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Buddhist Eschatology On Silk - A Photojourney
Buddhist Eschatology On Silk - A Photojourney
Avalokiteshvara as Saviour from Perils, ink
and colours on silk
From Cave 17, Mogao, near Dunhuang,
Gansu province, China
Five Dynasties or Northern Song Dynasty,
mid-to late 10th century AD
Belief in help when suffering
Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of
compassion, is show in his six-armed form
seated on a lotus behind an altar. He can be
identified by the small figure of the Buddha
Amitabha seated in his headdress. His two
upper arms hold the sun and the moon, his two
lower arms hold a vase and a rosary and his
two middle arms are in the vitarka mudra
(gesture of teaching).
It was believed that if one called
Avalokiteshvara's name when in danger, he
would come to your aid. This is illustrated in
scenes on either side. On the left from the top
a figure pushed off a high cliff is miraculously
supported by a cloud. In the middle a man
escapes his fetters and at the bottom a man is
preserved from the poisonous bites of a
scorpion and a snake. On the right a sword is
shown breaking into pieces, saving the man
about to be executed. Below, two people are
shown covering their heads to escape bad
weather, and at the bottom a man is seemingly
unharmed in the midst of a fire.
In the lower register of the painting donor
figures are shown: a lady and a child on the
left and two men on the right.
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Avalokiteshvara, ink and colours on silk
From Cave 17, Mogao, near Dunhuang,
Gansu province, China
Five Dynasties, dated the 10th year of Tianfu
(AD 910)
The central figure of Avalokiteshvara, the
bodhisattva of compassion, has his usual
attribute of the Buddha Amitabha in his
headdress. He stands against a background of
bamboo stems, upon a floating lotus. He holds
a willow spray in his raised left hand and a
flask on his right.
The two figures that flank the bodhisattva
have been depicted in great detail, and it is
clear that they were intended as portraits. An
inscription on the back of the painting
identifies the shaven-headed figure on
Avalokiteshvara's right as the Very Reverend
nun Yanhui. The small white cartouche above
the young man to the left identifies him as the
probationary Chamberlain Zhang Youcheng.
The inscriptions were written by his elder
brother, the author of the main dedicatory
inscription in the green cartouche. He makes
an offering for the peace of the empire and on
behalf of his elder sister and teacher and the
souls of his deceased parents.
The inscription within the white cartouche is
dated '... the tenth year of Tianfu reign, year
gengwu, seventh month and fifteenth day ...',
which corresponds to 22 August 910.
However, the Tianfu reign officially ended in
904, and the Tang Dynasty was deposed in
906; Dunhuang's remoteness must have meant
that there were considerable delays in
receiving news of events.
Page9of66
Persian vessels.
This is one of the very few banner paintings
from the Mogao caves to have survived intact.
It has a triangular top and side and tail
streamers with a board at the bottom to ensure
that it was stretched out when hung. Such
paintings could be viewed from both front and
back, as is suggested by paintings where
banners are shown being carried or flown in
the wind. The tail streamers are decorated
with a plant motif which was popular in ninth-
century Chinese art.
Bodhisattva with a glass bowl, ink and
colours on a silk banner
From Cave 17, Mogao, near Dunhuang,
Gansu province, China
Tang dynasty, late 9th century AD
This is one of the most beautifully executed
banners from Mogao in the British Museum.
The well-balanced figure of the bodhisattva is
supported by a lotus flower, depicted in fine
detail. The figure's scarves and thick, black
hair fall beautifully following the curves of
the body. The glass bowl and some of the
scarves are shown as transparent with a light
wash of paint, all the details behind it visible.
The body is outlined in an even black line,
with a light red paint wash used to indicate the
inside of the palms and earlobes, folds of the
neck and to pick out the eyes.
The glass bowl resembles actual examples
from Iran. We know that Sasanian glass was
very popular during the Tang dynasty (AD
618-906) in Buddhist temples such as the
famous Famensi temple near Xi'an at one end
of the Silk Road.
