tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7796660197476397492024-03-10T02:46:31.092+00:00INTERNATIONAL DUNHUANG PROJECT<a href="http://idp.bl.uk">IDP: The Silk Road Online</a>IDPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00383993440160812282noreply@blogger.comBlogger240125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-779666019747639749.post-45203707773666229312023-07-11T21:01:00.005+01:002023-07-11T21:04:21.268+01:00Shaping the Stein collection’s Dunhuang corpus (2): the items from Cave 17’s ‘miscellaneous’ bundles<p><a href="https://idpuk.blogspot.com/2023/06/shaping-stein-collections-dunhuang.html">In a previous blog post</a>, we looked at the instrumental role played by Wang Yuanlu during the selection of the items from the Cave 17. Wang, who directly chose from the small repository what to hand over to Stein for inspection, was very keen to divert his attention from the so-called ‘regular’ bundles, which were composed for the most part of Buddhist sutras in Chinese and Tibetan. During their first ever transaction, which took place between 21 May and 6 June 1907, Wang Yuanlu therefore began by handing over the ‘miscellaneous’ bundles, which he seemed to hold in low estimation.</p>
<p>To Stein’s delight, these contained mixed and diverse materials, such as manuscripts in non-Chinese languages, illustrated scrolls, paintings, drawings, ex-votos, textiles, etc. Stein picked out any of the items that jumped at him as being particularly interesting and made sure to put them aside for ‘further examination’, the phrase that he used to refer to their removal in his transaction with Wang.</p>
<p>This blog post focuses on several of the artworks and manuscripts extracted from the ‘miscellaneous’ bundles that made their way into the Stein collection(s). Identifying items in current collections as having come from these requires a bit of detective work, based mostly on the descriptive information provided in Stein’s expedition report, Serindia, as well as the number (so-called Stein number) that he attributed to each of these items and any of the photographic evidence available.</p><p><br /></p>
<div class="header">
<h2>Paintings and other “art relics”</h2>
</div>
<p>The miscellaneous bundles were filled with pictorial works, including silk paintings with triangular tops and streamers, which Stein recognised as “once having been intended for temple banners” (Stein, 1921: 811). He usually found them tightly rolled up.</p>
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<small><div style="text-align: center;">Plate LXXVII, <i>Serindia</i>, Vol. 4</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></small>
<div>The first two silk paintings represented in this black and white photograph are now at the British Museum. One banner represents a Bodhisattva shown from the back, with the face in side-view, holding a glass beaker. It is dated to the 9th century and measures 172.50 cm long by 26.60 cm wide. It is one of the best-preserved banner paintings from Cave 17, having survived almost complete, with headpieces, side and tail streamers and weighting boards. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhViPWfqaP4zg3fLvttYCe6zMb6CTTAtF9NwglAAfpm4VfCMzkt18LGYWmMhDiqOirJ9LfiSh5qCQBcFQq5YcDaBb83XPkuxj0U8ZFQZvWd9sgPP2Sb5IPjGWG-GGxPJwAcle3og_Ou9ye2VaiE9qiIUX72eAQwsHZG3a_NPq5xVDKTG81KKvrSEm_bP2MF/s6868/1919,0101,0.120.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6868" data-original-width="1475" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhViPWfqaP4zg3fLvttYCe6zMb6CTTAtF9NwglAAfpm4VfCMzkt18LGYWmMhDiqOirJ9LfiSh5qCQBcFQq5YcDaBb83XPkuxj0U8ZFQZvWd9sgPP2Sb5IPjGWG-GGxPJwAcle3og_Ou9ye2VaiE9qiIUX72eAQwsHZG3a_NPq5xVDKTG81KKvrSEm_bP2MF/w138-h640/1919,0101,0.120.jpg" width="138" /></a></div>
<small><div style="text-align: center;"> Banner painting, <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=1919,0101,0.120" target="_blank">1919,0101,0.120</a> (Ch.0025), (c) The British Museum.</div></small>
<p>The other banner, <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=1919,0101,0.100" target="_blank">1919,0101,0.100</a> (Ch.xxvii.001), depicts three scenes from the Life of the Buddha, in a landscape setting: the Five Companions in a thunderstorm; Śākyamuni, emaciated and in meditation inside a rocky cave; and Śākyamuni emerging from the Nairanjana River with the aid of a spirit. It measures 69 cm x 19.30 cm.</p>
<p>The ‘miscellaneous’ bundles revealed some large silk paintings too, which Stein did not unfold at the time to avoid damaging them. In his own words, “some were found in a state of mere crumpled-up packets of smoke-begrimed silk” (Stein, 1921: 811). One such painting, reproduced in <i>Serindia</i>'s plate LIX, depicts the Paradise of Bhaisajyaguru. It measures 152.3 cm high by 177.8 cm wide. In the centre of the composition, which is set in a landscape, the Medicine Buddha is flanked by the bodhisattvas Mañjuśrī, Samantabhadra and several attendants. Thanks to its inscriptions in Chinese and Tibetan, the painting has been dated to 836, although it was possibly produced later (Galambos, 2020: 183).</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkZ6n2mrb_AZzIC0TF_A01A0hADH9YJ8c0gC2uqfXj2yO8BV0e0dm2rjVoBCPIkTeYppxD9_mpQSOFpl4hompmEF2z1nYXgJ1UzCOPsKRtBg9_yrMnBdOT-Rg5tn0QMTLEURdgg9nB8HCb7wiTWjYR567eoIvm3qdrVfaIQdZ59JVL1ax16ywBwMb47dpn/s3072/1919,0101,0.32.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2652" data-original-width="3072" height="552" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkZ6n2mrb_AZzIC0TF_A01A0hADH9YJ8c0gC2uqfXj2yO8BV0e0dm2rjVoBCPIkTeYppxD9_mpQSOFpl4hompmEF2z1nYXgJ1UzCOPsKRtBg9_yrMnBdOT-Rg5tn0QMTLEURdgg9nB8HCb7wiTWjYR567eoIvm3qdrVfaIQdZ59JVL1ax16ywBwMb47dpn/w640-h552/1919,0101,0.32.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<small><div style="text-align: center;">Painting of the the Paradise of Bhaisajyaguru, <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=1919,0101,0.32" target="_blank">1919,0101,0.32</a>(Ch.xxxvii.004), (c) The British Museum.</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div></small>
<p>Finally, underneath the neat or ordered ‘regular’ bundles containing Buddhist sutras, were more ‘miscellaneous’ bundles that Wang used to level the ground and serve as a foundation basis for the piles of ‘regular’ bundles. They contained many more paintings and textiles, including a splendid embroidery representing Buddha with two disciples (Stein, 1921: 823–824).</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn2AP3IlCGUOSiqQCEb8nlOM6DltT-w5y6QxMarHbMfWEVnkZ3DnvKskx3rojhSGUIWctkUv60Tat6KKxIwRFRZg4IyI_XhaUwqcne2UIaWyrZUwMxFXMqGR1BxrJcnfIUB-stG0OWcG5AXOjT_7Rj9t-kGdjX07NyhNMx7P_EBIeerShz_8tyAb-HWXhW/s1000/MAS,0.1129.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="708" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn2AP3IlCGUOSiqQCEb8nlOM6DltT-w5y6QxMarHbMfWEVnkZ3DnvKskx3rojhSGUIWctkUv60Tat6KKxIwRFRZg4IyI_XhaUwqcne2UIaWyrZUwMxFXMqGR1BxrJcnfIUB-stG0OWcG5AXOjT_7Rj9t-kGdjX07NyhNMx7P_EBIeerShz_8tyAb-HWXhW/w454-h640/MAS,0.1129.jpg" width="454" /></a></div>
<small><div style="text-align: center;">Śākyamuni preaching on the Vulture Peak, <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=MAS,0.1129" target="_blank">MAS,0.1129</a> (Ch.00260), (c) The British Museum.</div></small>
<p>Stein explained in his report that he put away the “best pictures on silk, linen, and paper I could lay my hands on” but was not faced with any opposition from Wang Yuanlu. To him, this seemed to confirm that Wang did not care too much about this type of object (Stein, 1921: 812).</p>
<br /><div class="header">
<h2>Manuscripts in Chinese and Tibetan</h2>
</div>
<p>As highlighted in Stein’s report, “The ‘miscellaneous’ bundles had proven from the first to contain hundreds of leaves from Tibetan Pothis. The packets of leaves were usually mixed up in great confusion” (Stein, 1921: 816). Nonetheless, several of the Tibetan texts that emerged from these were also written in a scroll form and made of coarse paper and appear to have been copies of the Aparimitayus Sutra, such as the manuscripts numbered ‘Ch.05’ in Plate CLXXIII. </p>
<p>In addition to those, there was an abundance of monastic records in Chinese:</p>
<p></p><blockquote>“Mixed up with these disarranged leaves, Chinese and Tibetan rolls, and portions of large Tibetan pothis, there were convolutes of miscellaneous Chinese papers, written on detached sheets” (Stein, 1921: 811).</blockquote><p></p>
<p>Several of these Chinese papers were actually monastic documents, letters and accounts that the British-Hungarian explorer learned to unpick from the Chinese Buddhist texts in which they were embedded (Stein, 1921: 819). Plate CLXVIII in <i>Serindia</i> shows a selection of such manuscripts, including the testament of a nun, dated to 15 November 865 and signed by several witnesses (Giles, 1935: 1029).</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm7nvwXFxPU-z1G9C3QIwjATwgf-tvoFyaBbN2NqtppbPyjYtYauksZV5ZpX9T8JFcaPu8w2plGQEXH3srTL9wJ0xzZ1GDQcCt0Eu0B17Pwij8-HZQ6LdEpO59102A_YWkPLhTEQvuqTEhBgiFQFbLDW2EZbfyJU7JomQ5dmTXNi6bgvOGThrirv9N6mQ6/s405/S.2199.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="405" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm7nvwXFxPU-z1G9C3QIwjATwgf-tvoFyaBbN2NqtppbPyjYtYauksZV5ZpX9T8JFcaPu8w2plGQEXH3srTL9wJ0xzZ1GDQcCt0Eu0B17Pwij8-HZQ6LdEpO59102A_YWkPLhTEQvuqTEhBgiFQFbLDW2EZbfyJU7JomQ5dmTXNi6bgvOGThrirv9N6mQ6/w400-h309/S.2199.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<small><div style="text-align: center;">Last will of the nun Linghui, <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=Or.8210/S.2199" target="_blank">Or.8210/S.2199</a>, (c) The British Library.</div></small>
<p>The copy of the Sutra of the Ten Kings, which is now in the British Museum, is one of the illustrated scrolls that was removed from these bundles by Stein and taken to Great Britain (Stein, 1921: 822). In this fragmentary apocryphal sutra, five kings of the underworld are represented, each seated behind a table, attended by the recorders of a person's good and evil deeds and by individuals driving the souls before the court.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBjM8zfd7O2x6_5UxyVBxoKTKeafxEp3_zoFQ4FDGa3yvEtd0l4NNYyqxDLVOYAvsPRAAyycR4JKs1WZ-SD6MrUPSQ0ofW7Lbd8g8WJpzfsrRWAAQwOaYFLQZhz1fkmQAJhSmYS-oEwVqsGBeoYCzyUTOVvYcnFuFrmgjLZaTl9C4-bNeFaii1qDbr1RJH/s3187/1919,0101,0.80.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1441" data-original-width="3187" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBjM8zfd7O2x6_5UxyVBxoKTKeafxEp3_zoFQ4FDGa3yvEtd0l4NNYyqxDLVOYAvsPRAAyycR4JKs1WZ-SD6MrUPSQ0ofW7Lbd8g8WJpzfsrRWAAQwOaYFLQZhz1fkmQAJhSmYS-oEwVqsGBeoYCzyUTOVvYcnFuFrmgjLZaTl9C4-bNeFaii1qDbr1RJH/w640-h290/1919,0101,0.80.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<small><div style="text-align: center;">The bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha, dressed as a monk, appears at the end of this scroll of the Sutra of the Ten Kings, rescuing souls from hell, <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=1919,0101,0.80" target="_blank">1919,0101,0.80</a> (Ch.cii.001), (c) The British Museum.</div></small>
<p>Many woodblock prints, whose artistic value and interest could be recognized by Stein even “without any expert knowledge” were also hidden in the ‘miscellaneous’ bundles. One of the most significant pieces is no other than the printed copy of the Diamond Sutra dated to 868, which he presented as “an excellently preserved roll, with a well-designed block-printed frontispiece” (Stein, 1921: 822). This manuscript, <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=Or.8210/P.2" target="_blank">Or.8210/P.2 </a>(Ch.ciii.014), is the earliest known, complete printed book with a date on it. As indicated by the colophon, it was commissioned by a certain Wang Jie, who had it made for universal distribution on behalf of his two parents.</p><p><br /></p>
<div class="header">
<h2>Manuscripts in Sanskrit, Khotanese and Uyghur</h2>
</div>
