In both the silk paintings which this Plate reproduces on the scale of three-sevenths, we see Avalokiteśvara represented in ‘Indian’ style and beside or below him the donors. In the picture on the left (Ch. liv. 006) the figure of the standing Bodhisattva is treated on very formal lines, typical of the ‘Indian’ style already repeatedly mentioned, and the colouring in bright crude tints solidly laid on is equally characteristic. Apart from the hieratic stiffness of the whole figure and pose it will suffice to call attention to such peculiar features as the narrow band descending from the head-dress to the knees and festooned in front of the body, and the loose locks of hair which hang over the shoulders. The hair is painted ultramarine, the flesh white and shaded with vermilion. The eyebrows raised disproportionately high over the almost straight eyes are, as often elsewhere, shown green. Avalokiteśvara stands on a large scarlet and white lotus which floats on a lake or stream. Behind him on green land is shown a row of tall bamboos filling the background.
To the left of the Bodhisattva appears standing the figure of the nun whom one of the Chinese inscriptions names as the donatrix, with a date corresponding to a.d. 910.[45] She wears a wide-sleeved yellow under-robe with flowered band across her breast and a purplish-brown mantle. Her close-cropped hair is shown in ultramarine, and her hands carry a censer. Opposite to her stands a boy offering a scarlet lotus on a dish; he wears a long-skirted dark brown coat slit at the side and showing wide white trousers underneath. M. Petrucci recognizes in him the nun’s defunct younger brother, whom the dedicatory inscription associates with her votive gift.
The picture on the right (Ch. xl. 008) is in perfect condition and represents Avalokiteśvara, six-armed and seated, together with side scenes and donors. His upper hands hold up discs emblematic of the Sun and Moon, showing a three-legged bird and a tree respectively; the middle hands are raised on either side of the breast in the vitarka-mudrā, while the lower hands with rosary and flask rest on the knees. In front of him is placed a small draped altar with flasks and a covered dish. The Bodhisattva’s figure, within the limitations imposed by the conventional treatment, is very carefully drawn and the colouring well preserved and unusual. It consists mainly of terra-cotta red on the garments (excepting the stole, which is very dark brownish olive), and of white shaded with light pink on the flesh. A harsh yellow is used for the jewellery, while the ground throughout is left in the dark greenish-brown of the silk.
Down the sides are shown, in animated and expressive drawing of purely Chinese style, scenes representing Calamities from which Avalokiteśvara miraculously saves his worshippers.[46] On the right above we see a man, naked except for a loin-cloth, threatened with having his head cut off. Lower down two men are fleeing with their arms over their heads, while a thunder-cloud in the sky, represented like a monstrous Nāga, showers black drops on them. Below a man stands calmly in a pyramid of flame into which another behind appears to have pushed him. On the left above a man is being pushed by another over a precipice; but half-way down he is seen again composedly seated on a cloud. The next scene shows a man kneeling in an arched recess with his head in a cangue, while in front of him are wooden instruments for fettering feet and hands. At the bottom stands a man looking calm although surrounded by a snake, scorpion, and an animal apparently meant for a tiger.
In the bottom portion of the painting are shown the donors, on either side of a cartouche intended for a dedicatory inscription. Their figures are drawn with much care and offer good examples of costumes belonging to the tenth century. Of the men on the right the one in front holds a censer and the other a lotus bud between his hands joined in adoration. On the left kneels a lady in a wide big-sleeved robe; her hair is held by a central framework and big pins, painted in pink and white, but lacks the usual flowers and leaves. Behind her stands a boy in long white trousers and a flowered pink and white tunic, with his hair parted and ornamented on the top by a big bow.
PLATE XXIII
SIX-ARMED AVALOKITEŚVARA WITH ATTENDANT BODHISATTVAS
XXIII
The large silk painting (Ch. xxvi. 001) of which this Plate is a half-size reproduction was in its original condition a very fine composition, but has suffered much damage. The lower end has been destroyed by fire, the right edge is lost, and several large holes show where dark green paint has corroded the silk. Much of the colouring is gone; yet in spite of all these vicissitudes enough remains to prove the refined design of the whole and the sureness of the drawing.
The picture shows a six-armed Avalokiteśvara seated on a large white lotus in the attitude known as that of ‘royal ease’, with the right knee raised and the head inclined over the right shoulder. This characteristically ‘Indian’ pose corresponds to the slim-waisted body and the dress of ‘Indian’ Bodhisattva type. It is only in figures of the latter that we find the flower-ornamented caps over the knees here seen. The upper hands with gracefully curved fingers are raised towards the head; of the middle ones the right is raised before the breast in the vitarka-mudrā, while the left is held below palm up; the lower hands hang down below the knees. No emblems are displayed, except the Dhyāni-buddha in the front of the tiara, which appears as a high solid cone of chased bronze.