Innermost Asia : vol.1 / Page 19 (Color Image)

0019	Innermost Asia : vol.1

of minor pieces which could be treated at Srinagar, the wall-paintings of my third collection have not
been included in the Descriptive Lists of the present work.

This collection as a whole, in accordance with the orders of Government, will be housed at the Collection
New Delhi capital, excepting representative specimens to be presented to the British Museum.¹¹ to be perma-
Reference to the originals will therefore not be practicable, except in rare cases, for those students in nently
the West who are interested in researches bearing upon Central-Asian and Far Eastern art and housed at
civilization. This consideration rendered it all the more important that all entries in the Descriptive New Delhi.
Lists should be exact and adequately detailed.¹² For this purpose Mr. Andrews was provided with
the assistance of Miss F. M. G. Lorimer, who, as one of the assistants engaged on the objects
collected in the course of my second expedition, had acquired ample experience in dealing with
Central-Asian antiquities. The efficient help rendered by her at Srinagar during the years 1919–22
proved once again of considerable value. I ought to add that while the Descriptive Lists have thus
been prepared by competent hands, their contents have been throughout carefully checked and,
where necessary, revised by myself, when dealing in the present Report with the observations on
the sites and objects concerned.

After my return in 1916 from the explorations recorded in these volumes I was placed on special Labours on
duty for the purpose first of completing Serindia, the detailed report of my second expedition, and Serindia
then of carrying through the varied work entailed by the elaboration and record of the results of the and present
third expedition. This arrangement, which the constant friendly support of Sir Edward Mac- publication.
lagan, then Secretary to Government in the Education Department, and Sir John Marshall,
greatly facilitated, has since enabled me to devote myself wholly to these labours. During the
years 1916–18, spent partly on deputation to England and partly in Kashmir, Serindia claimed
most of my time. The preparation of the present work, which followed, was necessarily interrupted
during 1920, when the heavy task of passing the volumes of Serindia through the press kept me fully
engaged for some eight months at Oxford. This visit to England was utilized for temporarily
transferring to the British Museum the manuscript materials recovered on my third expedition and
arranging for their examination and cataloguing. During 1921 I was obliged to devote most of
my time to the publication of The Thousand Buddhas, the much-needed complement of Serindia,
which deals with the pictorial treasures recovered from Tun-huang, and to the preparation of my
above-mentioned Memoir on Maps of Chinese Turkistan and Kansu.

Work on the Report steadily carried on in 1922–3, together with the completion of the Descrip- Work at
tive Lists of Antiques, made it possible for me, with the sanction of Government, temporarily to British
transfer in 1924 to the British Museum that portion of the Collection from which the specimens Museum.
now comprised in the plates illustrating this Report had to be selected for reproduction. For the
exacting task of making these selections and assuring the proper execution of the plates while on
deputation in England, I fortunately had again the benefit of Mr. F. H. Andrews' expert help.

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

Citation Information

OCR Text

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