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

recital of prayer as an avowal of reliance on the benign power of the Deity is
common to most creeds; and whether the appeal be expressed pictorially, or by
the spoken word, or by written invocation twirled in a wheel from which spiritual
sustenance shall flow like flour from the revolving mill-stone, all methods are
directed toward the same end.
Here the Buddha sits in a rectangular niche, his padmāsana resting on a brick plinth.
Behind the figure is a plain square wall. Side walls support a black-tiled pent roof
covering a light, red, timber framing, and forming a canopy. The green ridge-tiles
have grotesque bird-head terminals, resembling those on the heavenly mansion in
plate xxviii. From the centre of the ridge rises a small spherical dome, supporting a
pyramid of buff (gold) umbrellas, crowned with a triśūla, to which are attached two
animated banners of Chinese type. A number of silk banners exactly similar to
these, but many finely painted, were found by Stein in one of the Caves of the
Thousand Buddhas at Tun-huang. They are cleverly designed to adapt themselves
to the direction of the wind, and with their stiffening rods at head and foot retain
their form, while the auxiliary streamers flutter freely.¹ The colours used in these
banners are dark red, green, grey, and yellow.
The robe of the Buddha is rich red, and the under-garment grey, bordered with
red and white. The bricks are buff with black pointing.
The execution is sketchy, and the drawing simplified for quick and easy repeti-
tion by hands indifferently skilled.