It is to qualities very different from those of the preceding picture
that the figure of a standing Avalokiteśvara (Ch. 0091), reproduced
in Plate XVIII in half the size of the original, owes its special
charm. The silk painting has lost portions of its sides and the whole
below the knees of the figure, and the colouring throughout has much
faded. But the disappearance of paint helps to bring out more clearly
the excellence of the design and the very delicate drawing of figure
and features. With workmanship showing mastery of a fully established
technique in details, the painting combines an air of individual
feeling which makes its subject one of the finest single figures
amongst our Ch‘ien-fo-tung paintings.
Avalokiteśvara stands facing the spectator, with head erect but eyes
downcast. His pose, with the weight thrown on the right hip and the
body aslant to the left shoulder, is characteristically Indian. The
head is that of a young man and shows marked influence of Gandhāra art
in its features. The nose is long and straight, the brow high, and the
eyes only slightly oblique. The moderately arched eyebrows sweep in a
slightly recurved line to the outer edge of the brow. The thinner
cheeks and more natural proportion of the features give to the face a
distinct individuality which those of the conventional semi-feminine
Bodhisattvas lack. The expression is meditative and remote, the pose
graceful and dignified at the same time. The right hand is raised in
the _vitarka-mudrā_ at the breast with a willow spray between the thumb
and fingers; the left hanging by the side holds the flask and a twining
spray with pink flowers.
The attire and head-dress are of the conventional style associated with
the Bodhisattva type which has above been designated as ‘Chinese’. The
Dhyāni-buddha Amitābha is shown on the front of the tiara, which is a
simple circlet ornamented with flaming jewels and long tassels at the
ears. The hair done in double-leaf form appears above it. Instead of
the under-robe a light red scarf is thrown over the breast. A stole
of grey and olive green, much faded, clings to shoulders and upper
arms and is festooned across the front of the figure. From the waist
descends the skirt, apparently brown.
In the right lower corner appear two small figures kneeling and holding
lotus buds. They represent evidently donors, a boy and a girl. The way
in which their hair is dressed, the boy’s parted and tied in a double
bunch on either side of the head and the girl’s parted and tied behind,
is not usual in our paintings. The plain long-sleeved robes covering
the figures from neck to feet afford no clue to the dating.