Page11of66
Bodhisattva with censer, ink and colours on
a silk banner
From Cave 17, Mogao, near Dunhuang,
Gansu province, China
Tang dynasty, late 9th century AD
A popular subject for worship
This is the painted area of a banner, which has
now lost its triangular top and streamers. The
single figure of a bodhisattva was also the
most popular subject-matter for the banners or
temple flags at Mogao. It is thought that
several of these would be hung in the cave
temples for various rituals.
Here the bodhisattva holds a censer in his left
hand of the type of which actual examples
were excavated in places such as the Famensi
temple near Xi'an. Donors are also often
shown holding similar censers. It is not an
attribute of a specific bodhisattva, and neither
the headdress decorated with flaming jewels
or the empty cartouche give us any further
clues to his identity.
Other banners show almost identical
bodhisattva figures, clearly indicating that
stencils or pounces were used to make such
paintings at Dunhuang.
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From Tibet or southern China
18th century AD
The guardian of Buddhism
The fierce and bull-headed Yama stands on
his buffalo mount, which tramples on a
corpse. He is surrounded by flickering flames
against a black background. He holds a noose
and skull-crested club, with a string of severed
heads hanging from his waist. Yama is the
Indian god of death, who in Tibetan Buddhism
was conquered by Manjushri and made a
protector of the Buddhist dharma ('teachings').
Mahakala is another of the Tibetan protector
deities or dharmapalas.
Tibetan cloth-hangings are usually paintings.
At festival times huge appliqu textiles of
bodhisattvas are draped over hillsides or
temple-walls. This unusual example is silk
embroidery. The subject-matter is Tibetan, but
the technique and manufacture is Chinese,
perhaps from a workshop in southern China.
Silk has been imported to Tibet and made into
religious items since at least the fifteenth
century.
A Tibeto-Chinese style of art emerged in the
early fifteenth century and again in the
eighteenth century. In the latter period large
numbers of objects were produced in China in
the Tibetan manner, including whole temples,
statues, paintings and embroideries such as
this one.
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Embroidered tangka of the dharmapala
Yama
Four manifestations of Avalokiteshvara,
with Samantabhadra and Manjushri, a
painting on silk
From Cave 17, Mogao, near Dunhuang,
Gansu province, China
Tang dynasty, dated 5th year of Xiantong (AD
864)
The four manifestations of Avalokiteshvara,
the bodhisattva of compassion, in the upper
register are almost identical, though there is
some variation in their haloes and their
Indian-style costume. Each figure is identified
by an inscription in the cartouche to his right.
The second from the left indicates the
devotion of the chief donor, a minor official
named Tang, to the 'eleven-headed'
Avalokiteshvara.
At the next level, Samantabhadra, the special
patron of the followers of the Lotus Sutra and
Manjushri, the bodhisattva of Wisdom, are
riding their respective mounts, the elephant
and the lion. Their entourage comprises other
bodhisattvas in flowing Chinese-style robes
carrying three-tiered canopies and a dark-
skinned Indian groom leading the mount.
Cartouches identify the figures at the base of
the painting (the single monk and three
laymen on the right, and the two nuns and two
women on the left) as a family of donors.
They flank the inscription which records their
dedication of the painting 'First, on behalf of
the present emperor; second, on behalf of his
envoy ... third, on behalf of his departed
parents and all his family .... May they
[escape] both earthly disasters and obstacles to
salvation. Xiantong 5th year [AD 864].'
Page14of66
Fukkensaku Kannon with two Guardian
Deities, a hanging scroll painting
Japan
Kamakura period, late 12th century - 13th
century AD
The central figure is the three-faced, four-
armed bodhisattva Kannon (Sanskrit:
Avalokiteshvara). In Japanese Buddhism
Kannon is shown in may different forms.
Here, he is shown as Fukkensaku ('with the
Never-empty Noose'), carrying in one hand
the rope with which he captures the hearts and
minds of the faithful. He sits on a white lotus
on a high rock which together suggest the
'Great Womb Mandala', the central image of
Japanese Esoteric Buddhism.
