The Stein Collection
Fresco Fragment
ca. 6th century (made)
ca. 6th century (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
This fragment of a fresco in fine hard stucco has impress of reeds behind. The paint is laid over a thin facing of white plaster. This fragment may have belonged to the left part of a vesica or background of a large figurine. On the left is a straight border of lotus leaves, outlined in red and filled in with white paint. An elliptical panel on the right contains a Buddha sitting on a lotus throne in front of a white background, outlined with red colour. The hands of the Buddha are lying in its lap, the garment is painted in red. The background of the inner border is of a light green. It was excavated from the remains of a Buddhist shrine at the site of Kara-Yantak between Khotan and Keriya 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 | Painted stucco |
Brief description | Fragment of a Buddhist fresco, China. |
Physical description | Fragment of a fresco in fine hard stucco with impress of reeds behind. The paint is laid over a thin facing of white plaster. This fragment may have belonged to the left part of a vesica or background of a large figurine. On the left is a straight border of lotus leaves, outlined in red and filled in with white paint. An elliptical panel on the right contains a Buddha sitting on a lotus throne in front of a white background, outlined with red colour. The hands of the Buddha are lying in its lap, the garment is painted in red. The background of the inner border is of a light green. |
Dimensions |
|
Credit line | Stein Loan Collection. On loan from the Government of India and the Archaeological Survey of India. Copyright: Government of India |
Object history | Excavated at the site of Kara-Yantak. |
Historical context | Kara-Yantak lies near Farhad-Beg-yailiki on the southern Silk Road. Here Stein found the remains of a Buddhist shrine, of which only the foundation beams and posts remained, along with chips of painted wood. His excavations revealed that it was similar in plan and decoration to the shrine at nearby Khadalik, which had flourished between the eight and tenth century AD. The scanty remains included fragments of sculptures, a wooden pothi, or religious document of Indian origin, covered with a Central Asian script and clay impressions of a bodhisattva on a lotus throne. Among the most significant finds were pieces of a wall mural, showing small, seated Buddha figures in a diaper pattern. The presence of a single Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) coin suggested that the settlement had been abandoned in the late eight century. There are a few fresco fragments from Kara-Yantak in the V&A Stein collection. |
Production | from Kara-Yantak |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | This fragment of a fresco in fine hard stucco has impress of reeds behind. The paint is laid over a thin facing of white plaster. This fragment may have belonged to the left part of a vesica or background of a large figurine. On the left is a straight border of lotus leaves, outlined in red and filled in with white paint. An elliptical panel on the right contains a Buddha sitting on a lotus throne in front of a white background, outlined with red colour. The hands of the Buddha are lying in its lap, the garment is painted in red. The background of the inner border is of a light green. It was excavated from the remains of a Buddhist shrine at the site of Kara-Yantak between Khotan and Keriya 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. 3, p.1268 |
Other number | K.Y.I.0018 - Stein number |
Collection | |
Accession number | LOAN:I A SURVEY.20 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
Record created | June 27, 2007 |
Record URL |
Download as: JSON