<p>Although manuscripts in Chinese and Tibetan languages were predominantly represented among the items deposited in Cave 17, the ‘miscellaneous’ bundles revealed a wealth of documents in Sanskrit and other Central Asian languages and scripts, reflecting Dunhuang’s connections to the wider world. These finds, which were also in a variety of formats, contributed to Stein’s portrayal of Cave 17 as a “polyglot library” (1921: 813).</p>
<p>For instance, it was from the mixed bundles that he recovered an incomplete manuscript in Sanskrit inscribed on palm leaves, <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=IOL San 1492" target="_blank">IOL San 1492</a> (Ch.0079.a). This is a copy of the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra in 100,000 Sections of which only 69 folios have survived. It is believed to have been originally written in northern India before being transported to Dunhuang. The mixed bundles also contained pothis, such as the Jivapustaka dated to the tenth century. This bilingual medical text in Sanskrit and Khotanese languages consists of 71 folios and belongs to the Ayurvedic tradition. Currently at the British Library, it is catalogued under the shelfmarks IOL Khot 87/1 to IOL Khot 110/2 (Ch.ii.003).</p>
<p>Stein extracted several scrolls bearing texts in Brahmi script (Stein, 1921: 814). One such example is <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=IOL Khot S 46" target="_blank">IOL Khot S 46</a> (Ch.c.001), a spectacular vertical scroll with a painted silk cover decorated with confronted geese. It is almost 22-metre long and was found in an excellent state of conservation, leading Stein to describe it as “outwardly the most striking among the non-Chinese manuscript finds” (Stein, 1921: 815). The scroll was copied in the mid-10th century for a Buddhist patron, who requested long life for himself and his family in return. It contains six different texts: the first two are incantations (dhāraṇī) in Sanskrit; the following four are a mixture of sutras and confession texts (deśanā) in Khotanese. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAKZ-BTFDdoC63ODXSg_MokYAM32tA_axEFVz_O923qd6rdsVXFQof4GX6BPY5XAM4ZXPuWMNM70F1T5bYGJgeq4Xvrde6E1KeMxGyCakJBw39PMimH97HJQJxfazDVL-ih7cKp_FEikR8fOhn7ipkZOPHkFFKnNjWjF3QRNX-RKurcy9YFpMhBdECtVmc/s1500/Photo%20392_27%28567%29.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="600" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1014" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAKZ-BTFDdoC63ODXSg_MokYAM32tA_axEFVz_O923qd6rdsVXFQof4GX6BPY5XAM4ZXPuWMNM70F1T5bYGJgeq4Xvrde6E1KeMxGyCakJBw39PMimH97HJQJxfazDVL-ih7cKp_FEikR8fOhn7ipkZOPHkFFKnNjWjF3QRNX-RKurcy9YFpMhBdECtVmc/s600/Photo%20392_27%28567%29.jpg"/></a></div>
<small><div style="text-align: center;">Photographs respectively showing the scroll partially opened and the silk painting on top of outer side, <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=Photo 392/27(567)" target="_blank">Photo 392/27(367)</a>, (c) The British Library.</div></small>
<p>Finally, there were also remains of Uyghur manuscripts in the ‘miscellaneous’ bundles: “apart for the texts written on the reverse of Chinese rolls, they comprised documents on loose leaves and a few texts written in the form of booklets” (Stein, 1921: 818). In his expedition report, Stein recalled that on 25 May 1907, “there emerged on the third day of my search a remarkable manuscript, exhibiting a third variety of the Syriac script transplanted to Central Asia […]” (Stein, 1921: 819). It contained the beautifully written and almost complete text of the <i>Xuastwanift</i>, a confessional prayer book of Manichaean Uyghurs.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicmF8MFPNCockKytZsXD6d-IoVGbFmayuTwlTXTC4ouCWrhviEjY7x4HUFZ0Wd2ZNlziIasB6vo8XEzZHZpKYVfLbybqlM21vNod8zm4QRhnO5u1PDtHiIRJE0SvRpca3tLj-CfOxqeCn3C30UwsmwxpKE8xL5HFetkAo1W7JcOHUeU4AK3doN3MfHEuEl/s1875/Or.8212.178.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1405" data-original-width="1875" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicmF8MFPNCockKytZsXD6d-IoVGbFmayuTwlTXTC4ouCWrhviEjY7x4HUFZ0Wd2ZNlziIasB6vo8XEzZHZpKYVfLbybqlM21vNod8zm4QRhnO5u1PDtHiIRJE0SvRpca3tLj-CfOxqeCn3C30UwsmwxpKE8xL5HFetkAo1W7JcOHUeU4AK3doN3MfHEuEl/w640-h480/Or.8212.178.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<small><div style="text-align: center;">Detail of the scroll with illustration, <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=Or.8212/178">Or.8212/178</a> (Ch.0015), (c) The British Library.</div></small><br />
<div class="header">
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
</div>
<p>While Wang Yuanlu may not genuinely have considered the ‘miscellaneous’ bundles to be “rubbish” as stated by Stein (1912: 178–9), he did not appear to be too conflicted about parting with them and certainly appeared to find them less important than the Buddhist manuscripts contained in the ‘regular’ bundles. The irony is that these very ‘miscellaneous’ bundles contained paintings and manuscripts, which Stein recognized as particularly significant and which have gained the most attention from scholars and the general public. Several of these have led to new scholarship in a wide range of fields such as Buddhism, Silk Road studies, linguistics, manuscript studies and history of art to name a few. They highlight the diversity of Cave 17’s contents and the meeting of cultures that happened in the region around Dunhuang and the Mogao Caves, which were strategically located at the crossroads between the Northern and Southern Silk Roads.</p><p><br /></p>
<p></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Further reading:</h2><p></p>
<p>Galambos, I. Dunhuang Manuscript Culture: End of the First millennium, Boston; Leiden: Brill, 2020.</p>
<p>Giles, L. “Dated Chinese Manuscripts in the Stein Colophon”, Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, University of London, Volume 7, No. 4 (1935), 809-836.</p>
<p>Stein, M. A. Ruins of Desert Cathay: Personal narrative of Explorations in Central Asia and Westernmost China, London: Macmillan, 1912.</p>
<p>Stein, M. A. Serindia: detailed report of explorations in Central Asia and westernmost China, etc., Volumes 2 and 4, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1921.</p>
<p>Terzi, P. and Whitfield, S. “Reconstructing a Medieval Library? The Contents of the Manuscript Bundles in the Dunhuang Library Cave”, in Silk Roads Archaeology and Heritage, 2023 (forthcoming).</p>
<p>Whitfield, R. The art of Central Asia: the Stein collection in the British Museum, 3 volumes, Tokyo: Kodansha International in co-operation with the Trustees of the British Museum, 1982.</p><p><br /></p>
<p></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Historical photographs of materials from Cave 17 in the British Library’s collections:</h2><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Photo 392/27(493) to Photo 392/27(496)</li><li>Photo 392/27(509) to Photo 392/27(510)</li><li>Photo 392/27(580) to Photo 392/27(602) and Photo 392/27(604)</li></ul><p></p></div><p><br /></p>
<div class="header">
<h2>Acknowledgments</h2>
</div>
<p>The research underpinning this post was funded by the Coleridge Fellowship.</p>Mélodie Doumyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683938866329949380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-779666019747639749.post-47341099899103073442023-06-22T10:00:00.007+01:002023-07-11T21:04:36.209+01:00Shaping the Stein collection’s Dunhuang corpus (1): Wang Yuanlu: the first ‘curator’<p>The history of the Dunhuang collection items that now form part of the Stein collection at the British Library is inseparable from the extraordinary story of Cave 17’s discovery, which is, in turn, closely linked to the monk named Wang Yuanlu. This blog post focusses on Wang, the man who discovered the small walled-up cave. It is the first of three articles exploring the way in which the Stein Collection’s Dunhuang corpus was shaped.</p>
<p></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Wang, keeper of the Mogao Caves and guardian of Cave 17</h2><p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGwN0WCoDzOZmknYkvFN2PZnszSp55VEM_NYU_22eGcyR81fLAvXEq0KE6_XPSSeAXf5R19fWS1KLMJXNTTnDzhSw8IhMcDRPxh8mYV52cjSRt2ERuwaJOLNI5KFr0baS8YbguN1UnQ87MGmv1PTjknFDnUrOGlKBO-Ny2Oz1khXlRdYORVxs9H8AkUg/s2492/Photo%20392_26%28327%29%20Tao%20shi%20before%20Hoshang%27s%20house..jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="2492" data-original-width="1820" height="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGwN0WCoDzOZmknYkvFN2PZnszSp55VEM_NYU_22eGcyR81fLAvXEq0KE6_XPSSeAXf5R19fWS1KLMJXNTTnDzhSw8IhMcDRPxh8mYV52cjSRt2ERuwaJOLNI5KFr0baS8YbguN1UnQ87MGmv1PTjknFDnUrOGlKBO-Ny2Oz1khXlRdYORVxs9H8AkUg/s600/Photo%20392_26%28327%29%20Tao%20shi%20before%20Hoshang%27s%20house..jpg" /></a></div>
<small><div style="text-align: center;">Photograph of Wang Yuanlu taken by Stein (c) Photo 392/26(327)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></small>
<p>Originally from Hubei, Wang Yuanlu 王圓籙 (1850–1931) moved to the Mogao Caves, in Gansu province, around 1899 (Wang, 2007: 3–6). This Buddhist site, once an important centre on the Eastern Silk Roads, had remained a place of worship but had fallen into relative disuse. Soon after he arrived, Wang started to raise funds for the restoration and upkeep of the caves. In June 1900, as he was clearing the sand from the corridor of a large cave-temple, Wang Yuanlu stumbled upon the concealed entrance to a small room.</p>
<p>The room, now known as Cave 17 or the ‘Library Cave’, contained tens of thousands of manuscripts, printed documents, paintings and textiles. These materials, which date roughly from the 4th to the 11th centuries, have since revolutionised our understanding of China and Central Asia. Probably sealed up at the beginning of the 11th century, they had remained hidden for nearly one millennium and constitute a rare time capsule.</p>
<p>Wang alerted the authorities but no measures were taken until 1904, when orders came from the provincial government in Lanzhou to ensure that Cave 17’s contents were back in situ and safely guarded. This task was delegated to Wang Yuanlu, who put a locked door on the entrance of Cave 17 and kept the key. He thus became the keeper of the newly found hoard, which nobody could access in his absence (Stein, 1912: 29; Pelliot, 1908: 505).</p>
<p>From 1900 onwards, Wang Yuanlu gave several items from Cave 17 to local officials. He chose well-preserved manuscripts, which were made of fine paper and had beautiful calligraphy, as well as several remarkable silk paintings (Rong, 2013: 90–1). This shows that he was able to select the most visually striking specimens, and also that he was probably aware of the value of the items that had been deposited in the cave. In addition, we know that Wang Yuanlu emptied the room and later placed all the bundles back in (Stein, 1921: 808–9), meaning that he is the only person to ever have an overview of the Cave 17’s contents as a whole.</p>
<p>Although he was a relatively newcomer, Wang became rapidly embedded in the local Buddhist community. When the explorer Marc Aurel Stein first visited the site in March 1907, Wang Yuanlu was absent and had locked Cave 17. However, a young monk showed Stein one of the Chinese scrolls from the cave. The “beautifully preserved” manuscript had been lent to his spiritual master, a Tibetan lama, in order to give “additional lustre” to his small private chapel (Stein, 1921: 801–2). This proves that Wang agreed to let the resident monks use items from Cave 17 for their ritual practices. Stein later observed that local Buddhist monks shared the guardianship of the Mogao Caves and lived in harmony with Wang Yuanlu (Stein, 1912: 29).</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia32PJyZSBVurAu5OPFmLgoRgvzCt-KSO4O5tM_2aXdd7HZG703-IavXDxkIylTUXUDo_W9H7IpujiAdbucYkX4QkG2Ixjp8O-Q4cyqa7TyW4zzakuT7oCaJsg8h4drh7ydPzfZGap3aN130BMSaSbFwHzKQ7B4IbWC_QKB0YfyV3VQphGHyn2MHQA5w/s2700/Photo%20392_26%28326%29%20Tibetan%20monk%20in%20loggia%20of%20Wang%20Tao-shih%27s%20temple.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="2700" data-original-width="1995" height="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia32PJyZSBVurAu5OPFmLgoRgvzCt-KSO4O5tM_2aXdd7HZG703-IavXDxkIylTUXUDo_W9H7IpujiAdbucYkX4QkG2Ixjp8O-Q4cyqa7TyW4zzakuT7oCaJsg8h4drh7ydPzfZGap3aN130BMSaSbFwHzKQ7B4IbWC_QKB0YfyV3VQphGHyn2MHQA5w/s600/Photo%20392_26%28326%29%20Tibetan%20monk%20in%20loggia%20of%20Wang%20Tao-shih%27s%20temple.jpg" /></a></div>
