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

"Vague information received by me in Charkhlik in January 1914 pointed to the dis-
covery by Lop hunters of a site also designated as *Merdek-shahr* somewhere near the
lower Tarim since my first visit in 1906. The description given of objects which were
said to have been brought from there and sold to Mr. Tachibana suggested the
survival of structural remains. I therefore regretted that want of time before I
moved into the Lop desert prevented me from making a search for the alleged site."

A third possibility remains: that the collection of Lop-nor antiquities in Seul was
brought thither by some other Japanese expedition unknown to me. But especially
Stein's information makes it most likely that these are the objects acquired by Mr.
Tachibana from the region of Merdek-shahr.

Other of the objects depicted in the Korean catalogue must originate from other
places than "Ördek's necropolis" and not necessarily from the Lop desert. The most
valuable among them is the pair of shoes on Pl. 80. It is a great pity that nothing
is said about these wonderful shoes. Information about their proper place of origin
would be most valuable. Their elaborate shape with wide, turned-up, ornamental
toes is typically Chinese and may be seen on many terra-cotta statuettes of the
Sui and T'ang dynasties (e. g. Sirén, Vol. 3 Pl. 35). They were apparently highly
fashionable during this time.

Highly interesting as these finds in the Seul Museum are, I must restrict myself
to these notes until I get access to the original Japanese publications, where I hope
to find them fully described.


LIST OF ANTIQUITIES FROM CEMETERY 5

Grave 5 A.

5. A: 1. Head-dress of thick white felt, with
two woollen strings for tying under
the chin. On the left side a group of five inserted
pegs, each with a feather tassel at the top. The
pegs held in position by a transverse peg wound
round with sinew fibres. In the middle of the rear
edge a short string is inserted and knotted. H. 25
cm. Pl. 10:2.

5. A: 2. Mantle of coarse, undyed, chiefly yel-
lowish-white wool, in plain weave.
Along the lower edge a thin fringe, every three
pairs of warps gathered in groups and firmly in-
terlaced to the edge of the fabric and twisted to-
gether into the fringe, the ends finished with a
loop.

About 10 cm from the fringed side four shoots of
weft of red wool, inwards from selvages, at one
edge 17.5 cm, at the other 16 cm. Warp of partly
yellowish-white, partly greyish-brown yarn, 50
threads to 10 cm. Weft white, 85 threads to 10 cm;
double shoots of weft at 5.4 cm. at beginning of

fabric, 5.2 at end. At the upper edge (= beginning
of weave) loops of warps are inserted in each
other. The selvages are strengthened by a thick
cord edge made of groups of wefts alternately in-
tertwined. Br. 1.6 cm. Th. 1 cm. L. of winding 1.2
cm.

Size excl. fringe 2.1×1.55 m. L. of fringe about
14.6 cm. Dist. between fringe ends 1.2—2.8 cm.

5. A: 3. Loin-cloth, band-shaped, braided of
same material as —: 2, forming a
fringe at both ends. Among four of the furthest
strands at one edge of the loin-cloth, two and two
are twisted into a cord with a knot. Towards the
middle of the fringes two adjoining links are tied
together. Around one of these and several others
is tied a red woollen thread. L. excl. fringe 85 cm.
L. of fringe about 44 cm. W. about 5 cm. Pl. 11: 3.

5. A: 4. Bracelet of doubled cord of same mat-
erial as —: 2, held together of a round
flattened bead of yellowish opal. The ends, with
tassels, have been knotted together. Full L. 32.7
cm. L. of cord 27.3 cm. Tassels 8.2 and 9 cm. Th.
7 mm. Pl. 9: 12.

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