stencil; 模版 (Chinese) | British Museum

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stencil; 模版(Chinese)

Object Type: stencil; 模版 (Chinese)
Museum number: 1919,0101,0.72
Description: Stencil with a Buddha seated in the middle surrounded by two monks and two bodhisattvas. Only the Buddha and the monk and bodhisattva on hs right side were drawn in ink. The paper was then folded over and holes pricked through both layers. Ink and pricked outlines on paper.
Cultures/periods: Five Dynasties; Northern Song dynasty; 五代 (Chinese); 北宋時期 (Chinese)
Production date: 926-975 (circa)
Excavator/field collector
Findspot: Excavated/Findspot: Cave 17, Ch.00159 (from Cave 17 at Ch’ien Fo Tung (pinyin: Qian Fo Dong)); Excavated/Findspot: 第17窟 (Chinese)
Materials: paper; 紙 (Chinese)
Technique: drawn; 手繪的 (Chinese)
Dimensions: Height: 86.70 centimetres (Stencil on paper backing); Height: 79.50 centimetres (Stencil); Width: 149 centimetres (Stencil on paper backing); Width: 142 centimetres (Stencil)
Bibliographic references: Stein 1921a / Serindia: detailed report of archaeological explorations in Central Asia and Westernmost China (p.969; vol.IV, pl.XCIV); Whitfield 1983 / Paintings from Dunhuang (pl.78); Whitfield & Farrer 1990 / Caves of the Thousand Buddhas. Chinese Art from the Silk Route (cat.no.70); Fraser 1996a / The Artist's Practice in Tang Dynasty China (8-10th Centuries) (fig.132); Fraser 1996b / Régimes of Production: The Use of Pounces in Temple Construction (p.62 and fig.5); Fraser 2000 / Formulas of Creativity: Artist's Sketches and Techniques of Copying at Dunhuang (p.198)
Location: Not on display
Exhibition history: Exhibited: 2003 18 Oct-14 Dec, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Treasures of the World's Cultures 2004 17 Jan-28 Mar, Kobe City Museum, Treasures of the World's Cultures 2004 10 Apr-13 Jun, Fukuoka Art Museum, Treasures of the World's Cultures 2004 26 Jun-29 Aug, Niigata Bandaijima Art Museum, Treasures of the World's Cultures 2016 7 May-4 Sep, Los Angeles, Getty Research Institute, Cave Temples of Dunhuang: Buddhist Art on China's Silk Road
Subjects: buddha; bodhisattva; monk/nun; 佛 (Chinese); 菩薩 (Chinese); 和尚/尼姑 (Chinese)
Acquisition date: 1919
Acquisition notes: For full acquisition history, see 1919,0101,0.1.
Department: Asia
Registration number: 1919,0101,0.72
Additional IDs: Miscellaneous number: Ch.00159 (Stein no.)
Conservation: Treatment: 19 Oct 2015; Mounting: 11 Mar 2016

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