<small><div style="text-align: center;">Photograph of a Tibetan monk at the Mogao Caves (c) Photo 392/26(327)</div></small>
<p>Hundreds of manuscripts and paintings were possibly dispersed between the discovery of Cave 17 and 1907 (Rong, 2013: 84–102). Yet, it is Wang’s transaction with Stein in 1907 that marked the scattering of the newly found hoard on a large-scale. We will now see that it was Wang Yuanlu, rather than Stein, that set the terms of their exchange.</p><p><br /></p>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">Wang and Stein</h2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-zh3a8l_9cI1cQXhIZb5wxFeshT3GDP2b6icEKlOCLNV7fjZIklQqpNp9j43u5m-SECqaoMsKAry3Ja_2-90EfOx-yy4Sezaewn0OX5kkTfm-6AaS62yt9jWnRSDbPh5GS5uK6rYglJVSgxHiWSZIuLT6KzfnUcXbCnbaNhadm1fCQmsdqL9QSvLnGKTV/s3677/Photo%20392_26%28323%29%20Caves%20near%20the%20centre%20of%20Qianfodong%2017%20May%201907.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="2700" data-original-width="3677" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-zh3a8l_9cI1cQXhIZb5wxFeshT3GDP2b6icEKlOCLNV7fjZIklQqpNp9j43u5m-SECqaoMsKAry3Ja_2-90EfOx-yy4Sezaewn0OX5kkTfm-6AaS62yt9jWnRSDbPh5GS5uK6rYglJVSgxHiWSZIuLT6KzfnUcXbCnbaNhadm1fCQmsdqL9QSvLnGKTV/s600/Photo%20392_26%28323%29%20Caves%20near%20the%20centre%20of%20Qianfodong%2017%20May%201907.jpg"/></a></div>
<small><div style="text-align: center;">Photograph of the caves near the centre of the Mogao caves site, 17 May 1907 (c) Photo 392/26(323)</div></small>
<p>Marc Aurel Stein came back to the Mogao Caves in May 1907. This time, he got to meet Wang, who only allowed him to quickly look inside Cave 17. From his rapid examination, Stein reported that there were two categories of bundles: the ‘miscellaneous’ bundles, filled with manuscripts in various languages and formats, paintings and ex-votos; and the ‘regular’ bundles, which he assumed mostly contained Chinese and Tibetan Buddhist manuscripts (1921: 814).</p>
<p>The ‘regular’ bundles were sandwiched between two layers of ‘miscellaneous’ bundles. One layer was placed on top of the ‘regular’ bundles; another layer at the bottom was used to provide a stable basis for the piles of ‘regular’ bundles (Stein, 1912: 178–9). Wang Yuanlu had seemingly re-organised the bundles following an arrangement that he thought to be more appropriate and that possibly reflected his own appraisal of these materials. Indeed, it is quite telling that he started by presenting Stein with several of the ‘miscellaneous’ bundles. Stein remarked that Wang appeared to value these a lot less than the ‘regular’ monastic bundles (Stein, 1912: 178–9).</p>
<p>At no point during the process did Wang let Stein choose materials directly from the cave. He insisted on handing over each of the bundles that he retrieved himself from inside Cave 17. He was therefore able to guide the selection, by having already performed a form of sifting. The explorer spent several days looking through ‘miscellaneous’ bundles in order to extract any of the items that he found interesting (we will explore the content of these bundles in a separate blog post).</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHzemyrt74jXeSNYOQVi72JLAxidzH8ODEnZA2yAanoqEZ5ppR6eQx-NKn_JpwYZByukVD85YVhvZ9abnkDDPreeklan3CrucAW7tqJGnEPi6RwJrJiv3A0YgRF7eOgLKBltv-ZnZW6tH_z6j6JvBUf6wEm1nnJXm7YUTSXcVfTXHryko9y3wkR1SLxyJt/s852/Composite%20image.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="852" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHzemyrt74jXeSNYOQVi72JLAxidzH8ODEnZA2yAanoqEZ5ppR6eQx-NKn_JpwYZByukVD85YVhvZ9abnkDDPreeklan3CrucAW7tqJGnEPi6RwJrJiv3A0YgRF7eOgLKBltv-ZnZW6tH_z6j6JvBUf6wEm1nnJXm7YUTSXcVfTXHryko9y3wkR1SLxyJt/s600/Composite%20image.png"/></a></div>
<small><div style="text-align: center;"> Composite image showing Cave 16 with the entrance to Cave 17 on the left and bundles of manuscripts. (C) <i>Serindia</i>, Fig 200.(c) </div></small>
<p>When Stein turned his attention to the ‘regular’ bundles, however, he was faced with a huge amount of resistance from Wang Yuanlu (Stein, 1921: 822). Wang explicitly stated that it would be impossible for Stein to purchase any of the ‘regular’ bundles. He explained that any deficiency in the piles of ‘library bundles’ would be noticed by his lay patrons and “lead to the loss of the position which he had built up for himself in the district by the pious labours of eight years and to the destruction of his life's task” (Stein, 1921: 824).</p>
<p>Wang insisted that he needed to consult his patrons before making any further decision and set off to Dunhuang to beg for alms, having previously conceded to sale of around 50 ‘regular’ bundles plus all the content from the ‘miscellaneous’ bundles. We do not know what happened while Wang Yuanlu was away, but upon his return a week later he sold another 20 ‘regular’ bundles to Stein. It is likely that he may have sought the opinion of his patrons about selling the regular bundles.</p><p><br /></p>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">Conclusion</h2>
<p>Wang Yuanlu, who took upon himself to act as the guardian of the Mogao Caves when he settled at the site, could also be considered the first ‘curator’ or ‘keeper’ of Cave 17’s contents. For his subsequent actions, which resulted in the scattering of the manuscripts, paintings and other items deposited in the small room, he has been described either as a naïve fool or as a thief. Through Stein’s narrative, we can see that Wang was neither.</p>
<p>Wang Yuanlu truly set the conditions for their exchange and planned what bundles to deliver, focusing initially on the items he held in the lowest estimation. When he eventually decided to part with the ‘regular’ bundles that he valued the most, he seems to have done so in consultation with his patrons. This highlights Wang Yuanlu’s agency and demonstrates that he was instrumental in shaping the now so-called Stein collection.</p>
<p>When Wang Yuanlu died in 1931, his disciples asked permission from local authorities to erect a stupa opposite the caves, demonstrating that they held him in high esteem. Wang's dealings with Stein and other explorers had not tarnished his reputation among them.</p><p><br /></p>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">Further reading:</h2>
<p>Pelliot, P. “Une bibliothèque médiévale retrouvée au Kan-sou”, <i>Bulletin de l’École Française d’Extrême Orient 8 </i>(1908): 505-509.</p>
<p>Rong, X. <i>Eighteen Lectures on Dunhuang</i>, translated by Imre Galambos, Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2013.</p>
<p>Stein, M.A. <i>Ruins of Desert Cathay: Personal narrative of Explorations in Central Asia and Westernmost China</i>, London: Macmillan, 1912.</p>
<p>Stein, M.A. <i>Serindia: detailed report of explorations in Central Asia and westernmost China, etc.</i>, Volumes 2 and 4, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1921.</p>
<p>Wang, J 王冀青. <i>Guo bao liu san: Zang jing dong de gu shi</i> 國寶流散:藏經洞的故事, Lanzhou: Gansu jiaoyu chubanshe, 2007.</p><p><br /></p>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">Acknowledgements</h2>
<p>The research underpinning this post was funded by the Coleridge Fellowship.</p>Mélodie Doumyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683938866329949380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-779666019747639749.post-67161892715737964012023-05-12T11:14:00.002+01:002023-05-12T11:18:22.395+01:00The Lotus Sutra Project: Conserving and Digitising 800 Manuscripts in the British Library<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
International Dunhuang Project (IDP) is pleased to announce that after 5 years,
the <a href="https://www.bl.uk/projects/lotus-sutra-manuscripts-digitisation">Lotus Sutra
Manuscripts Conservation and Digitisation Project</a> successfully
concluded in December 2022. Generously sponsored by the Bei Shan Tang
Foundation, the Project aimed to publish online 793 manuscript copies of the Lotus
Sutra from Dunhuang currently in the Stein collection at the British Library. This
has resulted in over 374,000 cm of conserved material and nearly 17,000 new
images for the <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/">IDP website</a>.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoO-H3_WoBtaZCjNUCFLAdvW4XMoGgT0TVLXmv8l5QOaLQUJiCnSspdVBHyDz3PRpvPE73anvQpXfuMvq0guSaZdXdHAfSH7VKSx8metxTrElTb3oddW8-YGhB1M-JomDTn1nU7bn1i42e_tpmt0Bw8VXqcOzz5aiV3h4ibCmuq91XZZqa2AcLJGj05A/s1394/6791.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1199" data-original-width="1394" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoO-H3_WoBtaZCjNUCFLAdvW4XMoGgT0TVLXmv8l5QOaLQUJiCnSspdVBHyDz3PRpvPE73anvQpXfuMvq0guSaZdXdHAfSH7VKSx8metxTrElTb3oddW8-YGhB1M-JomDTn1nU7bn1i42e_tpmt0Bw8VXqcOzz5aiV3h4ibCmuq91XZZqa2AcLJGj05A/s320/6791.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><p></p><p align="center" style="background: white; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Image
of </span><a href="http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=Or.8210/S.6791"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Or.8210/S.6791</span></a><span style="font-size: 9pt;">,</span><span style="font-size: 9pt;"> conserved and digitised by the Lotus
Sutra Manuscripts Conservation and Digitisation Project.</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><p style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
Lotus Sutra is one of the most influential scriptures in Mahayana Buddhism, and
is thought to contain the Buddha’s final teaching, complete and sufficient for
salvation. <a href="https://www.bl.uk/collection-guides/stein-collection">The Stein collection</a> contains over 1000
copies of the Lotus Sutra in Chinese, which were acquired by Sir Marc Aurel
Stein in 1907 and 1914, when he visited the so-called ‘Library Cave’ (Cave 17)
at the Mogao Caves near Dunhuang, in the present-day Gansu Province in China.<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style="background: white;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIyV86nT_BPb6nqHx4B4EX0D1h8ycVdG0rTGL4IbqH4JkwPrgpZb0F8JYjkseSAXeIU2p1wSoEDB3xRReeahekkS2zH9Ml2-S2eqJSInXjPHPH1ayq0OW0q3LEeBRKd_FXxsBltzau0xLx_DybUkErvjuVLsQ5HiHV7n9SqJKiS4JAjF7nkw-XCozt1w/s5184/IMG_6018%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIyV86nT_BPb6nqHx4B4EX0D1h8ycVdG0rTGL4IbqH4JkwPrgpZb0F8JYjkseSAXeIU2p1wSoEDB3xRReeahekkS2zH9Ml2-S2eqJSInXjPHPH1ayq0OW0q3LEeBRKd_FXxsBltzau0xLx_DybUkErvjuVLsQ5HiHV7n9SqJKiS4JAjF7nkw-XCozt1w/s320/IMG_6018%20(1).jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCcz0IRkUMAqyP3kZRF7E0rlIOc1QGpOEtyiZubegrPwd1obctFFaJd_nerqZ6FDA_-bxsJTuHhaQeGeE5n5tWXNTARdx0rJUGx8_86aG2UArPuV98wULAIg_uvP4zKAWHsqHoE2DmlDYv3KoV0VSsGzh-UeQUa-EA6kOYs4iYf7V4RNJPWtXJWNyN4Q/s5184/IMG_9505.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCcz0IRkUMAqyP3kZRF7E0rlIOc1QGpOEtyiZubegrPwd1obctFFaJd_nerqZ6FDA_-bxsJTuHhaQeGeE5n5tWXNTARdx0rJUGx8_86aG2UArPuV98wULAIg_uvP4zKAWHsqHoE2DmlDYv3KoV0VSsGzh-UeQUa-EA6kOYs4iYf7V4RNJPWtXJWNyN4Q/s320/IMG_9505.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><p></p><p align="center" style="background: white; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;"><span><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Before and after conservation photos of Lotus Sutra Scroll Or.8210/S.3796, one of 793 manuscripts conserved through the Lotus Sutra Manuscripts Digitisation Project.</span></span></span></p><p style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Only
a small portion of these had been previously digitised, and the Lotus Sutra
Manuscripts Conservation and Digitisation Project was organised to make images of the remaining
manuscripts available online. Thanks to the sustained efforts of the Project
team since 2017, 790 scrolls and 3 booklets have been stabilised and conserved
to enable digitisation, and photographed to produce high-resolution images that