Bottom right stands Bishamon-ten
(Vaishravana), Guardian King of the North,
sword in hand. Bottom left stands the
bodhisattva Shu Kong (Vajrapani) on an
earthen mound grasping a vajra (thunderbolt).
These two figures appear to be based on ninth-
century clay sculptures in Tdai-ji Temple in
Nara.
The painting has some interesting technical
details. The artist has applied white paint
through from the back of the silk (urahaku) to
represent the skin of the central figure, which
he has then shaded rose-colour on the surface
and outlined with vermilion. The lotus petals
are brightened with lines of silver paint, and in
many cases the coloured outlines are drawn
first then filled in. The brushwork of the rocks
is particularly skilful. The back of the silk is
painted with gold to strengthen the colours.
The painting is a fine example of an artist of
the Kamakura period (1185-1333) adapting
the earlier styles of the Nara period (710-94).
Page15of66
Illustration to the Vimalakirtinirdesha
Sutra, ink and colours on silk
From Cave 17, Mogao, near Dunhuang,
Gansu province, China
Tang dynasty, late 8th century AD
Representation of a popular sutra
Vimalakirti, the hero of the
Vimalakirtinirdesha sutra, is a sage who
though has a family and lives in a house in the
town of Vaishali, manages to defeat the
bodhisattvas in a debate about non-duality.
Although written in India, the
Vimalakirtinirdesha Sutra became especially
popular in China, because filial piety -
whereby sons would continue the family line
and worship the ancestors - was very
important, and thus the requirement of
Buddhist monastic life to abandon one's
family and ancestors and not produce heirs
was seen as particularly difficult. Vimalakirti
was an attractive figure, because though a
bodhisattva, he continued to live among his
family and ordinary people.
He is shown on the left side of this painting in
a box-like curtained Chinese bed, indicating
that he was sick and expected visitors. The
Buddha Shakyamuni, who was preaching
nearby, asked his disciples and many of the
bodhisattvas each to visit Vimalakirti in turn,
but they were reluctant, because they had
previously been defeated by his wit.
Vimalakirti is shown here, typically, as a sage
waving a fan to emphasise the main points of
his argument. His main visitor is Manjushri,
the bodhisattva of wisdom, who is also shown
on the back of a sketch (see Related Objects).
Another bodhisattva brings a miraculous bowl
of rice that never emptied and was enough for
all. On the left are the white disk of the moon
and the red disk of the sun either side of a
cosmological mountain rising from
Vimalakirti's hand, who was able to show the
concept of the relativity of space and time by
calling up other universes from within his
room.
Also visible in the foreground are a Tibetan
ruler on the left and a Chinese emperor on the
Page17of66
Kshitigarbha with the Ten Kings of Hell,
ink and colours on silk
From Cave 17, Mogao, near Dunhuang,
Gansu province, China
Tang Dynasty, late 9th - early 10th century
AD
This painting shows in detail the Chinese
Buddhist concept of the judgement of the soul
after death. By the late ninth century AD, the
bodhisattva Kshitigarbha had come to be
regarded as having powers to rescue souls
from undesirable forms of rebirth. The
apocryphal Sutra of the Ten Kings describes
the ten spheres through which a soul must
pass on its way to rebirth. It was believed that
each was presided over by a king as shown
here.
A painting of this kind would have been
commissioned in order to help the donor and
his family to gain Kshitigarba's assistance
through this long judgement process.
Kshitigarbha is shown seated on a rock in the
centre of the painting. He is flanked by the
Ten Kings of Hell, each behind a desk with
handscrolls on them, and with two attendants.
The lower section is filled with donor figures.
The most interesting scenes are shown just
below Kshitigarbha: the priest Daoming,
accompanied by a lion, is represented next to
a judgement scene; a man wearing a cangue
and led by an ox-headed jailer is confronted
with a huge mirror that reflects his sin, the
slaying of an ox.
