国立情報学研究所 - ディジタル・シルクロード・プロジェクト
『東洋文庫所蔵』貴重書デジタルアーカイブ

F. XII. 007, 008

Two seated Buddha figures from a diaper of such figures at the south corner of
the shrine. The upper figure (008) is seated on a blue *padmāsana* in an atti-
tude of contemplation, the head slightly tilted, looking towards the left.
The hands, the left lying in the right and the tips of the thumbs touching, rest in
front of the body. The close-cropped black hair has a well-developed top-knot
(*uṣṇīṣa*). The ears have greatly elongated lobes pierced with long slits. The flesh,
in greyish tones, is delicately shaded and there is a blue-grey line along the lower
part of the white of the eye. The robe, which seems to cover the feet, is pale green
with a red border. Behind the head is a shaded pink nimbus bordered with blue and
outlined with a thin white line. The vesica is pink, bordered with green.

The lower figure (007) differs from the other mainly in the colour scheme. The
flesh is shaded with burnt sienna and outlined with red; but there is some con-
fusion in the drawing of the hands. The nimbus is shaded pink and the vesica green
with a dark brown border. The robe is red-brown. The *padmāsana* is pink. The
background is pale green.

There is peculiar charm in these two figures; a good-natured complacency; the
calmness of physical and mental well-being combined with a watchful eye on
events. A certain plastic quality in the painting distinguishes it from much of the
later work, more especially that of Bezeklik where the sharp contour lines take
the place of the soft lines used here. As at Mīrān, the faces are human; and here
the drawing of the nose is better than at Mīrān. The low, round *uṣṇīṣa*, the strong
hands with short finger-nails and the flesh-like quality of the faces are character-
istic of these and the Mīrān paintings. But the drooping upper eyelid here is not
found at Mīrān. The lengthened eyelashes and slightly extended outer angle of the
eyes are suggestive of Persian influence. The probable period of these paintings is
between the seventh and eighth centuries A.D.

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