are now freely available to the public on the <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/">IDP website</a>. </span></p><p style="background: white;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuw5WTr-eL84Q8Am9l_TBPdq9cCYbAKnyAOA9qkwSGrKsHW_tgvtEJU5PmugfGXNLFNEV_Bu0xCYvwMbq2pZmt_59E77EgJlba7K13oihAfGJs-e46DEQimZJz0veMY-ZyxE4LVbXx-hJBc9vEtSKxp5lhzYfoVXMlcLfvZN_rwQ5eG_MiypMD_izHPw/s1751/02_promo_S155.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="778" data-original-width="1751" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuw5WTr-eL84Q8Am9l_TBPdq9cCYbAKnyAOA9qkwSGrKsHW_tgvtEJU5PmugfGXNLFNEV_Bu0xCYvwMbq2pZmt_59E77EgJlba7K13oihAfGJs-e46DEQimZJz0veMY-ZyxE4LVbXx-hJBc9vEtSKxp5lhzYfoVXMlcLfvZN_rwQ5eG_MiypMD_izHPw/w504-h223/02_promo_S155.jpg" width="504" /></span></a></div><p></p><p align="center" style="background: white; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Image
of </span><a href="http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=Or.8210/S.6791"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Or.8210/S.6791</span></a><span style="font-size: 9pt;">,</span>
<span style="font-size: 9pt;">conserved and digitised by the Lotus
Sutra Manuscripts Conservation and Digitisation Project.</span></span></p><p style="background: white;"></p><p style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Through
the thousands of new images online, the Project has significantly increased global
access to these important materials. <span style="color: #2c2c2e;">In an effort to document the methodology
of the Project, team members have published several articles, such as Digitisation
Officer Francisco Perez-Garcia’s </span><a href="https://blogs.bl.uk/digital-scholarship/2022/03/the-lotus-sutra-manuscripts.html"><i>T</i><i>he Lotus Sutra
Manuscripts Digitisation Project: the collaborative work between the Heritage
Made Digital team and the International Dunhuang Project team</i></a><span style="color: #2c2c2e;"> </span><span style="color: #2c2c2e;">(published
in the </span>Library's
Digital Scholarship blog<span style="color: #2c2c2e;">, 14 March 2022). </span>More about the
digitisation efforts of the project can be found in the article <a href="https://blogs.bl.uk/asian-and-african/2021/08/how-to-digitise-scrolls.html"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">How to Digitise Scrolls: A Step-by-Step Guide from the
Lotus Sutra Project</i></a> by <span style="color: #2c2c2e;">Senior
Imaging Technician Jon Nicholls (published in the Library’s Asia and Africa
blog, 2 August 2021).<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p style="background: white;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBL2kxAlIz3UHVDhxoXCw009j_RwuDYJgooOr4tcxAGxGua2jDWDBND0KKJammIFZg1lnMVtoTCpoXTa2T3p_eo2JWPQU7hsKwMuwsPYH0ABIY4OVpjEKWSJRTSRBAHNO7iU7InqDwSMLj1dpbrP86jBMZ4DOafz4tsBBuJT8tF-Tv7wFk8wMAQ2A6DQ/s6155/OR8210S3579_2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6155" data-original-width="5766" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBL2kxAlIz3UHVDhxoXCw009j_RwuDYJgooOr4tcxAGxGua2jDWDBND0KKJammIFZg1lnMVtoTCpoXTa2T3p_eo2JWPQU7hsKwMuwsPYH0ABIY4OVpjEKWSJRTSRBAHNO7iU7InqDwSMLj1dpbrP86jBMZ4DOafz4tsBBuJT8tF-Tv7wFk8wMAQ2A6DQ/s320/OR8210S3579_2.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p align="center" style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Image
of </span><a href="http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=Or.8210/S.3579"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Or.8210/S.3579</span></a><span style="font-size: 9pt;">,
</span><span style="font-size: 9pt;">featuring a custom-made core developed
by conservators on the Project.</span></span></p></div><p></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Throughout
the Project, the Conservation team also undertook critical research on
preservation techniques and innovative storage solutions, shared via published
articles like <a href="https://blogs.bl.uk/asian-and-african/2021/08/how-to-digitise-scrolls.html"><i>Conserving paper:
reflections on cultures of conservation in Europe and East Asia</i></a> by Paulina Kralka (<span style="color: #2c2c2e;">published
in </span><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/6VMNU2JPGPFDYE6MUZZX/full?target=10.1080/19455224.2022.2068634"><span style="color: #4a5f45; text-decoration-line: none;">The Journal of the Institute of
Conservation</span></a><span style="color: #2c2c2e;">, 24 May 2022) and </span><a href="https://blogs.bl.uk/collectioncare/2020/12/lotus-sutra-project-storage-solutions.html"><i>Lotus Sutra Project:
Storage Solutions</i></a><span style="color: #2c2c2e;"> </span><span style="color: #2c2c2e;">by
Paulina Kralka and Marya Muzart (published in the </span><a href="https://blogs.bl.uk/collectioncare/2020/12/lotus-sutra-project-storage-solutions.html"><span style="color: #4a5f45; text-decoration-line: none;">Library's Collection Care blog</span></a><span style="color: #2c2c2e;">, 07
December 2020 and the </span><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/BS3ZIYQSSDNRMVWW65QK/full"><span style="color: #4a5f45; text-decoration-line: none;">IFLA Journal</span></a><span style="color: #2c2c2e;">, 21
July 2021). </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><p></p><p style="background: white;">
</p><p style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We
wish to express our enormous gratitude for the efforts of the Project team,
including Tan Wang-Ward, Marie Kaladgew, Marya Muzart, Paulina Kralka, Tania
Estrada-Valadez, Vania Assis, Jon Nicholls, Ambrose Hickman, Isabelle
Reynolds-Logue, Giancarlo Carozza, and countless others who have contributed throughout
the lifetime of the Project. <span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="background: white;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGaV6EUSCvl70Kee_sNxHJafc2_PyzfmX9iwqCxuMFnlty3KxddeqbGTbY015zJylLKlI-_ysAuNZ_uWBFGxEw1wxbydoc0kdJxRDM88tgku5JypyVrv0vQwHJFIWFmPx2d16PBqvyic3bUKYUctJb6QAadwxfXX77sgeoJgdTykgNujg1yAxfNUB6IA/s5595/Lotus%20Sutra%20Conference_29.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3578" data-original-width="5595" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGaV6EUSCvl70Kee_sNxHJafc2_PyzfmX9iwqCxuMFnlty3KxddeqbGTbY015zJylLKlI-_ysAuNZ_uWBFGxEw1wxbydoc0kdJxRDM88tgku5JypyVrv0vQwHJFIWFmPx2d16PBqvyic3bUKYUctJb6QAadwxfXX77sgeoJgdTykgNujg1yAxfNUB6IA/w444-h285/Lotus%20Sutra%20Conference_29.jpg" width="444" /></span></a></div><p></p><p class="Default" style="margin-left: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span color="windowtext" style="font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Image of a
panel discussion at the Lotus Sutra Conference in the Foyle Suite of the
British Library. (<b>Left to right:</b> Dr Eric Tzu-Yin CHUNG, Dr Paul
Harrison, Dr Stephen F Teiser, Ven. Miao Duo, Roxanna Pang, Dr Luisa Elena
Mengoni.)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To celebrate the close of the Project,
the IDP hosted a conference at the British Library on 15 – 16 December 2022. The
conference, titled ‘The Lotus Sutra: the Teachings, Transmission and Material
Culture of a Sacred Buddhist Text’, included a keynote speech from Dr Stephen F
Teiser and presentations from other experts, in addition to a panel of the
Project team discussing their results and methodology. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The full programme of the conference is
here: <a href="https://blogs.bl.uk/files/idp-lotus-sutra-conference-programme.pdf">IDP Lotus Sutra Conference Programme</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The lectures were recorded and are now
available on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/IDPUKvideo">the IDP YouTube channel</a>:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;">·<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]--><a href="https://youtu.be/OpL_Pkhrelk">Opening Ceremony of the Lotus Sutra Conference (15 – 16 December 2022)</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Panel 1: Teachings of the Lotus Sutra<br />
Chaired by: Luisa Elena Mengoni<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;">·<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Keynote
presentation: <a href="https://youtu.be/M7kBQ8uigsg">‘The Lotus Sutra: Creating Buddhist Scripture’</a> by Dr Stephen F Teiser (15 December 2022) <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;">·<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]--><a href="https://youtu.be/CSmobZSSlE4">'When Being Original No Longer Matters: Reflections on the Sanskrit
Text of the Lotus Sutra and its Uses'</a> by Dr Paul
Harrison (15 December 2022) <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;">·<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]--><a href="https://youtu.be/IeUqr29hlFY">'Lotus Sutra: Applying the Teachings in an Everyday Life'</a> by the Venerable Miao Duo <span lang="EN-US">妙多法師</span> and Roxanna Pang (15 December 2022) <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;">·<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]--><a href="https://youtu.be/F-EAW8vlKz0">‘Deciphering the Exhibition of The Arts of the Lotus Sutra at the
National Palace Museum'</a> by Dr Eric Tzu-yin
Chung <span lang="EN-US">鍾子寅</span> (15 December 2022) <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;">·<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]--><a href="https://youtu.be/smhmjuwxNSs">Panel 1 Discussion: Teachings of the Lotus Sutra</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Panel 2: The Lotus Sutra at Dunhuang<br />
Chaired by: Sam van Schaik<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;">·<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]--><a href="https://youtu.be/oR7eKsFV91o">‘Universal Gate of Salvation: Guanyin at Dunhuang’</a> by Dr Roderick Whitfield (16 December 2022)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;">·<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]--><a href="https://youtu.be/PX-iwX4cdhI">‘Dividing and Structuring the Lotus Sutra in Manuscript Form’</a> by Dr Costantino Moretti (16 December 2022) <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;">·<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]--><a href="https://youtu.be/KbYETQiEx-k">‘At the Intersection of Image, Text and Ritual: The Lotus Sutra in
Mogao Murals’</a> by Dr Neil Schmid (16 December 2022) <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;">·<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]--><a href="https://youtu.be/CCfRmxPTaCE">‘Pieces of a Puzzle: Fragments of Chinese Manuscript with the Lotus
Sutra'</a> by Dr Imre Galambos (16 December 2022) <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;">·<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]--><a href="https://youtu.be/2jUL7DN6TRE">‘The Guanyin Sutra at Dunhuang as Seen Through the British Library
Collection’</a> by Mélodie Doumy (16 December 2022) <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;">·<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]--><a href="https://youtu.be/qt-BpjuUXgk">Panel 2 Discussion: The Lotus Sutra at Dunhuang</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Panel 3: Preserving the Lotus Sutra at
the British Library: From Physical to Digital<br />
Chaired by: Mélodie Doumy<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;">·<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]--><a href="https://youtu.be/0C6fFjoTso4">‘Locating the Lotus Sutra Manuscripts Digitisation Project’</a> by Tan Wang-Ward <span lang="EN-US">王潭</span> (16
December 2022)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;">·<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]--><a href="https://youtu.be/uYF6kK9SwJ8">‘The Lotus Sutra Project at the British Library 2017–2022: A
Conservators’ Perspective’</a> by Marie Kaladgew,
Paulina Kralka & Marya Muzart (16 December 2022)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;">·<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]--><a href="https://youtu.be/TbPeW7vkfzg">‘Conservation Case Studies from the Lotus Sutra Project at the British