Page19of66
Kshitigarbha, ink and colours on a silk
banner
From Cave 17, Mogao, near Dunhuang,
Gansu province, China
Tang dynasty, 9th century AD
The bodhisattva shown as a monk
This is one of many examples from Mogao of
a painted banner showing a single bodhisattva
figure under a canopy. The orange cartouche
on the left contains an inscription identifying
him as Dizang Pusa, the Chinese name for
Kshitigarbha.
While other bodhisattvas are usually shown on
the banners from Mogao with long hair and
wearing elaborate Indian jewellery, this figure
is clean-shaven and wears the kashaya, the
robe of Chinese Buddhist monks. Monks were
not supposed to have new clothes, so their
outfits were usually made up of patchwork
squares of supposedly old, but often brand
new materials. Kshitigarbha is the only
bodhisattva shown as a monk. He stands on a
lotus, as is usual for banner paintings of
bodhisattvas from Dunhuang, and holds a
kundika or ritual water sprinkler.
Page20of66
Mandala of the Kasuga shrine, a hanging
scroll painting
Japan
Kamakura-Muromachi period, 14th century
AD
The Kasuga shrine was established in AD 709
adjacent to Kfuku-ji Temple in Nara, as the
ancestral shrine of the powerful Fujiwara clan.
The linking of shrines and temples was a
common occurrence after the introduction of
Buddhism in the sixth century and was part of
the process of reconciliation between
Buddhism and the native Japanese religion,
Shint. During the Heian period (794-1185),
in order to lessen tensions between the two
religions, the doctrine of honji suijaku
('manifestation from the original state') was
developed. This presented the Shint gods,
kami, as incarnations of Buddhist deities who
were seen as their benevolent guardians.
Mandala were created as visual
reinforcements of this doctrine.
Along the top are five Buddhist deities, the
honji ('original state') of the five Shint kami
of the Kasuga and Wakamiya shrines that are
their suijaku ('manifestation'). The moon
symbolizes the chief Kasuga deity. The
Buddhist deities are (from right to left): the
bodhisattva Monju (Sanskrit: Manjushri) the
Buddhas Shaka (Shakyamuni) and Yakushi
(Bhaisajyaguru) and the bodhisattvas Jiz
(Ksitigarbha) and eleven-headed Kannon
(Avalokiteshvara). Below these are the Shint
deities with lesser deities issuing from the
temple, represented by the five-storey pagoda.
The Kasuga shrine buildings are prominent in
the upper part of the painting, with the main
red-painted gateway or torii and two pagodas,
and another torii and pilgrim paths towards
Mount Kasuga and Mount Mikasa.
The scene is depicted from a very high
viewpoint in the style of a Yamato-e
landscape and the rich coloration is given
added lustre by the gold applied to the back of
the loosely woven silk ground.
Page23of66
Painted silk headpiece from a banner
From Cave 17, Mogao, near Dunhuang,
Gansu province, China
Five Dynasties or Northern Song Dynasty,
10th century AD
This square of silk would have been folded
diagonally to form two triangular headpieces
which would have been attached to the top of
a banner. The almost identical images of the
Buddha can then be seen on either side. When
found, the headpiece had a purple silk border
which had faded into brown. Judging from the
diagonal, this would have been attached to a
banner about seventy centimetres wide, larger
than any of the banners that survive in the
Stein Collection in the British Museum.
The silk used for making this headpiece is
figured with a phoenix motif. The palette used
for colouring the Buddha images is limited
and appears to have been sparingly applied.
However, a yellow pigment used beneath the
flesh tones of the face and torso of each
Buddha was strong enough to have seeped
through the back.
