The Stein Collection
Buddha Figure
ca. 6th century (made)
ca. 6th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Supposedly the lower part of a Buddha image, but object too heavily damaged to allow for proper judgement. It was found in one of the several Buddhist shrines which constitute the site of Khadalik between Khotan and Keriya on the southern branch of the Silk Road in Xinjiang, China.
The Victoria and Albert Museum has more than 70 ceramic fragments and fragments of Buddhist sculptures, as well as around 600 ancient and medieval textiles recovered by Sir Marc Aurel Stein (1862-1943) during his second expedition (1906-8) into Chinese Central Asia, where he once again visited and excavated sites on the southern Silk Road, before moving eastwards to Dunhuang. At Dunhuang, he studied and excavated the Han-dynasty watchtowers to the north of the town, as well as the Mogao cave temples to the southeast, where he acquired material from the Library Cave. From there he moved on to the northern Silk Road, stopping briefly at Turfan sites but not carrying out any excavations. He made a perilous north-south crossing of the Taklamakan desert in order to hasten to Khotan where he excavated more ancient sites, before finishing off his expedition with surveying in the Kunlun Mountains.
The Victoria and Albert Museum has more than 70 ceramic fragments and fragments of Buddhist sculptures, as well as around 600 ancient and medieval textiles recovered by Sir Marc Aurel Stein (1862-1943) during his second expedition (1906-8) into Chinese Central Asia, where he once again visited and excavated sites on the southern Silk Road, before moving eastwards to Dunhuang. At Dunhuang, he studied and excavated the Han-dynasty watchtowers to the north of the town, as well as the Mogao cave temples to the southeast, where he acquired material from the Library Cave. From there he moved on to the northern Silk Road, stopping briefly at Turfan sites but not carrying out any excavations. He made a perilous north-south crossing of the Taklamakan desert in order to hasten to Khotan where he excavated more ancient sites, before finishing off his expedition with surveying in the Kunlun Mountains.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The Stein Collection (named collection) |
| Materials and techniques | Clay |
| Brief description | Lower part of a Buddha figure, clay, China. |
| Physical description | Described as "lower part of a Buddha figure" in loan agreement (numerical file); further description impossible due to the high degree of damage, and the fact that the Stein number listed in the loan agreement does not fit Stein's descriptive list in Serindia, vol.1,pp.167-196. |
| Credit line | Stein Loan Collection. On loan from the Government of India and the Archaeological Survey of India. Copyright: Government of India |
| Object history | Found at the site of Khadalik, but exact location is unknown, as Stein number in loan agreement (numerical file) does not match Stein's descriptive list, and object is too damaged for Stein number to be discernible. |
| Historical context | Khadalik lies between Khotan and Keriya on the southern branch of the Silk Road. Here Stein discovered remains of a number of Buddhist shrines. Inside several temples were elaborate murals depicting Buddhist deities, large statues with traces of gilding, reliefs and painted panels. Large numbers of Buddhist texts were found among the ruins, including pothi, religious books of Indian origin, written in Sanskrit, wooden tablets and sticks covered in Tibetan writing, and fragments of documents deposited as votive offerings. Other votive gifts included numerous small pagodas and moulded Buddha figures. Strings of Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) copper coins, left as offerings near Buddha statues, were taken by Stein as evidence that the site had been abandoned in the eight century AD. The V&A holds, on loan, from Khadalik, pieces of woven plant fibres, wool felt and twill; and plaster-covered woven fabric, which may have functioned as stucco backing. |
| Production | from Khadalik |
| Summary | Supposedly the lower part of a Buddha image, but object too heavily damaged to allow for proper judgement. It was found in one of the several Buddhist shrines which constitute the site of Khadalik between Khotan and Keriya on the southern branch of the Silk Road in Xinjiang, China. The Victoria and Albert Museum has more than 70 ceramic fragments and fragments of Buddhist sculptures, as well as around 600 ancient and medieval textiles recovered by Sir Marc Aurel Stein (1862-1943) during his second expedition (1906-8) into Chinese Central Asia, where he once again visited and excavated sites on the southern Silk Road, before moving eastwards to Dunhuang. At Dunhuang, he studied and excavated the Han-dynasty watchtowers to the north of the town, as well as the Mogao cave temples to the southeast, where he acquired material from the Library Cave. From there he moved on to the northern Silk Road, stopping briefly at Turfan sites but not carrying out any excavations. He made a perilous north-south crossing of the Taklamakan desert in order to hasten to Khotan where he excavated more ancient sites, before finishing off his expedition with surveying in the Kunlun Mountains. |
| Bibliographic reference | Stein, Marc Aurel. Serindia: detailed report of explorations in Central Asia and westernmost China. Oxford: Clarendon, 1921, vol. 1, pp.167-196 |
| Other number | Kha.? - Stein number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | LOAN:I A SURVEY.6 |
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| Record created | August 23, 2007 |
| Record URL |
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