Library 2017–2022’</a> by Tania
Estrada-Valadez, Marie Kaladgew, Paulina Kralka & Marya Muzart (16 December
2022)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;">·<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]--><a href="https://youtu.be/5g1olV7AMNo">‘Seeing Things Differently: The Imaging of Lotus Sutra Scrolls’</a> by Isabelle Reynolds-Logue (16 December 2022) <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="background: white;">
</p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;">·<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]--><a href="https://youtu.be/W28wu7SG128">Panel 3 Discussion: Preserving the Lotus Sutra at the British Library:
From Physical to Digital</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="background: white;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></p><p style="background: white;">By Anastasia Pineschi, IDP Partners and Activities Coordinator</p>IDPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00383993440160812282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-779666019747639749.post-61234892738208492422022-06-15T16:18:00.001+01:002022-06-15T16:18:46.312+01:00An Introduction to Sketches in the Stein Collection<p>Digital and physical preservation underpin much of the work carried out by the International Dunhuang Project at the British Library and are a priority for everyone involved. My position as Preservation Assistant requires me to consider long- and short-term preservation needs for the items in our care. This can involve packing items securely for transit around the library as well as longer term requirements such as appropriate storage solutions and ingesting material to the IDP website. I work alongside photographers, digitisation officers responsible for image quality control, conservators and curators to facilitate our goals of making material freely available online. It is rewarding to follow the process from start to finish and watch as more and more material becomes accessible.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil2Dc3_abwbZrYJkLtHGlbBUHidZr1-HtZAPftQKlHqyrwJjhYTfBJMIXTMC0sHKBWiI1dzF5jIoRiAiHYs_0EgB5ctYbnBZEhovKPZCJtq8sNyzgSEmhSic0KPUWoVmRenCcwwBoYHeySjW2XhUo_TFpyce3hW4cGmnc6z0mfUH9q7kLef-RKoZV64w/s856/P.Pelliot.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="320" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="638" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil2Dc3_abwbZrYJkLtHGlbBUHidZr1-HtZAPftQKlHqyrwJjhYTfBJMIXTMC0sHKBWiI1dzF5jIoRiAiHYs_0EgB5ctYbnBZEhovKPZCJtq8sNyzgSEmhSic0KPUWoVmRenCcwwBoYHeySjW2XhUo_TFpyce3hW4cGmnc6z0mfUH9q7kLef-RKoZV64w/s320/P.Pelliot.png"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAQyeqhdYt1geD3c6sHs_aBPjcMTUgzS1WIoiTVlmTfcQ0jO2Q76AfCYXAa4JeNAJ1ou2O-NeO175cmUZg6NBZK4jQ4axNDjAG3b2ratsGYv4nuBe0gwMv1yPtIDgrJwWLmRTla_skM7HAmDzPjN79P2zo-sttm5xhwiJmgHhrhQ-YYr8Uv-yberz5ew/s1762/Vicky.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="320" data-original-height="1762" data-original-width="1140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAQyeqhdYt1geD3c6sHs_aBPjcMTUgzS1WIoiTVlmTfcQ0jO2Q76AfCYXAa4JeNAJ1ou2O-NeO175cmUZg6NBZK4jQ4axNDjAG3b2ratsGYv4nuBe0gwMv1yPtIDgrJwWLmRTla_skM7HAmDzPjN79P2zo-sttm5xhwiJmgHhrhQ-YYr8Uv-yberz5ew/s320/Vicky.jpg"/></a></div>
<small><div style="text-align: center">Image of Paul Pelliot in the Library Cave (AP8186) and IDP Preservation Assistant Vicky Mansfield in the British Library stronghold room.</div></small>
<p>A perk of my role is discovering the wide range of decorative scrolls in the collection. Many contain vast, comprehensive illustrations. One such manuscript is the <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=Or.8210/S.3961;img=1">Sutra of the Ten Kings of Hell</a>. This detailed and colourful sutra depicts the journey of a soul after death and features figures from Buddhist and Chinese beliefs.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWRN_Kjcr27hg6oQOzRgpGMRuIkz0CTKDyzZVbkxh6-BMd8V0eFsPloGb-LhvpG0wvkDCJxTBsFmsjcymHEM7sMO-aqWpnNABW1qB22kPgH_wihgYuz_pR8rDr9iyhYQm-HE4JFZw3lxHxu0WsegYC_wzSkMSQQYf2Qq7ryjwPl_s3Diogp4ooV4keHg/s450/ten%20kings.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="320" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="409" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWRN_Kjcr27hg6oQOzRgpGMRuIkz0CTKDyzZVbkxh6-BMd8V0eFsPloGb-LhvpG0wvkDCJxTBsFmsjcymHEM7sMO-aqWpnNABW1qB22kPgH_wihgYuz_pR8rDr9iyhYQm-HE4JFZw3lxHxu0WsegYC_wzSkMSQQYf2Qq7ryjwPl_s3Diogp4ooV4keHg/s320/ten%20kings.jpeg"/></a></div>
<small><div style="text-align: center">Or.8210/S.3961 (Sutra of the Ten Kings)</div></small>
<p>Other manuscripts feature what appear to be quick sketches, often drawn on the verso. I am always fascinated by the simpler drawings that feature on the backs and in the margins of manuscripts. They are a pleasant surprise when I am checking individual items in the collection.</p>
<p>At first glance, <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=Or.8210/S.1113;img=1">Or.8210/S.1113</a> looks like any other item in the collection: when viewed from the front, it contains a fragmentary Daoist text, but the back features an extensive set of sketches. The basic forms of figures stretch across the whole manuscript and the corner of a structure or building can be seen to the left. Several of the figures appear to be buddhas sitting cross legged surrounded by kneeling people. Facial features have only been given to three of the figures. I find it interesting that those with added details are the figures in more dominant positions within the groups.</p>
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<small><div style="text-align: center">Or.8210/S.1113</div></small>
<p>When I first unrolled <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=Or.8210/S.6030;img=1">Or.8210/S.6030</a> I noticed a small line of footprints making their way towards the top of the scroll. Despite the deterioration to this part of the scroll, it is still possible to make out seven footprints. These are titled ‘Seven Paces’ which is likely to be a reference to the seven-step Daoist ritual step featured within the text, in addition to other rites.</p>
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<small><div style="text-align: center">Or.8210/S.6030</div></small>
<p>My favourite out of all the illustrations I have come across to date is the collection featured on <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=Or.8210/S.387;img=1">Or.8210/S.387</a>. The margins are filled with stylised red and black designs, but the majority of the illustrations can be found when the manuscript is turned over to show a wealth of drawings and additional text.</p>
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<small><div style="text-align: center">Detail of Or.8210/S.387</div></small>
<p>A rabbit or similar small animal can be seen in red ink with a larger version above. Three circular symbols are sitting within a flame on a lotus. These are likely to be the Three Jewels, symbolising the Buddha, the Dharma (the law) and the Sangha (the Buddhist or monastic community).</p>
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<small><div style="text-align: center">Detail of Or.8210/S.387</div></small>
<p>To the right of this in between two portraits is the cintamani, a flaming jewel said to grant all wishes. I think the most striking doodles are the four portraits that have been drawn at the other end of the manuscript. The two smaller portraits are thought to show monks. The larger and more intricate faces depict another monk and a bodhisattva.</p>
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<small><div style="text-align: center">Detail of Or.8210/S.387</div></small>
<p>Although a full translation is not available, the text is believed to be a description of a country. Could the variety of text and drawings reflect the scribbles of a person travelling, making notes and struggling with the inevitable periods of boredom? I like to think that the smaller portraits are people the writer encountered along the way. Of course, these assumptions could be incorrect but by raising these possibilities and questions, I hope illustrations such as these encourage further research into the material.</p>
<p>To see more examples of illustrated scrolls and further information on their contents, please follow our <a href="https://twitter.com/idp_uk">Twitter page</a> for regular photographs of the collection.</p>
<p> By Vicky Mansfield, IDP Preservation Assistant
IDPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00383993440160812282noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-779666019747639749.post-36683584030668241232022-04-13T16:10:00.000+01:002022-04-13T16:10:13.917+01:00The Lotus Sutra Manuscripts Digitisation Project: the collaborative work between the Heritage Made Digital team and the International Dunhuang Project team<p>Digitisation has become one of the key tasks for the curatorial roles within the British Library. This is supported by two main pillars: the accessibility of the collection items to everybody around the world and the preservation of unique and sometimes, very fragile, items. Digitisation involves many different teams and workflow stages including retrieval, conservation, curatorial management, copyright assessment, imaging, workflow management, quality control, and the final publication to online platforms.
<p>The Heritage Made Digital (HMD) team works across the Library to assist with digitisation projects. An excellent example of the collaborative nature of the relationship between the HMD and <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/">International Dunhuang Project</a> (IDP) teams is the quality control (QC) of the Lotus Sutra Project’s digital files. It is crucial that images meet the quality standards of the digital process. As a Digitisation Officer in HMD, I am in charge of QC for the <a href="https://www.bl.uk/projects/lotus-sutra-manuscripts-digitisation">Lotus Sutra Manuscripts Digitisation Project</a>, which is currently conserving and digitising nearly 800 Chinese Lotus Sutra manuscripts to make them freely available on the IDP website. The manuscripts were acquired by Sir Aurel Stein after they were discovered in a hidden cave in Dunhuang, China in 1900. They are thought to have been sealed there at the beginning of the 11th century. They are now part of the Stein Collection at the British Library and, together with the international partners of the <a href="http://idpuk.blogspot.com/2018/03/introducing-lotus-sutra-project.html">IDP</a>, we are working to make them available digitally.
<p>The majority of the Lotus Sutra manuscripts are scrolls and, after they have been treated by our dedicated <a href="https://blogs.bl.uk/collectioncare/2020/11/lotus-sutra-project-scroll-with-blue-cover-.html">Digitisation Conservators</a>, our expert <a href="https://blogs.bl.uk/living-knowledge/2021/09/behind-the-scenes-at-the-british-library-isabelle-reynolds-logue.html">Senior Imaging Technician</a> Isabelle does an outstanding job of imaging the fragile manuscripts. My job is then to prepare the images for publication online. This includes checking that they have the correct technical metadata such as image resolution and colour profile, are an accurate visual representation of the physical object and that the text can be clearly read and interpreted by researchers. After nearly 1000 years in a cave, it would be a shame to make the manuscripts accessible to the public for the first time only to be obscured by a blurry image or a wayward piece of fluff!
<p>With the scrolls measuring up to 13 metres long, most are too long to be imaged in one go. They are instead shot in individual panels, which our Senior Imaging Technicians digitally “stitch” together to form one big image. This gives online viewers a sense of the physical scroll as a whole, in a way that would not be possible in real life for those scrolls that are more than two panels in length unless you have a really big table and a lot of specially trained people to help you roll it out.
