profile, one holding a red lotus bud, the other a flask. They wear transparent narrow blue stoles, and crimson blue-flowered skirts with blue patches over knees ; their haloes are foreshortened and painted as narrow elliptical copper-green discs making a background to their heads. A blank yellow cartouche for inscr. is placed beside each of these and above attendant figs. behind.

There is little yellow elsewhere, as jewellery painted almost entirely in white, blue, and copper-green outlined with red. There is no black except in hair of Bodhisattvas and behind foliage of trees to show up their pointed leaves. The panel for dedicatory inscr. is in form of stone slab with low domed top (cf. Ch. xlvii. oox), carried on back of a tortoise, and covers front of Amitâbha's pedestal.

In bottom corners knelt the donors, man and woman, drawn on a small scale. The man, on R., is lost except for top of cap, which shows shape similar to that in Ch. xlvii. oox the woman, a simple fig. of considerable charm, is complete (Thousand Buddhas, Vignette). She kneels on mat, her hands in her lap holding long-stemmed red flower; and wears long crimson skirt high under arms, small white bodice with long

narrow sleeves, and a little cross-over shawl in copper-green. Her hair is plainly done in small knot on neck ; no orn. but a simple necklace.

Chief interest of picture lies in technique, as the modelling of the flesh is brought out by high lights in addition to ordinary coloured shading. This is most conspicuous in monks, whose high lights are in white on the flesh-pink of their skin. The Bodhisattvas have only ordinary shading in red or pink. Amitâbha's high lights seem to be in green, which is most in accord with bronze colouring of his flesh.

The painting strongly resembles Ch. xlvii. oor (q.v.) in this and other points, such as small number and wide spacing of figs. ; the character of Amitâbha's trees and canopy with their floating Apsaras ; treatment of haloes and donors ; and restricted use of black and yellow in colouring. But the drawing of all religious figs. is here more careful and stereotyped, and robes mostly painted in strong solid tints as in ordinary type of Paradise pictures. 4' 6" x 3' 4". Thousand Buddhas, Pl. X.

Ch. liii. 002. Large silk painting representing Paradise of Bhaisajyaguru; in style and general arrangement like *Ch. Iii. 003, but simpler. Bottom lost, extreme top, and scenes down L. side ; otherwise in excellent condition.

Pose of central Buddha same as in *Ch. lii. 003 ; the enthroned Bodhisattvas carry in their hands nearest him resp. scarlet lotus bud in a transparent jar, and a stemless purple lotus bud, and have their other hands in vilarka-mudrâ. Rest of company consists of four haloed monkish disciples with close-cropped black hair, immediately behind Bhaisajyaguru; two blue-haired nymphs kneeling by altar ; smaller attendant Bodhisattvas seated on terrace with hands in mystic poses or holding blue or pink lotus buds ; a dancer and six musicians (of masculine type but with long Bodhisattva-like hair) in front of altar ; two subsidiary Buddhas (incomplete but prob. seated) with their attendants in bottom corners; and six of the Kings (heads only preserved) in centre foreground. There were prob. twelve of latter when comple te.

The musicians play on both kinds of reed-organs, lute, flute, clappers, and pipe ; see *Ch. lii. 003, v. 005. Peacock stands on gangway before their terrace. There are no infants or birds on lake, which, however, is seen here mainly in background about piles of celestial mansions. These consist here only of high-roofed central pavilion, and two open hexagonal shrines with pagoda roofs, containing small seated Buddhas, and joined to central building by curving gangways which slope steeply down into lake.

Painting is particularly fresh, and colouring distinctive owing to large proportion of black and blue. Black appears in larger masses than usual, being used for floor of main terrace, as well as for hair of majority of figs. The blue appearing everywhere on stoles, haloes, and Buddhas' hair is of peculiar and striking shade between slate and ultramarine. Dull light green is the prevailing colour behind these, besides usual dull crimson of woodwork and robes. There is little white, as flesh of Bodhisattvas is left the natural greenish brown

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