banner; painting; 幡(Chinese); 繪畫(Chinese) BM-1919-0101-0.142

Period:Tang dynasty Production date:851-950 (circa)
Materials:paper, 紙 (Chinese),
Technique:painted
Subjects:bodhisattva lotus 菩薩 (Chinese) 蓮花 (Chinese)
Dimensions:Height: 117.80 centimetres (framed) Height: 98 centimetres Thickness: 2.20 centimetres (framed) Width: 55 centimetres (when framed) Width: 17 centimetres

Description:
Banner of Avalokiteśvara standing on a lotus. Although painted on paper, rather than silk or hemp, it has all the features of banners on those more expensive materials, including hanging loop, triangular headpiece and stiffened piece of card at the bottom, which serves as a weighting board. Painted on both sides. Ink and colour on paper.
IMG


Comments:EnglishFrom Whitfield 1983:This banner, entirely made of paper, shows all the features found in banners on silk and hemp cloth, from the hanging loop and triangular headpiece to a stiffened piece of card at the bottom serving as a weighting board. Even the pattern of the colour scheme is the same, with the main figure on a lighter ground (compare the prepared ground of Pl. 43) and the side and tail streamers of a darker colour, on which the yellow leaf scrolls show up very well. The figure, the canopy above and the band of lozenges below in summary form are all in ink only. The line has a slightly hesitant quality that could be due to the use of a stiff brush (see Pl. 36). However, I do believe that a brush was used and not some form of pen, as the line moves easily from thick to thin regardless of the direction of the strokes. Both sides of the banner are painted in the same way; this was not a preparatory sketch, but an actual votive banner. ChineseFrom Whitfield 1983:此幡完全用紙製作的，從吊環和三角形的幡頭到厚紙粘合而成的最下端的鎮板，構造卻與絹、麻幡的相同。顔色與圖案也是相同的，觀音是在明亮的底色（與圖43的麻繪幡底色相同）上用墨描繪的，兩側的幡尾和下部的幡腳，是在暗的底色上用黃色繪葉子唐草紋。觀音上方的華蓋和下方的菱形相連的紋樣帶，都是用同一墨色簡潔描繪。線條似乎是用硬筆（參照圖36）勾的，略有停頓。但是無論是哪一方向的線條都流暢而又有粗細之別，不像是用硬筆的樣子，可能是用毛筆描的。幡兩面的繪製方法完全一致，所以它不是草圖，而是曾被實際供奉過的幡。