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<b>Or.8210/S.1530: individual panels<i></i></b>
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<b>Or.8210/S.1530: stitched image <i></i></b>
<p>This post-processing can create issues, however. Sometimes an error in <a href="http://idpuk.blogspot.com/2021/08/how-to-digitise-scrolls-step-by-step.html">the stitching process</a> can cause a scroll to appear warped or wonky. In the stitched image for Or.8210/S.6711, the ruled lines across the top of the scroll appeared wavey and misaligned. But when I compared this with the images of the individual panels, I could see that the lines on the scroll itself were straight and unbroken. It is important that the digital images faithfully represent the physical object as far as possible; we don’t want anyone thinking these flaws are in the physical item and writing a research paper about ‘Wonky lines on Buddhist Lotus Sutra scrolls in the British Library’. Therefore, I asked the Senior Imaging Technician to restitch the images together: no more wonky lines. However, we accept that the stitched images cannot be completely accurate digital surrogates, as they are created by the Imaging Technician to represent the item as it would be seen if it were to be unrolled fully.
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<b>Or.8210/S.6711: distortion from stitching. The ruled line across the top of the scroll is bowed and misaligned<i></i></b>
<p>Similarly, our Senior Imaging Technician applies ‘digital black’ to make the image background a uniform colour. This is to hide any dust or uneven background and ensure the object is clear. If this is accidentally overused, it can make it appear that a chunk has been cut out of the scroll. Luckily this is easy to spot and correct, since we retain the unedited TIFFs and RAW files to work from.
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<b>Or.8210/S.3661, panel 8: overuse of digital black when filling in tear in scroll<i></i></b>
<p>Sometimes the scrolls are wonky, or dirty or incomplete. They are hundreds of years old, and this is where it can become tricky to work out whether there is an issue with the images or the scroll itself. The stains, tears and dirt shown in the images below are part of the scrolls and their material history. They give clues to how the manuscripts were made, stored, and used. This is all of interest to researchers and we want to make sure to preserve and display these features in the digital versions. The best part of my job is finding interesting things like this. The fourth image below shows a fossilised insect covering the text of the scroll!
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<b>Black stains: Or.8210/S.2814, panel 9<i></i></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKQROHytOA2K7m7MBDP45g30fm9uyXzsFPIvZWS9pLuPYeOKLHU9Z-3IGF9BWPhk3RnKRqs-l0Gg3vJhQtgrQ9Od12ZzxJg8F7srzhFwx2jJqRWEypI2SOK2E_3YaroDfVxQRcFQuHK4L8i4j8YHZdptQ_vTIVBGYpPUOkVJwv0AgTodql6ekEP62r5g/s1600/Or.8210S.1669R_01.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="2398" data-original-width="4795" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKQROHytOA2K7m7MBDP45g30fm9uyXzsFPIvZWS9pLuPYeOKLHU9Z-3IGF9BWPhk3RnKRqs-l0Gg3vJhQtgrQ9Od12ZzxJg8F7srzhFwx2jJqRWEypI2SOK2E_3YaroDfVxQRcFQuHK4L8i4j8YHZdptQ_vTIVBGYpPUOkVJwv0AgTodql6ekEP62r5g/s1600/Or.8210S.1669R_01.jpg"/></a></div>
<b>Torn and fragmentary panel: Or.8210/S.1669, panel 1<i></i></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMQjwFoSwvjXFjJtXoSqUvh_O9eHYYCC5Tkf-dJ6gkWCSSuL8BGJF_8UuNnrQ8C53jLfk6b4JdZatd4GI_cMJd5OX0XhIXv9SiaNyHcbZ-GblxeQPiLO5_LSMaRicwMqYWsnZ5AkBDol3Of4KOabfj_772LSOG0ouIGlUiHHx-2-0vvgGvUzSNBJb7Gg/s1600/Or.8210S.2043R_01.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="2398" data-original-width="4153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMQjwFoSwvjXFjJtXoSqUvh_O9eHYYCC5Tkf-dJ6gkWCSSuL8BGJF_8UuNnrQ8C53jLfk6b4JdZatd4GI_cMJd5OX0XhIXv9SiaNyHcbZ-GblxeQPiLO5_LSMaRicwMqYWsnZ5AkBDol3Of4KOabfj_772LSOG0ouIGlUiHHx-2-0vvgGvUzSNBJb7Gg/s1600/Or.8210S.2043R_01.jpg"/></a></div>
<b>Insect droppings obscuring the text: Or.8210/S.2043, panel 1<i></i></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAOT9JE9ijgRa12zQaf5EW3YGY2N0v9TRTsd63FY3dNG5qz5-OOQICljHv6_pAxOxQw0fMBx0EO4yvPQc0y5gflvf0e3pOk5bUTgUeynAc4HUm3O1fiIXV2_10ce2JCmhuqkMfYsnvuN2MnPZfa4_S3hMJww8mc-760YETabdWvqv1jSAjORFMZaqvKg/s1600/Or.8210S.6457R_05.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="588" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAOT9JE9ijgRa12zQaf5EW3YGY2N0v9TRTsd63FY3dNG5qz5-OOQICljHv6_pAxOxQw0fMBx0EO4yvPQc0y5gflvf0e3pOk5bUTgUeynAc4HUm3O1fiIXV2_10ce2JCmhuqkMfYsnvuN2MnPZfa4_S3hMJww8mc-760YETabdWvqv1jSAjORFMZaqvKg/s1600/Or.8210S.6457R_05.jpg"/></a></div>
<b>Fossilised insect covering text: Or.8210/S.6457, panel 5 <i></i></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf0oe_7AuiWqwPliv-T0Q4kD4TH1KQ4syM2HmIYeMRaFzeWdJQKJRJ2Zt95xpyg4OfrMdh4AC6oKFzPy4lAD9Nz-43gvloZU8zq6uZP1NxwSANlr7cNl4r6ZjjdNeRDQ9RpXa5mgyp2UcpoSPTPRF9O5nPCUwlVQO63NY8mu_MbLJJXHPsek8yP_wTWQ/s1600/Or.8210S.6501-Or.8210S.4599.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf0oe_7AuiWqwPliv-T0Q4kD4TH1KQ4syM2HmIYeMRaFzeWdJQKJRJ2Zt95xpyg4OfrMdh4AC6oKFzPy4lAD9Nz-43gvloZU8zq6uZP1NxwSANlr7cNl4r6ZjjdNeRDQ9RpXa5mgyp2UcpoSPTPRF9O5nPCUwlVQO63NY8mu_MbLJJXHPsek8yP_wTWQ/s1600/Or.8210S.6501-Or.8210S.4599.jpg"/></a></div>
<b>Reshoot: Or.8210/S.6501: debris over text / No reshoot: Or.8210/S.4599: debris not covering text.<i></i></b>
<p>We want to minimise the handling of the scrolls as much as possible, so we will only reshoot an image if it is absolutely necessary. For example, I would ask a Senior Imaging Technician to reshoot an image if debris is covering the text and makes it unreadable - but only after inspecting the scroll to ensure it can be safely removed and is not stuck to the surface. However, if some debris such as a small piece of fluff, paper or hair, appears on the scroll’s surface but is not obscuring any text, then I would not ask for a reshoot. If it does not affect the readability of the text, or any potential future OCR (Optical Character Recognition) or handwriting analysis, it is not worth the risk of damage that could be caused by extra handling.
<p>These are a few examples of the things to which the HMD Digitisation Officers pay close attention during QC. Only through this careful process, can we ensure that the digital images accurately reflect the physicality of the scrolls and represent their original features. By developing a QC process that applies the best techniques and procedures, working to defined standards and guidelines, we succeed in making these incredible items accessible to the world.
<p>By Francisco Perez-Garcia, Digitisation Officer, Heritage Made Digital: Asian and African Collections.
<i>This article was originally posted on <a href="https://blogs.bl.uk/digital-scholarship/index.html" target="_blank">Digital Scholarship Blog</a> on 14 March 2022</i></p><br />
<p></p>IDPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00383993440160812282noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-779666019747639749.post-36315031874218280282021-10-15T14:03:00.002+01:002021-10-18T10:08:05.837+01:00Call for 2022 Chevening Fellowship: Digitised manuscripts from Dunhuang and the application of HTR tools to ancient Chinese texts<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7TeA1YkZttVFGHRwwJE1xgJXqd7i3plU8D49YvwORZB4VPL4ysNfBd8bQqzi_uGd1wRQFlSuLmGtbEa8oCTGA8yljiUACsHjZZdaA_rIWSGO71JQT4ShJX_FacZ-aIE6-fm5XBzeO56Lv/s448/Chevening+logo%25402x.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7TeA1YkZttVFGHRwwJE1xgJXqd7i3plU8D49YvwORZB4VPL4ysNfBd8bQqzi_uGd1wRQFlSuLmGtbEa8oCTGA8yljiUACsHjZZdaA_rIWSGO71JQT4ShJX_FacZ-aIE6-fm5XBzeO56Lv/s320/Chevening+logo%25402x.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<p>Come join us for a great opportunity to work at the British Library and find ways of applying cutting-edge technological solutions to ancient manuscripts! In two weeks, <b> on 2 November 2021 at 12:00 (midday) GMT </b>, the call for applications to a Chevening Fellowship on “Automating the recognition of historical Chinese handwritten texts” will close. It is open to Mainland China applicants only and if you are interested, or know someone who might be interested, please make sure you check this <a href="https://www.chevening.org/fellowship/british-library-chinese-handwritten-texts/">link.</a></p>
<p>For one year, starting in September 2022, the fellow will be part of the Digital Research Team, directly benefitting from their expertise and guidance, and will work closely with the Curators of Chinese collections. This is a rare chance to engage with a range of handwritten historical texts in Chinese language from Dunhuang and other associated archaeological sites that have been digitised as part of the <a href="idp.bl.uk">International Dunhuang Project </a>. To date, IDP has made images of around 35,000 manuscripts from the British Library collections available online, and this work is still ongoing.</p>
<p>The founding mission of IDP was to rectify the dispersal and general inaccessibility of Dunhuang texts and images by reuniting all these artefacts through the highest quality digital photography, and by pushing the limits of new web technologies to make this material accessible to all. We thus hope that the Chevening Fellowship will pave the way for innovative research through large-scale text analysis, and help us enhance the discoverability of the manuscripts in the Stein collection by opening them up for full-text search.</p>
<p>Thanks to the <a href="https://www.bl.uk/projects/lotus-sutra-manuscripts-digitisation"> Lotus Sutra Manuscripts Digitisation Project</a>, almost 800 manuscripts in Chinese from Dunhuang are currently being conserved and <a href="http://idpuk.blogspot.com/2021/08/how-to-digitise-scrolls-step-by-step.html"> digitised to the highest standards </a> by dedicated members of staff, with the aim of making images accessible on the IDP platform. We have so far conserved 555 manuscripts, digitised 401 of them, and made 127 available online. This corpus constitutes an ideal case study: firstly, because the canonical edition of the Lotus Sutra, which is one of the main scriptures in Mahayana Buddhism, is already transcribed; secondly, because the manuscripts themselves present minor variations, such as different handwritings, variant characters and scribal errors.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZa_VcxIBwtUHU7mCiGXbIJT_bRUqa3Cw2sxpu_XIYve7bexalLkk0N3v7wOdeALMqwzET0wDFj0dVrC1vxTtIxoht8VTuloFD9Xy2a3UmrzmXBxfdUI6882dz6n6bZbFCeYieOSuv5U3h/s1422/S.217.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1422" data-original-width="917" height="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZa_VcxIBwtUHU7mCiGXbIJT_bRUqa3Cw2sxpu_XIYve7bexalLkk0N3v7wOdeALMqwzET0wDFj0dVrC1vxTtIxoht8VTuloFD9Xy2a3UmrzmXBxfdUI6882dz6n6bZbFCeYieOSuv5U3h/s600/S.217.jpeg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Detail of a scroll dated to 696, containing text from the <i>Guanyin Sutra</i> (Ch. <i>Guanshiyin Jing</i> 觀世音經), which is based on Chapter 25 of the <i>Lotus Sutra</i>. This image shows the colophon, where several alternative character forms, known as characters of Empress Wu, have been used by the copyist. © The British Library, <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=Or.8210/S.217;img=1#.YWl5aj9Bc-U">Or.8210/S.217.</a></span></div>
<p>The Chevening fellow will focus on this rich content as a starting point to examine approaches, opportunities and possible solutions to automate the transcription of these historical textual collections in Chinese, in order to unlock their huge potential. As explained by Dr. Adi Keinan-Shoonbaert in a recent <a href="https://blogs.bl.uk/digital-scholarship/2021/08/automating-the-recognition-of-chinese-manuscripts-new-chevening-british-library-fellowship.html">blog</a>, the Library has successfully led several initiatives around the application of OCR and HTR tools to materials in a range of languages, increasingly broadening the scope of its work to include non-Western languages.</p>
