painting; banner; 繪畫(Chinese); 幡(Chinese) BM-1919-0101-0.124

Period:Tang dynasty Production date:851-900 (circa)
Materials:silk, 絲綢 (Chinese),
Technique:painted
Subjects:bodhisattva lotus vessel 菩薩 (Chinese) 蓮花 (Chinese) 器皿 (Chinese)
Dimensions:Height: 56.50 centimetres Width: 16.50 centimetres

Description:
Painted banner of Avalokiteśvara standing on a lotus and holding a vase. His feet point straight out sideways. Ink and colour on silk.
IMG


Comments:EnglishFrom Whitfield 1982:This Bodhisattva exhibits certain resemblances with Pls. 46-48, already discussed as perhaps emanating from the Khotan region. The similarities are in the proportions-rather straight legs, large or clumsy feet, and arms long in relation to the height-and also in the way the end of the dhoti hangs straight down between the legs. The figure seems altogether too large for the space available (even the halo is obscured by the striped border above). Nevertheless other characteristics such as the extensive use of ink, both for the under-drawing in the figure and for the final outlines of the drapery, suggest a Chinese hand.Some minor features point to a date in the second half of the ninth century. The ink line separating the lips is slightly swollen at each end, but with the tip of the brush re-emerging; and over the shoulders, behind the hair, an orangered shawl makes an arbitrary double loop on either side. This kind of loop, with streamers reaching to the elbow, can be seen clearly in a painting dated A.D.864 (Pl. 23-3), but evidently it was already well established by then. It may have been intended to show the bow tied centrally at the nape of the neck (Pl. 55). ChineseFrom Whitfield 1982:此菩薩原先的講述是從和闐地方帶回的作品，與圖46-48的菩薩像有相似點。體型比例的相似點是：腿線大致筆直，腳龐大粗笨，与身高相比，兩臂過長這種體型特徵，而且腰布的端頭垂落于兩腳間。像的描繪占滿空間，只是在此畫中似乎過於龐大（頭光和上方的邊飾重疊在一起）。然而，在其他方面，如像的底线和衣紋的勾勒均頻繁使用墨線等，顯示了中國的製作特徵。 多處細部的表現具有9世紀後半期的特徵。拉出唇線的墨線兩端稍微脹粗，其下方用筆尖拉出短細線。兩肩的頭髮背後，有用橙紅色描出一直垂到肘的隨意環繞的披肩等。這種裝飾與紀年爲864年的圖23《四觀音文殊普賢圖》的四觀音像（參照圖23－1，23－3）趣味同樣，所以可認爲此時已經確立了這種表現形式，圖55中的菩薩從脖頸垂下的蝴蝶結趣味也一致。