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

of this sort of rings with incised linear designs on the oval bezel, probably used as
signets, both at the Lou-lan station and at Niya. Their appearance is non-Chinese.
Finger rings in general are rare in China until much later periods.
Other round or square "rings" such as Pl. 30: 21 and 30: 26 have probably been
fastened to straps or ropes. The square specimen may have been a buckle.
A hemispherical boss with a central pin, Pl. 30: 25, is one of the supports of some
case or vessel, probably of wood. Many objects of this kind are known from the
Lop-nor region, but this one is pretty large. Stein found a rectangular basket with
such bosses as supports (Stein 1928, Pl. XXV, L. M. 1. 01—4). On lacquer boxes
from tombs at Lo-lang in Korea there are in some cases similar bosses on the lids.
Four identical specimens of the hooked tube Pl. 30: 6 were found together with
the fine arrow-head Pl. 30: 15 above the high shore cliff to the east of the ancient
lake Lop-nor; the spot is marked 434 on the map Fig. 36. They are in fact the only
objects in this collection that have been found in this region, and they have most
likely been lost there by travellers. The four bronze tubes or sockets are of special
interest. The function of these hooked tubes has until recently been obscure — as a
rule they have been associated with arrows — which of course is absurd, as they
are unsymmetrical. Finds in the tombs at Noyan-ola show that they have been fixed
to the ends of wooden canopy ribs, the hooks having served to fasten the cover of
cloth or hide. In the case of Noyan-ola it has apparently been an umbrella or
canopy of such chariots as are depicted on the famous Shantung tomb reliefs. We
cannot be absolutely sure that all tubes of this kind were used on chariot canopies
or "umbrellas" — there were probably other kinds of "umbrellas" with such
fittings — but if our tubes belonged to a chariot it is not unlikely that this had to
be abandoned at the place where the bronze tubes were found. In any case the finding
place of these objects is worth particular consideration. It lies about 40 km.
from the present shore of the lake, and about 83 km. due east of the Lou-lan sta-
tion. The position becomes of the utmost importance when we find that it lies in a
straight line from the south-western promontory of the Pei-shan ridges and the
easternmost outpost of the Lou-lan ruins, i. e. that of Stein's tower L. J. It there-
fore seems likely that a direct road existed straight across the salt-crust, which ac-
cording to Hörner's surveys seems to have a much more limited expanse here than
is shown on Stein's maps, and there were apparently several "islands" of better
ground in the salt-crust. It is doubtful whether the more northerly route found by
Stein was easier to negotiate than this direct one, and it was at least 30 km.
longer; but it was less liable to inundation.
Another fragmentary tube with lost hook, Pl. 30: 5, has been mentioned already
in connection with the ruins of T'u-ken.
A small bronze scoop Pl. 30: 18 has an exact parallel in Dr. Hedin's old collect-
ion from Khotan. It has just been published by Montell (1938, Pl. IV: 13), and
he supposes that it has had some function in Buddhist ritual. Otherwise there are no

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