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0387 On Ancient Central-Asian Tracks : vol.1
中央アジア踏査記 : vol.1
On Ancient Central-Asian Tracks : vol.1 / 387 ページ(カラー画像)

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doi: 10.20676/00000214
引用形式選択: Chicago | APA | Harvard | IEEE

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kings arrayed in gorgeous dress and armour with their feet
resting on crouching demons. Their conception reaches far
back in the Buddhist mythology of India and their icono-
graphic representation can be traced from Graeco-Buddhist
art right through Central-Asian frescoes to the Far East.

On the painted pages of a paper album all four of them
are depicted, Vaisravana or Kuvera, ruling the North, with
his emblems, the halberd and a small model of a shrine;
Virupaksha, regent of the South, with the sword; Dhrita-
rashtra, of the East, with bow and arrows; Virudhaka, of
the West, with the mace.

Certain variations in the features and costume allow us to
distinguish between a quasi Central-Asian and a Chinese
type of representation adopted for these warrior kings. In one
of the numerous banners of Virupaksha (Fig. 99), Regent
of the South, we may note the fierce expression of the face,
the straight eyes, the long-waisted slim body of the probably
older type derived from Central Asia. The rich armour and
dress is shared also by the Chinese type, which shows softer
features with characteristically oblique eyes.

In a fine example of this type (Fig. 99) the sweeping
curve of the pose, the freedom imparted to the drawing by
the treatment of the flowing drapery, the hand raised with
fingers spread, are all expressive of qualities peculiar to
Chinese artistic feeling. I can allude only in passing to the
abundance of material for the study of ancient defensive
armour which these pictures supply.

Vaisravana, the Protector of the Northern Region, takes
foremost place among the Lokapalas of our paintings. This
is fully accounted for by the early Indian notion which
identifies him with Kubera, the Hindu god of wealth. He