AFA-008 · Figures
Bodhisattva in the Dunhuang Manner
Hanging scroll with a standing figure
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A standing figure in a jeweled headdress, painted in the flat, jewel-colored manner of the cave temples: red and pink robes, a green sash, gold ornaments, and a face drawn in one unbroken line.
This is a different craft from the ink landscapes on this site. The outline is drawn first in a fine, even line, and the colors are then filled in flat, one at a time, with the mineral pigments ground thick enough to sit on the surface of the paper. Held to the light, the reds and greens have a faint grain to them, which is what ground stone looks like.
The figure is calm and frontal and works as a single point of focus at the end of a corridor or above a low chest. The olive mount is quieter than the yellow silk used elsewhere and lets the color of the robe carry the picture.
Offered as a decorative painting, made by hand, in the manner of the Dunhuang murals. "In the manner of" describes the style only; we make no representation as to age, origin or maker.
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