Avalokiteshvara,
ink and colours on a hemp cloth banner
From Cave 17, Mogao, near Dunhuang, Gansu
province, China
Five Dynsties, early 10th
century AD
A simpler religious image for the less wealthy
worshipper
Hemp, coarser than silk, was cheaper and it is
thus likely that these lower quality banners were commissioned or
purchased by less wealthy donors. As is typical of the hemp cloth
banners, the main figure is executed with simple ink lines and no
additional colouring.
The
format of the banner is the same as that of the more elaborate
paintings, with a triangular top and blue streamers at the bottom.
The side streamers are now lost. Avalokiteshvara, the popular
bodhisattva
of compassion, is shown in a frontal position holding a lotus bud
in his left hand and raising the right hand in
vitarka mudra (the
gesture of teaching) and standing under a
parasol.
Bird droppings on
the surface of the banner indicate that it may have been hung for a
considerable time.
R. Whitfield, Art of Central Asia: The Ste-1, vol. 2 (Tokyo, Kodansha International Ltd., 1982-85)