Page24of66
Paradise of Bhaishajyaguru, ink and colours on silk
From Cave 17, Mogao, near Dunhuang, Gansu province, China
Tang Dynasty, 9th century AD
Sutras and rituals connected to Bhaishajyaguru, the Buddha of Healing, were among the most popular in Dunhuang. His
Pure Land or Paradise was often depicted on walls of the caves built during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), similar in
style to the central part of this painting. The figures are arranged on terraces above water, and a Chinese palace setting is
indicated by the courtyard shown from above. Bhaishajyaguru himself is seated in the centre of the composition under a
large canopy. Directly in front of him are bodhisattvas playing music and dancing, indicating the pleasures of Paradise,
where according to the sutras the most beautiful sounds can be heard and exquisite fragrances can be smelt. The
accompanying figures are other bodhisattvas and guardians, as well as subsidiary Buddha groups.
In the top of the lowest register of the painting are multi-armed esoteric deities such as Manjushri with the Thousand
Bowls on the top right. The scenes on the sides are divided by lines, as in a modern-day cartoon, with cartouches
containing quotes from the sutra. On the right are scenes of the 'six forms of violent death', for example a hungry soul
dragging somebody away as a punishment for hunting. On the left are the twelve vows of Bhaishajyaguru.
Page26of66
Paradise of Bhaishajyaguru, ink and colours on silk
From Cave 17, Mogao, near Dunhuang, Gansu province, China
Tang dynasty, dated AD 836
Synthesis of Chinese and Tibetan painting styles
This large painting is devoted to Bhaishajyaguru, the Buddha of Healing. Dated and inscribed in both Chinese and Tibetan,
is an interesting example of how different modes of painting reached a unique synthesis in the multi-cultural climate of
Dunhuang. The Tibetans occupied Dunhuang from AD 781 to 848 and some of the earliest paintings in the Tibetan
painting style have survived there.
The figures painted in the Tibetan mode have elongated haloes and are much flatter and more decorative than those painted
in the more typical style of the Chinese Tang dynasty. Instead of the more common architectural setting, the Paradise is set
in a landscape, with the figures arranged in a more formalized way, almost like in a mandala. The two bodhisattvas
Samantabhadra and Manjushri - recognisable by their mounts, the elephant and the lion - occupy the middle ground. At the
bottom of the painting we can also see the esotericform of Manjushri shown with a Thousand Bowls.
Page27of66
Paradise of Maitreya, ink and colours on silk
From Cave 17, Mogao, near Dunhuang, Gansu province, China
Late Tang or early Five Dynasties, late 9th - early 10th century AD
Page28of66
The subject of this complex painting can be identified from inscriptions from the Mile xiasheng jing ('Sutra of Maitreya's
Birth'), as the Paradise of Maitreya, the future Buddha. At present, Maitreya is still a bodhisattva who presides over Tusita
Heaven until the time comes for his earthly rebirth and subsequent attainment of Buddhahood.
The central figure of Maitreya sits in a courtyard with two bodhisattvas, two disciple monks representing youth and
maturity and two Guardian Kings, Virupaksha with a sword and Vaishravana with the banner. Along either side of the
borders are two dharmapalas or Law Guardians, another two Buddhas attended by pairs of bodhisattvas. In front of
Maitreya four musicians and a dancer perform and human and celestial beings make floral offerings.
The scenes at the top of the painting - of merrymaking, farming and people at worship - symbolize the peace and
prosperity that Maitreya will bring. At the bottom, the ordination rite of head-shaving is being carried out on a couple of
noble birth. Next to them, two altar tables laden with lavish gifts stand either side of a canopied throne. This represents the
conversions which Maitreya will bring about.
Page29of66
Paradise of Shakyamuni, with illustrations of episodes from the Baoen Sutra, ink and colours on silk
From Cave 17, Mogao, near Dunhuang, Gansu province, China
Tang dynasty, early 9th century AD
In this Pure Land, or Paradise painting, Shakyamuni, the historical Buddha, with his hands in the vitarka-mudra (gesture of
preaching), sits between two bodhisattvas. A dancer and an orchestra perform before him. Another group sits below them.
The Buddha has the sun and the moon on his robes, the cosmological emblems of Mount Shumeru. The scene is probably
Page30of66
intended to represent Shakyamuni's cosmic aspect as expounded in the Lotus Sutra. Two mythical creatures standing on
golden islands, the double-headed jiva-jiva and the kalavinka, flank this second group. A row of donors are shown at the
base of the painting.