<p>There are many challenges associated to the application of HTR tools to ancient Chinese texts, such as the reading direction (from right to left and top to bottom), or the absence of punctuation marks. This has resulted in different approaches to enable transcription. While some work on recognising individual characters for each line of text, other concentrate on each line as a whole, a method which may be especially relevant for cursive text and has been preferred for Japanese calligraphy (see <a href="https://dh2016.adho.org/abstracts/416#ftn2"> Nagasaki, 2016</a>).</p>
<p>The fellow will research the current landscape of Chinese handwritten text recognition. They will test our material with new digital tools and techniques, assessing available software options and making recommendations to help support the choice of HTR tools applicable to the Chinese texts from Dunhuang and other sites. Moreover, the fellow will also help us connect the dots between the many different projects that are going on in various parts of the globe, ensuring that the British Library plays an active part in the dialogue with the main actors in this emerging field, especially in China.</p>
<p>There is still time to apply, hurry up!</p>
Mélodie Doumyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683938866329949380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-779666019747639749.post-37457353722728427612021-08-23T16:11:00.000+01:002021-08-23T16:11:12.654+01:00How to Digitise Scrolls: A Step-by-Step Guide from the Lotus Sutra Project<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwSpCtJII2XmF84zmDq-6VKJPTuhrDyt4cIVDhiIhyXVyY8fVqji88PjT2D3lfvyweWcoxYBxZIP-XXGlwRnp0GnF_msgIvfBf3FMjb0R3XO8aKJtmvYWbgZtpvS_2hpMJwaBRvKttkv-a/s2048/Image11.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photograph of man with back to camera in black shirt looking over long yellowed scroll in front of machinery with many cables." border="0" data-original-height="1232" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwSpCtJII2XmF84zmDq-6VKJPTuhrDyt4cIVDhiIhyXVyY8fVqji88PjT2D3lfvyweWcoxYBxZIP-XXGlwRnp0GnF_msgIvfBf3FMjb0R3XO8aKJtmvYWbgZtpvS_2hpMJwaBRvKttkv-a/s600/Image11.jpg" width="600" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jon Nicholls, Senior Imaging Technician, digitising a scroll on the Lotus Sutra Project (CCBY Image).</span></td></tr></tbody></table>
<p><b>Lotus Sutra Manuscripts Digitisation Project</b></p>
<p>The <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/?_ga=2.65369511.863126343.1628505494-341526474.1628243977">International Dunhuang Project (IDP)</a> is an international collaborative project based at the British Library and with centres around the world. The Project aims to preserve and digitise collections from archaeological sites along the Eastern part of the ancient trade routes known as the Silk Roads, including the Mogao caves near Dunhuang (present day Gansu province in China).</p>
<p>As part of this, the <a href="https://www.bl.uk/projects/lotus-sutra-manuscripts-digitisation?_ga=2.65369511.863126343.1628505494-341526474.1628243977">Lotus Sutra Manuscript Digitisation Project at the British Library</a> is cataloguing, conserving, and digitising Chinese copies of the <i>Lotus Sutra</i> from the <a href="https://www.bl.uk/collection-guides/stein-collection?_ga=2.62021029.863126343.1628505494-341526474.1628243977">British Library’s Stein Collection</a>.</p>
<p>These scrolls were procured by the British-Hungarian archaeologist Sir Marc Aurel Stein (1862-1943), when he travelled to Dunhuang. He was followed by several other foreign explorers who also took away a large number of manuscripts and other items. By digitising this corpus of texts, we can facilitate access to these historic items and bring them together digitally, after they were scattered around the globe.</p>
<p><b>The Lotus Sutra collection</b></p>
<p>The <i>Lotus Sutra</i> is a sacred text that contains important early teachings on Buddhism. It was possibly composed between the first century BCE and the second century CE. Its popularity in China, in particular at Dunhuang, is attested by the over 1,000 copies that are now in the British Library’s custodianship.</p>
<p>Although a few of these were digitised in the past, a total of 793 paper manuscripts are yet to be imaged. They are dated roughly between the 5th to 11th centuries, based on dated items at both ends of the spectrum.</p>
<p>Most, except for three booklets, are in the scroll format. Each scroll varies in size and condition. We have some scrolls that are incredibly long as well as some that are just fragments. We also have some very fragile scrolls that our fantastic Conservation team are working hard to preserve so that they are available for years to come.</p>
<p>We have calculated that collectively there is roughly 17km of scroll that needs to be conserved and digitised. That’s the distance from the British Library in North London to Wimbledon in Southwest London!</p>
<p>Thanks to the support from the Bei Shan Tang Foundation based in Hong Kong, we are steadily working through the entire collection, one scroll at a time. The digitised collection will be made freely available on the <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/">IDP website</a>.</p>
<p><b>Equipment and Imaging Standards</b></p>
<p>To digitise the scrolls, we use specialist equipment at the British Library’s St Pancras site. Below details the equipment I use:</p>
<ul>
<li>Phase One XF medium format camera on a copy stand</li>
<li>Phase One IQ3 80 MP Digital back</li>
<li>Phase One 120mm lens</li>
<li>LED lighting</li>
<li>Long and height-adjustable table</li>
<li>Capture One Software</li>
<li>Adobe Photoshop</li>
</ul>
<p>To ensure consistency and reliability, we adhere to these imaging standards:</p>
<ul>
<li>Aperture F.16</li>
<li>Shutter speed 0.6 Seconds</li>
<li>ISO 50</li>
</ul>
<p>To further ensure quality and accuracy, we use the same equipment and standards for every image.</p>
<p><b>Step 1. Digitising the scrolls</b></p>
<p>Once the scrolls have been through conservation and are in stable condition they can be digitised. Digitising scrolls is quite a difficult process. As mentioned before, there are some very long scrolls (one even measuring up to 13 meters) and I have very limited space at my workstation.</p>
<p>At the beginning of this Project, I was given specific scroll handling training from our wonderful Conservation team.</p>
<p>Equipped with the knowledge to handle the scrolls safely, I shoot the scrolls bit by bit, un-rolling and re-rolling onto a scroll core as I go, both as a space saving technique but also to avoid damage to the scrolls. Luckily the scrolls themselves are long horizontal rolls, which are made of several rectangular sheets of paper or ‘panels’ attached together. I photograph every panel individually, which makes it a lot easier to capture each part.</p>
<p>I try to lie the scroll down as flat as I can, but it is not always possible. Some of the scrolls undulate naturally and we need to be sympathetic to the item’s condition. When undulation of the scrolls occurs, I use various weights approved by our Conservation Team to hold either side of the panels to flatten them without putting undue pressure.</p>
<p>If need be, I use pins to flatten the scrolls. *We do not use pins directly on any part of the scrolls. Instead, I pin around the scroll and using transparent, acid free tabs in-between the pin and the scroll to protect the item.</p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvdPsTgzALgnZagYUv3gLyJd89tgx5Yi81myRuPN8Dxu5RhrJJgVB38Q4O59ZhHypjQL-y4jAi00NklAQBaxYzJX4BWsZQ-t0WmlVQ1OsarW3ZfsZEVeZzDjl_Y4R75UU0Ql3p52NPIRne/s1099/Image1.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Collection of white objects including bead-like string, white scroll, white pouch and other small white squares on a black background" border="0" data-original-height="878" data-original-width="1099" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvdPsTgzALgnZagYUv3gLyJd89tgx5Yi81myRuPN8Dxu5RhrJJgVB38Q4O59ZhHypjQL-y4jAi00NklAQBaxYzJX4BWsZQ-t0WmlVQ1OsarW3ZfsZEVeZzDjl_Y4R75UU0Ql3p52NPIRne/s600/Image1.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Tools used for holding the item whilst digitising: scroll core, conservation ‘penny weights’, snake weights, weight bags, pins and acid free tabs (CC Public Domain Image).</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div>
<p>I include a ruler in the image for size reference as well as a colour chart to calibrate colours and a focusing target to set up the control shots. These are cropped out of the final images.</p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBzKAlZsJvrgvrRENUOHEYqRwERWanKollFEh8FR23tC_Onk1W-mVw0LWoxjb1e9xfKdTnz_HbjVK0xdGw-4WtwsfYD7hWz-kyLhN4k6IO3MeYVj56HS3PeFXyAAL9uko9BKHEhdpTD5Fl/s1073/Image2.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Black background behind a yellowed scroll with Chinese characters on it and a black and white focus target with a multicoloured colour palette and black and white strips at bottom of image." border="0" data-original-height="621" data-original-width="1073" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBzKAlZsJvrgvrRENUOHEYqRwERWanKollFEh8FR23tC_Onk1W-mVw0LWoxjb1e9xfKdTnz_HbjVK0xdGw-4WtwsfYD7hWz-kyLhN4k6IO3MeYVj56HS3PeFXyAAL9uko9BKHEhdpTD5Fl/s600/Image2.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Focus target, ruler and colour chart (CC Public Domain Image).</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table>
<p>I shoot all the panels’ front (rectos) and back (versos) to capture the entire length of the scroll. As Chinese text is written and read vertically, top to bottom and right to left, I capture the panels from right to left.</p>
<p>I always overshoot either side of the panel and usually include 3 to 4 columns of text overlap (as seen in the photo below). This helps in the stitching process later.</p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimlWoYX0BA5bFLpzxpr4GI2DuyJuArBYrPflKBHsADYWhe4vJ6oTp5InkKhEXUCr2tPnrnb4-oY_NqMvf0IL3GyLzmMzVRBaNmmAKlA_3usX52WNzSK7asLXp-QhYw5QJk7XCZR8Z5ZgGy/s1084/Image3.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Close view of yellowed scroll with Chinese characters on it with black bars above and below." border="0" data-original-height="590" data-original-width="1084" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimlWoYX0BA5bFLpzxpr4GI2DuyJuArBYrPflKBHsADYWhe4vJ6oTp5InkKhEXUCr2tPnrnb4-oY_NqMvf0IL3GyLzmMzVRBaNmmAKlA_3usX52WNzSK7asLXp-QhYw5QJk7XCZR8Z5ZgGy/s400/Image3.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Digitising a panel of a scroll (CC Public Domain Image).</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table>
<p>Once all the panels are shot, I process each image file from RAW files into TIFF files.</p>
<p><b>Step 2. Post-production</b></p>
<p>I edit every TIFF image in Photoshop. This task can take a long time if you have 40+ images to edit.</p>
<p>Firstly, I digitally remove any pins or other unwanted objects in the shot using the lasso tool to select around the item, then delete using the ‘Content aware’ function. Please note this can only be done when the layer is locked.</p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9gDcUECwzYYv6OURmj_vZRQExhtKSXDwlsLMfI9yCTZIBODBSpGEuToYgt20W4w7ozcpGC1kw7advLGkfb5lHz0EAwea0hyLgACbhHqQ1MW8lfAaaHm2vLh5rJUbTzBDI70IREHwSiXgM/s1376/Image4.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Gray frame of a computer application with coloured icons around an image of a yellowed scroll with Chinese characters on it with a black background." border="0" data-original-height="803" data-original-width="1376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9gDcUECwzYYv6OURmj_vZRQExhtKSXDwlsLMfI9yCTZIBODBSpGEuToYgt20W4w7ozcpGC1kw7advLGkfb5lHz0EAwea0hyLgACbhHqQ1MW8lfAaaHm2vLh5rJUbTzBDI70IREHwSiXgM/s600/Image4.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Example of digital edit in Photoshop (CC Public Domain Image).</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table>
<p>I then select and cut out the background and replace with a digital black background. This is done for aesthetic reasons and something that we inherited from the previous team. We continued with this for consistency with the historical images.</p>
