banner; painting; 幡(Chinese); 繪畫(Chinese) BM-1919-0101-0.195

Period:Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Production date:926-975 (circa)
Materials:silk, 絲綢 (Chinese),
Technique:painted
Subjects:buddha 佛 (Chinese)
Dimensions:Height: 538 centimetres (length) Width: 18 centimetres

Description:
Long, narrow banner of seated Buddhas. Would have been the middle third of the standard 60 cm width of silk, as was sewn on both sides to prevent fraying. Painted in ink on silk.
IMG


Comments:EnglishFrom Whitfield 1983:This banner of seated Buddhas is narrower than those seen in the preceding plates. Three such strips could have been cut from a full width of silk. The fact that in this case both edges have been rolled and sewn to prevent fraying means that this strip was the middle one, as those on each side would have had a selvedge each. Perhaps the side strips showed Bodhisattvas, or apsarasas as in the equally narrow banner painted in red from the Pelliot collection (Bannieres, No. 204). In any case it seems most likely that three such narrow strips hung side by side, as otherwise the great length would make the banner appear impossibly narrow. ChineseFrom Whitfield 1983:此是一件描繪十身佛坐像的幡，比前圖的幡幅面窄，是把一整幅絹分成了三等份。左右任何一側都不見織邊，而在兩側有爲防脫落而鎖的邊，由此看此幡應是三等份中間的一塊絹。伯希和收集品中，有在大致相同的窄絹上，用紅色描繪菩薩和飛天的幡（參照《敦煌幡和繪畫》篇圖版204），也許就是裝飾在此佛坐像長幡兩側的。無論是哪一件，如果單獨懸挂，都顯得過於細長，因此應考慮把三件幡橫著並排懸挂更妥當。