Along both sides of the painting a sequence of episodes tells the story of Prince Siddhartha from the Baoen-jing, the 'Sutra
of Requiting Blessings Received'. This is a jataka about Shakyamuni's previous incarnation. Prince Siddhartha and his
parents flee their palace upon hearing the murderous intent of a treacherous minister. When their provisions run out,
Siddhartha offers his own flesh to his parents. After his parents have each taken a piece, Siddhartha is left by the roadside.
A hungry lion appears, and the prince offers his final piece of flesh to the creature. The lion turns out to be the god Indra,
who restores him to strength and wholeness.
This painting is a good example of the ways in which sutras were illustrated at Dunhuang. The elegant flowing lines and
uncluttered composition of this painting suggest a date in the early ninth century AD.
Patchwork of silk, probably a kasaya
From Cave 17, Mogao, near Dunhuang, Gansu province, China
Tang Dynasty, 8th-9th century AD
Page31of66
Representations of Famous Buddhist Images, ink and colours on silk (fragments)
From Cave 17, Mogao, near Dunhuang, Gansu province, China
Tang dynasty, 7th - 8th century AD
Models for passing on Buddhist iconography
These fragments are from a large painting, several parts of which are now in the National Museum in New Delhi, India.
The painting was filled with representations of famous statues of the Buddha and other images. Several studies have been
devoted to identifying the sources of the illustrations, and linking the various images to different centres on the Silk Road.
Page33of66
In this section we can see the halo and aureole of a seated Buddha figure on the left, with a thousand Buddhas appearing
within the circles. On the right a Buddha touches the red disk of the sun, perhaps signifying the powers achieved after his
Enlightenment. Buddhas touching the sun and moon were occasionally represented on the wall paintings at Mogao,
probably indicating links to similar popular and famous images of the Buddha in various ways.
Samantabhadra and Manjushri, ink and colours on silk
From Cave 17, Mogao, near Dunhuang, Gansu province,
China
Late Tang or early Five Dynasties, late 9th - early 10th
century AD
These large paintings were originally paired. Although
painted on silk they are very similar to wall paintings of the
same period in their style and iconography. It was common
practice in the Mogao caves for two wall paintings to be
executed facing each other: for example on the two sides of
the cave entrance. For this purpose subjects with two groups
of figures turning towards each other were shown: the
bodhisattvas Samantabhadra and Manjushri were a popular
choice.
Samantabhadra is shown riding on an elephant and
Manjushri on a lion. Neither of these animals was then
native to China, and the artists clearly had no first-hand
experience of them: the white elephant has big, floppy ears
and three tusks on each side; the lion is shown with
decorative features popular in Chinese art.
The two bodhisattvas are depicted at a larger scale than the
attendant figures: other bodhisattvas playing instruments
and red-faced guardians with fierce, bulging eyes. The two
dark-skinned figures represent the attendants of the animals.
In tenth-century paintings they are shown as Central Asians,
not as dark-skinned servants, as here.
The format of the paintings is puzzling, as the tops are
rounded as if made for a vaulted cave. However, there are
no vaulted caves at Mogao. They were very popular further
west, in the Turfan region, at sites such as Bezeklik. Could
it be the case that a workshop at Mogao prepared this
painting for another site? As yet we have no evidence of
such close collaboration, but cultural links are known.
Page34of66
Shakyamuni preaching on the Vulture Peak, silk embroidery on hemp cloth
From Cave 17, Mogao, near Dunhuang, Gansu province, China
Tang dynasty, 8th century AD
Page39of66
This is one of the largest known examples of Chinese embroidery. Its layout compares closely with paradise paintings and
the wall murals at Mogao. Shakyamuni is shown preaching the Lotus Stra at Rjagrha on the Vulture Peak, represented
by the rockery. A scattering of flowers and leaves embellishes the background. He is accompanied by two disciples and the
bodhisattvas, Avalokiteshvara and Mahsthmappta. Hovering over this assembly are two apsarasas who flank a jewelled
canopy. At the base, there are two groups of donor figures and a central inscription panel.
