- Museum number
- 1919,0101,0.46
- Description
-
Painting of Avalokiteśvara, standing on lotuses supported by clouds, holding a banner and censer. Identified by the Amitābha in his headdress, the Bodhisattva is guiding a lady soul to Paradise (Yinlu Bodhisattva), which is depicted in three bands of small Chinese palace buildings. The lady is elegantly dressed in Tang style, in a robe decorated with colourful roundels. Ink and colour on silk.
- Production date
- 901-950 (circa; Guiyijun period)
- Dimensions
-
Height: 84.80 centimetres
-
Width: 54.70 centimetres
- Curator's comments
-
English
From Whitfield 1983:
This painting more closely resembles the four examples on silk and paper from the Pelliot collection, already referred to in the notes to the preceding plate. The banner carried by the Bodhisattva, here clearly Avalokitesvara because of the figure of Amitabha in the headdress, is suspended from a long staff carried in his right hand and over his shoulder, and terminating in a golden hook. Perhaps this is the “sky-hook” referred to in the dated inscription (A.D. 956) of one of the long banners (Fig. 47). It certainly gives us a clue as to the possible use of the banners with triangular headpieces, free to twist and turn in the breeze as they were carried. Small diamonds of gold leaf adorn the streamers, and the main panel of the banner apparently imitates writing in red, but not in a recognizable script.
Both the Bodhisattva and the aristocratic figure behind him are supported on clouds, lightly silhouetted against pale colour shading. Both advance in three-quarter view, but the torso of the Bodhisattva is turned in a slight contrapposto to face the spectator, rather than being fully turned in a gesture to the lady behind as in Pl.9. The lady herself gives every impression of wealth and social standing (Pl. 10-3). Her stance is upright, in contrast to the downward glance and demure bearing that characterizes the lady of Pl.9-3, in harmony with the protective attitude of the Bodhisattva in that painting.
-
Chinese
From Whitfield 1983:
此畫與上一圖注釋中所講的伯希和收集品中的四件引路菩薩圖（絹繪1件，紙繪3件）很相似。菩薩右手持長竿，扛在肩上，寶冠上有化佛，顯然是觀世音菩薩。竿頭的金鈎上懸著幡，此鈎可能相當於顯德三年（956年）的長幡題記（參照Fig.47）中所記的“龍鈎”。不管怎樣，在畫中是吊著三角形的幡首部分，一邊扛著一邊走，在風中自由搖擺扭轉，更能具體瞭解到幡的用途。幡尾和幡腳上貼著小菱形碎箔，幡本身畫著紅色類似文字一樣的图形，但都無法識別。
菩薩與其後跟隨的貴婦人，乘在外部有淺色暈染的雲彩上，都是斜的姿勢。菩薩上半身扭轉，臉稍向婦人，不像上圖的菩薩完全回頭看背後的婦人。婦人（參照圖10－3）的任何方面都使人感到是很富有、地位高的人物。她昂著頭，腰板挺直，與上一圖的婦人（參照圖9－3）似乎在受菩薩的保護和引導，低頭行進的嫺靜姿態形成鮮明對比。
- Location
- Not on display
- Exhibition history
-
Exhibited:
1990 20 Oct-9 Dec, Japan, Tokyo, Setagaya Art Museum, Treasures of the British Museum, cat. no.165
1991 5 Jan-20 Feb, Japan, Yamaguchi, Prefectural Museum of Art, Treasures of the British Museum, cat. no.165
1991 9 Mar-7 May, Japan, Osaka, National Museum of Art, Treasures of the British Museum, cat. no.165
2007 8 Feb-5 Aug, BM Gallery 91, 'Gods, Guardians and Immortals: Chinese Religious Paintings'
2014 3 Apr-31 Aug, BM Gallery 91, 'Gems of Chinese painting: a voyage along the Yangzi River'
- Acquisition date
- 1919
- Acquisition notes
- For full acquisition history, see 1919,0101,0.1.
- Department
- Asia
- Registration number
- 1919,0101,0.46
- Additional IDs
-
Miscellaneous number: Ch.lvii.003 (Stein no.)
