sutra-wrapper; 經帙(Chinese) BM-MAS.858

Period:Tang dynasty Production date:8thC(late)-9thC
Materials:silk, paper, 絲綢 (Chinese), 紙 (Chinese),
Technique:woven, sewn, tapestry, 織造 (Chinese), 縫製的 (Chinese), 緙織 (Chinese), samite, 斜紋緯錦 (Chinese),
Subjects:animal 動物 (Chinese)
Dimensions:Width: 35 centimetres Width: 48 centimetres Depth: 91.20 centimetres (of mount, lying flat) Depth: 75.50 centimetres (of sutra wrapper, lying flat)

Description:
The main part of this sutra wrapper is made of a paper base covered with a plain woven silk. The Chinese character kai meaning ‘opening’, is written in the corner. It is decorated with two strips of tapestry woven silk (also known by its Chinese name kesi) with a floral pattern. The borders of the body panel and the head of the tie are made of samite with confronting lions inside a pearl roundel, while the fastening band is of hemp. The pattern of the samite can be reconstructed, repeating 32 cm in the warp direction and 22-23 cm in the weft direction. A large number of similar textiles, considered to be typically Sogdian, has been preserved in European cathedrals from the medieval period; and this piece from Dunhuang shows that this type of textile was also appreciated in the east. There is another sutra wrapper in the same fabric in the Pelliot collection at the Musée Guimet (EO.1199). Textile scholars often refer to ‘Sogdian textiles’ as zandaniji, which was also recorded in Chinese history as Zandanniqi Shadalaqi. There can be little doubt that the samite silk with this sort of pattern corresponds with the term fan jin ‘foreign-style silk’ which appears frequently in the late Tang dynasty documents found in Cave 17. For example, a list of property owned by a temple, dated 873, includes a canopy made of bright red fan jin, with a pattern of birds in five colours and medallions, each enclosing two lions (P.2613). Weave structures: a. Samite Warp: silk, Z twisted, triple, undyed, 14 triples/cm; Weft: silk, untwisted, white, green, blue, faded red, 24 passes/cm. Weave structure: 1/2S weft-faced compound twill, so called samite weave. b. Kesi Warp: silk, Z twisted, single, white, 18 ends/cm; Weft: silk, untwisted, white, green, blue, orange, purple, etc, c.85 lats/cm. Weave structure: 1/1 plain weave with discontinuous wefts. Loomwidth: 1.2cm. c. Hemp plain weave Warp: hemp, S twisted, single, undyed, 15 ends/cm; Weft: silk, S twisted, undyed,10 lats/cm. Weave structure: 1/1 plain weave. d. Silk plain weave Warp: silk, untwisted, single, undyed, 32 ends/cm; Weft: silk, untwisted, undyed,26 lats/cm. Weave structure: 1/1 plain weave. 經帙四周及卷首由團窠尖瓣對獅紋錦作緣，經帙中部以紙製成，上複以絹，角下寫一“開”字，再用兩條花卉紋的緙絲帶裝飾，而捲繞帶則由麻布製成。同類織錦製成的經帙在法國集美博物館所藏伯希和敦煌品中也有一件（EO.1199），根據兩件經帙可以復原這一團窠尖瓣對獅紋錦的圖案，其經向循環約爲32cm，緯向循環約爲22-23cm。 P.2613《唐鹹通十四年（873）正月四日沙州某寺交割常住物等點檢曆》載：“大紅番錦傘壹，新，長丈伍尺，闊壹丈，心內花兩窠。又壹張內每窠各師子貳，四緣紅番錦，伍色鳥玖拾陸”。這裏講到的每窠各獅子貳的番錦應該就是這類團窠尖瓣獅子紋錦。此類織錦在歐洲各地中世紀教堂中均有大量遺存，被認爲是典型的粟特錦實例。中國學者稱其爲贊丹尼奇或是撒搭剌欺。敦煌的遺存正說明了這類織錦在東方的傳播情況。 組織結構： a. 緯錦 經線：絲，Z撚，三根排列，本色，14雙/cm；緯線：絲，無撚，白色、綠色、藍色，淺紅，24副/cm；組織：1/2S緯重斜紋。 b.緙絲 經線：絲，Z撚，單根排列，白色，18根/cm；緯線：絲，無撚，白色、綠色、藍色，橙色，紫色等，約85根/cm；組織：1/1平紋，通經斷緯。幅寬：1.2釐米。 c. 麻布 經線：麻，S撚，本色，15根/cm；緯線：麻，S撚，本色，10根/cm；組織：1/1平紋。 d. 絹 經線：絲，無撚，白色，32根/cm；緯線：絲，無撚，本色，26根/cm；組織：1/1平紋。
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Comments:EnglishFrom Whitfield 1985:As many Buddhist sutras consisted of more than one roll, they could conveniently be kept together by means of wrappers, of which one type is shown here, and another in the next plate. This one, having been taken apart in the 1960s for study of the silk borders showing confronted animals, has been temporarily reassembled for the present plate, so the borders are slightly wider than they were originally. The wrapper is shown in its original state in Serindia, Pl. CXI. Another wrapper from Dunhuang, apparently made from the same elements, is in the Pelliot collection (EO. 1199; Tissus de Touen-houang, Pl. 39). In the same collection is another wrapper assembled in a similar way, but using a silk of a different pattern for the borders (EO. 1207; ibid., Pl. 43).Because the cover has been taken apart, it seems appropriate to quote the description given in Serindia:Silk MS roll-cover, Body made of rectang [ular] piece of plain pink silk, backed with coarse paper, and stiffened with wooden strainer at each end. All round a 2″ [5 cm] border of thick figured silk, and at one end are attached three broad bands of same –one in middle projecting c. 8″ [20 cm] beyond edge of cover, and one at each side of it converging to meet the first near its outer end. To either end of middle hand are sewn tapes of coarse linen for tying up cover when rolled round manuscript. Down main panel of plain silk, dividing it lengthways into three parts, are also sewn two strips of exceedingly fine silk tapestry, Panel lined with plain pale green silk, and the bands with greenish grey: on either side is stamped the Chin [ese] char [acter] 開 k’ai (‘open’). The remainder of the description in Serindia is concerned with the figured silk of the border and bands, with its Sasanian pattern of large elliptical medallions with confronted animals, alternating with smaller panels between. The design as reconstructed in Serindia (Pl. CXⅥ) is shown in Fig. 7 of the monochrome plates in this volume. As in the similar silk shown in Pl. 40, the fabric is a compound weave (2/1 twill on one side and plain weave on the back) with a supplementary thread (double the normal weight) which elongates the pattern. The manner in which the pattern is created, with four colours worked at one time, accounts for the jerky, stepped outlines and the predominance of straight lines in the design.This distinctive type of silk-compact, thick and heavy-has been extensively discussed by D.G. Shepherd and W. B. Henning (1959; pp. 15-40). The illustrations accompanying the article include all the known examples of the type, including important loom pieces that show the whole width of the silk with the selvedges intact. One of these, in the Collegiate Church of Notre Dame, Huy, Belgium, is 1.22 m wide and has four and a half rows each comprising three large-scale roundels with confronting rams. It is inscribed in ink with an inscription in Sogdian referring to “Long 61 spans … Zandaniji.” This may refer to the town of Zandane near Bukhara, Sogdiana, which was famous for its fine cloth. Thus the whole group of silks might be identified as Sogdian, and roughly dated as belonging to the seventh century. The width of the fabric is much greater than that of most contemporary Chinese silks, and the selvedges are quite different in character, being cut as long fringes, having apparently passed round a strong tensioning cord when on the loom. ChineseFrom Whitfield 1985:佛教經典大多都是由多卷經卷構成，爲了將其包紮成一捆而使用帙。本圖是其帙中的一例，下一圖將揭示另一類型的帙。此帙爲了研究邊絹上的面對面的動物圖案，曾於1960年代被拆開。這次拍攝此圖版時，將其恢復爲原來的狀態。邊緣部分比原來略寬了一點。此帙原來的面貌可見《西域》，參照圖版CXI。使用與此明顯相同材料的敦煌出土的經帙，伯希和收集品（EO. 1199;伯希和圖錄《敦煌的染織》，圖39）中也有。伯希和收集品中還有拼接方式相同，但邊絹的花紋與此不同的作品（EO. 1199;伯希和圖錄《敦煌的染織》，圖43）。如果從該帙被拆開考慮，則在這裏原封不動的引用《西域》中的記述爲更合適。“絹的經帙。完整。主體是淡紅色的長方形平絹製成，用粗質的紙做芯，兩端插入木籖增加強度。周圍有5cm寬的厚錦邊，另一端有用同樣的錦做的三條帶子。中間的帶子長約20cm，從主體部分伸出。其它兩條在兩側斜著交叉在離絹邊不太遠的中間帶子的一點上。中間帶子的兩端綴縫著粗麻布帶子，把經卷捲好後，可將其捆緊。主體的平絹部分，縫著從精致的織錦上細致裁下的絹條，將整體分成三個區域。豎布條用淡綠色的平絹做裏子，可見綠灰色的縞。兩面有用漢字寫的‘開’字。”《西域》中除以上引用的部分，還有邊和帶子所用的錦的記載。此錦上，有橢圓形中兩頭面對面動物的波斯風格的薩珊朝圖案，還有交錯的菱形花紋。其設計的復原圖刊登在《西域》（圖CXVI）中，參照Fig. 7。見於本書圖40的同種錦，是用經線和緯線織出的紋樣（面爲三片綾，裏爲平絹），利用暗線（一般重量的二倍）不使紋樣的圖案中斷。這種技法可同時用四色線織出紋樣，但是紋樣的線不是直線，不圓滑。關於厚而重的特殊錦，D.G. Shepherd和W. B. Henning進行了廣泛的討論（參照W. B. Henning紀念論文集《伊斯蘭和世界藝術》15頁～40頁）。論文的插圖中除了有織邊的整幅絹的珍貴例子外，還囊括了此品種已知的所有樣例。其中收藏在比利時Huy聖母瑪利亞教會的一件藏品，寬有1.22m，可見有三個由相對的羊組成的大型圓紋，共有四列半。而且那裏有用墨寫的“長有61拃……Zandaniji”粟特文的題記。這裏，可窺見與粟特布哈拉近郊的以精美織物著稱的Zandane的關係，因此考慮這種是7世紀時在粟特製作的爲更恰當。織物的幅度遠比同時期中國的絹寬，織邊也完全不同，被切成長長的穗狀。