The panel was made from three widths of hemp cloth entirely covered with thin closely-woven silk. The outline of the
design was first drawn in ink onto the silk. Its main contours were worked with split stitching of brown or dark blue silk.
The areas enclosed by the outlines were then filled in using closely packed unplied floss silk. The embroidery is generally
well preserved. However, when it was folded for storage in the cave, the two disciples fell along the lines of folding, which
explains the heavy damage to them.
Silk altar valance
From Cave 17, Mogao, near Dunhuang, Gansu province, China
Tang Dynasty, 8th-9th century AD
Silk valances liek this were originally used on the altars of Buddhist temples, as represented on some of the wall paintings
at Dunhuang. This example, which is missing a few streamers at the right end, is the most complete of three that were
found in Cave 17. It was made from over 56 fragments of fabric stitched together. It includes 16 varieties of plain or
figured silk, 3 different embroideries, as well as printed silk.
The valance is composed of three distinct components:
(a) A broad band with hanging loops at the top comprising pieces of white silk, pink damask, plain blue and red silk.
(b) Triangular tabs with streamers attached behind. Some of the streamers are knotted while others are attached to tassels,
rosettes or stuffed silk figures. There are forty-two pieces in this section.
(c) Ten large panels forming a background of plain and figured silks in yellow, cream, white and green.
Like the foliated embroidered silk panel from Cave 17, this might have been another instance where materials were reused.
Stein had thought that the little stuffed figures on some of the streamers were previously used as votive offerings by people
hoping to have children.
Page40of66
Tejaprabha Buddha and the Five Planets, ink and colours on silk
From Cave 17, Mogao, near Dunhuang, Gansu province, China
Tang dynasty, dated 4th year of Qianning (AD 897)
Page41of66
The Death of the Buddha, a hanging scroll painting
Japan
Page44of66
CourtofKingEmma(Yama)inHell
The Six Realms of Birth, 10 hanging scroll paintings
Japan
Edo period, 19th century AD
From a set of 15
The six realms of birth (rokud), as interpreted by the
Tendai sect monk Genshin (Eshin Szu, 942-1017) in his
seminal Oj ysh (The Foundations of Rebirth, 985), are
full of horrors that contrast with the bliss of the Buddha
Amida's Western Paradise. Until released by enlightenment
from the cycle of rebirth, sentient beings must constantly
incarnate through these six realms of, respectively, hell,
hungry ghosts, warrior demons, beasts, human beings and
heavenly beings.
These ten scrolls come from what must have originally been
a set of fifteen. They are nineteenth-century copies of a
famous set of hell paintings thought to date from the late
thirteenth century, originally from Ryzen-in at Yokawa on
Mt. Hiei and now at Shju Raig-ji Temple, Shiga.
The subjects of the ten scrolls are:
1. Court of King Emma in Hell
2. Equally Reviving Hell
3. Uniting Hell
4. Realm of Hungry Ghosts
5. Realm of Beasts
6. Realm of Bellicose Demons (Ashura)
7. Realm of Human Beings -- Nine Impure Aspects
8. Realm of Human Beings -- Four Painful Aspects of Old
Age, Sickness and Death
9. Realm of Human Beings -- Parting by Death from Wind,
Fire and Water
10. Redemption of Sins and Ascension to Paradise through
the Efficacy of the Nembutsu
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Thousand-armed, Thousand-eyed Avalokiteshvara, ink and colours on silk
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Thousand-armed, thousand-eyed Avalokiteshvara, ink and colours on silk
From Cave 17, Mogao, near Dunhuang, Gansu province, China
Tang dynasty, 8th - early 9th century AD
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Two standing Avalokiteshvara, ink and colour on silk
From Cave 17, Mogao, near Dunhuang, Gansu province, China
Tang dynasty, mid-9th century AD
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Vaishravana riding across the waters, a painting on silk
From Cave 17, Mogao, near Dunhuang, Gansu province, China
Five Dynasties, mid-10th century AD
This is one of the best depictions of Vaishravana, Guardian King of the North, from Cave 17 at Mogao. Vaishravana is the
most frequently represented of the four devarajas, the Guardian Kings of the points of the compass, probably because of
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Vajrapani, ink and colours on a silk banner
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Vajrapani, ink and colours on a silk banner
From Cave 17, Mogao, near Dunhuang, Gansu province,
China
Tang dynasty, early 9th century AD
In the Tibetan style
Although the format of this banner is largely similar to
others found at Mogao, it is very different in style. The
figure represented is the bodhisattva Vajrapani, identifiable
by the small vajra or thunderbolt in his right hand.
The figure is shown in frontally and static, in sharp contrast
to the dynamic representations of Vajrapani on banners
from Mogao painted in the Chinese style. The body is
painted green, with only the palms shown in pink. The
features of the face, especially the large white, almond-
shaped eyes with black centres, are strikingly different from
the standard Dunhuang style. Furthermore the figure's dhoti
(garment) is also very different in appearance: dyed with
many colours and decorated with floral and geometric
patterns, uncharacteristic of art from Dunhuang.
These features have led to this and several other paintings in
the Stein Collection being identified as a Tibetan-style
group and thus important examples of early Tibetan art.
Dunhuang was occupied by the Tibetans between AD 781
and 847. This painting has a small-scale Tibetan inscription
on the right. The silk weave, the hem and the size of the
banners in this group are also different from the Chinese-
style banners
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Given below in tabular format is the Aurel Stein collection of Buddhist silk
artifacts from Dunhuang in the possession of the National Museum, New Delhi.
Artifact Description
1000 buddhas (detail) with devotees
Dunhuang. 9th-10th c. AD. Embroidered silk
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Avalokitesvara
Dunhuang. 8th-9th c. AD. Painting on silk.
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Avalokitesvara (detail)
Dunhuang. 9th c. AD. Painting on silk.
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Avalokitesvara (detail)
Dunhuang. 9th c. AD. Painting on silk.
Donor images From a banner painting of Amitabha in Vitarkamudra
Dunhuang. 9th-10th c. AD. Painting on silk.
And
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From a banner painting of the Buddha in Vatarkamudra
Dunhuang. 949 AD. Painting on silk.
The Paradise of Bhaisajyaguru (detail)
Dunhuang. 10th c. AD. Painting on silk.
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REFERENCES
1) The New Encyclopdia Britannica. 15th Edition. (1977). Vol. IX, p. 547
2) Wang, Helen (ed.); Perkins, John (ed.) (2008). Handbook to the Collections
of Sir Aurel Stein in the UK. British Museum. pp. 4244. ISBN 978 086159
9776.
3) M. Aurel Stein, Serindia: detailed report of e, 5 vols. (Oxford, 1921)
4) A. Waley, A catalogue of paintings recov (London, 1931)
5) R. Whitfield, Art of Central Asia: The Ste-1, vol. 2 (Tokyo, Kodansha
International Ltd., 1982-85)
6) R. Whitfield and A. Farrer, Caves of the thousand Buddhas: (London, The
British Museum Press, 1990)
7) J. Portal, Korea - art and archaeology (London, The British Museum Press,
2000)
8) W. Zwalf (ed.), Buddhism: art and faith (London, The British Museum
Press, 1985)
9) P. Banerjee, Central Asian art - new revelations (Noida (U.P.), Abha
Prakashan, 2001)
10) W. Zwalf, Heritage of Tibet (London, The British Museum Press, 1981)
11) M.M. Rhie and R.A.F. Thurman, Wisdom and compassion: the sac
(London, Thames and Hudson, 1996)
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22) Death and Dying by Ajahn Jagaro from the book True Freedom,
Buddhadhamma Foundation, Bangkok, Thailand, 2004