<p>You can achieve a similar goal by shooting directly onto black fabric.</p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUunQTMs1x2zHWqcAwug6rSjZ9OSWsojvPQhjpepr9fXz719V8byVfW0sVOlr2v6sPfPwJOh-QeuaRYxwWRtYA0dCxdL64-vO6cTN07iRY-X5ELaJtqCLe65d1PpBy2lXqtcc94B6bF4DR/s855/Image5.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Gray frame of a computer application with coloured icons around an image of a yellowed scroll with Chinese characters on it with a black background." border="0" data-original-height="443" data-original-width="855" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUunQTMs1x2zHWqcAwug6rSjZ9OSWsojvPQhjpepr9fXz719V8byVfW0sVOlr2v6sPfPwJOh-QeuaRYxwWRtYA0dCxdL64-vO6cTN07iRY-X5ELaJtqCLe65d1PpBy2lXqtcc94B6bF4DR/s600/Image5.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Replacing background with digital black background (CC Public Domain Image).</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table>
<p>I change the height of every image. This is done for the purposes of ingesting the images onto our website, which requires specific sizes and ensures consistency.</p>
<p>To speed the process up I have created ‘Actions’ in Photoshop to save me some time and partially automate the majority of the postproduction.</p>
<p><b>Step 3. Stitching</b></p>
<p>I use automatic stitching to generate the stitched TIFF. Having trialled a few software packages, I can say the <a href="https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/create-panoramic-images-photomerge.html#:~:text=About%20Photomerge,horizontally%20as%20well%20as%20vertically.">Adobe’s Photoshop ‘Photomerge’</a> seems to be the best at the moment. </p>
<p>Whilst it is the best on the market, it unfortunately it can be very hit and miss, and depends on the length, curvature and condition of each scroll. Most recently I have discovered that dramatic change in colour on the scroll also confuses the software.</p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmiJHn4JBRwIJcOTCY6hh01ZF4tqSmMACwb6g2rPGyPhi0DeY_DbKuSE-LvRankuQU8kVL5M7zIOdbR7CIcp905SA8yEzB4x7in9H9sEMJWKnUhnfKn4Qr_sDVEsNzp2kXdrhXsE_JDJX1/s742/Image6.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Seven scrolls of yellowed paper of various lengths atop a grey and white checkerboard background." border="0" data-original-height="742" data-original-width="679" height="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmiJHn4JBRwIJcOTCY6hh01ZF4tqSmMACwb6g2rPGyPhi0DeY_DbKuSE-LvRankuQU8kVL5M7zIOdbR7CIcp905SA8yEzB4x7in9H9sEMJWKnUhnfKn4Qr_sDVEsNzp2kXdrhXsE_JDJX1/s600/Image6.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Example of a stitched image gone wrong (CC Public Domain Image).</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table>
<p>For this example above, I was forced to manually stitch all the separate parts together. This is a much longer process but is occasionally needed.</p>
<p>Automatic stitching works better when there are more reference points, which is why I include extra columns of text either side when shooting the image, as mentioned before.</p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcDbZRSPcppi2jsscMEfiWJfxedmD4HKrP3nedDLRoGLf_jqcTKt_VG9rOKbmYm9OnNWc2VhHfPrkl2TnyMAqOJPAKaJ7Q9zZ75QdAm80fbywskIGZsiNJ1yQygvftqUpuGOCKQml8tXjm/s1053/Image7.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Gray frame of a computer application with coloured icons around an image of a very long and thin yellowed scroll Chinese characters on it with a black background." border="0" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="1053" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcDbZRSPcppi2jsscMEfiWJfxedmD4HKrP3nedDLRoGLf_jqcTKt_VG9rOKbmYm9OnNWc2VhHfPrkl2TnyMAqOJPAKaJ7Q9zZ75QdAm80fbywskIGZsiNJ1yQygvftqUpuGOCKQml8tXjm/s600/Image7.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Example of a smaller scroll successfully digitally stitched together (CC Public Domain Image).</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table>
<p>If I am lucky there won’t be many changes required (known as post edits), but often I have to automatically stitch the scroll in parts or even manually stitch each image.</p>
<p><b>Step 4. Editing stitched image</b></p>
<p>The automated stitch image often produces some arched or warped images. I use <a href="https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/warp-images-shapes-paths.html">‘puppet warp’</a> and guidelines in Photoshop to subtly straighten the scroll, being careful to not over edit or make it look unnatural. There are some very helpful YouTube vlogs explaining how to use the Puppet warp function.</p>
<p>Lastly, using the TIFF files, I create three types of JPEG to be ingested to the IDP website, this includes: a large JPEG, a medium JPEG and a thumbnail.</p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgq9-JBn85pbZ6oDSps3vXOJDDS_OtDmMHJ-BzQTiJtA3MCM6SBx1eDVyrjS4GRM21HMZUlsaiDKyY-VUsHy8qfAmH0XkjsYdIGQIDmumCoId7_bKexzVxHK7EdruBoBzHGnKCuficzfbg/s1135/Image8.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Gray frame of a computer application with coloured icons around an image of a yellowed scroll with Chinese characters covered with light grey lines attached to one another at random angles on it with a black background." border="0" data-original-height="748" data-original-width="1135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgq9-JBn85pbZ6oDSps3vXOJDDS_OtDmMHJ-BzQTiJtA3MCM6SBx1eDVyrjS4GRM21HMZUlsaiDKyY-VUsHy8qfAmH0XkjsYdIGQIDmumCoId7_bKexzVxHK7EdruBoBzHGnKCuficzfbg/s600/Image8.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Example of Puppet warp in action to subtly straighten the scroll (CC Public Domain Image).</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table>
<p><b>Step 5. Quality control</b></p>
<p>Finally, I quality check the images and make sure I adhere to our specific naming conventions before I move them to another server. From here they are quality checked by a Digitisation Officer in view of ultimately being uploaded to the IDP website.</p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD6jGs18dPcV5Gtn_ohLFJjdRt44mkO8x4V7pqyhqfOvirzLuLE4IAkt6nk8aUbukgpdLTFI9YpFqgWQAnpUjhkXOMw4nsJG5rZp3pPSkfqGB_0-vamNk2rUMx690xJ3EJZaHwEVArjI_b/s1019/Image+10.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Screen shot with light blue frame showing website with yellowish-grey bar left side bar, white background, images of yellowed scrolls with Chinese characters on them and a greyish yellow text box." border="0" data-original-height="1019" data-original-width="993" height="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD6jGs18dPcV5Gtn_ohLFJjdRt44mkO8x4V7pqyhqfOvirzLuLE4IAkt6nk8aUbukgpdLTFI9YpFqgWQAnpUjhkXOMw4nsJG5rZp3pPSkfqGB_0-vamNk2rUMx690xJ3EJZaHwEVArjI_b/s600/Image+10.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: left;">Example of digitised scroll displayed on the <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/" target="_blank">IDP website</a> (</span><span style="color: #333333;">http://idp.bl.uk/).</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table>
<p>I hope you found this guide interesting and useful.</p>
<p>By Jon Nicolls, Senior Imaging Technician, International Dunhuang Project<br />
<i>This article was originally posted on the <a href="https://blogs.bl.uk/asian-and-african/2021/08/how-to-digitise-scrolls.html">British Library Asian & African Studies blog</a> on 02 August 2021</i></p><br />
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IDPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00383993440160812282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-779666019747639749.post-40691581656242679052021-08-16T09:27:00.001+01:002021-08-16T09:27:50.675+01:00Lotus Sutra Project: Storage Solutions<p>The <a href="https://www.bl.uk/projects/lotus-sutra-manuscripts-digitisation?_ga=2.230183068.1273887433.1626708313-1047848386.1605255342">Lotus Sutra Manuscripts Digitisation Project at The British Library</a>, is a multi-year project aiming to conserve and digitise almost 800 copies of the Lotus Sutra scrolls in Chinese, with a view to make images and information freely accessible on the International Dunhuang Project (IDP) website. These manuscripts come from a small cave in a Buddhist Cave complex near Dunhuang, in Northwest China, where tens of thousands of documents, paintings and artefacts dating from the late 4th to the beginning of the 11th centuries were discovered in 1900. Out of the 800 manuscripts included in this project, a large portion of them need conservation work.</p>
<p>Depending on the scrolls’ condition, treatment can range from surface cleaning and minor repairs, to lengthy mould remediation and intricate infills to ensure that they are safe for digitisation. With manuscripts in varying states of preservation and size, ranging from 10 centimetres to almost 14 meters in length, they have very different housing needs. Addressing these various housing requirements is part of our conservation work. We take into account our existing storage facilities, and come up with solutions that are best suited for long-term preservation of the collection but are also feasible within the time and budget of a digitisation project. This poses an interesting challenge to us as conservators.</p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifjBAE6XxCY75GUyXQKpBleQC2_mT1x4QrXc_0_MY8sMtGW_OOU5gQ1CfY80MyrCRFuedabcfe0AR_VwICMqXV3Pg0VWXJNPssuv6CVheQfWSu6kcUzAUCsQcbZOlI1JDjPhwLCaz5QhzX/s545/Scroll+storage+1.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="545" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifjBAE6XxCY75GUyXQKpBleQC2_mT1x4QrXc_0_MY8sMtGW_OOU5gQ1CfY80MyrCRFuedabcfe0AR_VwICMqXV3Pg0VWXJNPssuv6CVheQfWSu6kcUzAUCsQcbZOlI1JDjPhwLCaz5QhzX/s600/Scroll+storage+1.png" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Picture 1: Our storage.</span></td></tr></tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikVDnfw_zMVT2tRDu8klkaaOpIomPuqacSX-UslYP1CCvz3P83Kf3pdW2gFjz9wbUQAQMeyyFXo4sBVyOKgRrDPSOE0FotJ08IYCVHBxPrUpw3EvRE1qHeJrq4Vh6smiOwnNnqCd37GhqV/s537/Scroll+storage+2.png" style="display: inline; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="537" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikVDnfw_zMVT2tRDu8klkaaOpIomPuqacSX-UslYP1CCvz3P83Kf3pdW2gFjz9wbUQAQMeyyFXo4sBVyOKgRrDPSOE0FotJ08IYCVHBxPrUpw3EvRE1qHeJrq4Vh6smiOwnNnqCd37GhqV/s600/Scroll+storage+2.png" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture 2: Close-up of the pigeon holes where the scrolls are stored.</td></tr></tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;">The majority of scrolls that arrive in our conservation studio have never been treated before. They are usually tightly rolled on their own or around a thin wooden roller attached to the last panel. This causes tensions and leaves the scroll unsupported where it then becomes prone to distortions, creasing and further mechanical damage when handled. Research and practice show that the larger the rolling diameter, the less likely the scroll is to develop creases and cracks. In order to address this, we always place the scrolls on increased diameter cores after treatment has been completed. These cores are made from acid free cardboard tubes with a 5.5cm diameter, that we cover with a layer of xuan paper 宣纸 using wheat starch paste as an adhesive. The cores help reduce the tensions caused by a scroll being rolled too tightly and also provide it with proper support during handling and storage, minimising the risk of further damage. In addition, each scroll is wrapped in a protective layer of xuan paper, which prevents dust accumulation and surface abrasion.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfkvAIlOSEyhAZHGDLbzQgSHWf86IBfg3ru8cEjuwocQQR_FpddFA8BqrYP-YxrB7lF0_32FjH8jtGINgWOfxupovquesMKpSlJqCdMuzEQkZMf8H2BY4NQ_NUUcfqi2Zt1DcT3Z8JM_TT/s550/Scroll+storage+3.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfkvAIlOSEyhAZHGDLbzQgSHWf86IBfg3ru8cEjuwocQQR_FpddFA8BqrYP-YxrB7lF0_32FjH8jtGINgWOfxupovquesMKpSlJqCdMuzEQkZMf8H2BY4NQ_NUUcfqi2Zt1DcT3Z8JM_TT/s600/Scroll+storage+3.png" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture 3: A scroll being handled with the help of a core.</td></tr></tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">When rolled onto the 5.5cm cores, some of the longer scrolls in the project (typically those over 10 metres long) no longer fit into the pigeon holes of our existing storage. In order to enable the scrolls to still be stored in the existing storage facilities on an increased diameter core, whilst having enough space for safe handling, we have successfully developed a technique of hand-making cores with a smaller diameter of 3.5cm, composed of archival grade kraft paper and wheat starch paste.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj-YpH-D33UFna4sYsCJTVXK0oBTmMz3t0hUcr03Nj6U4g660FfDMWRLkaK9EMbDkPJkPEVkcyNw5r-70bP7gULziLjNhEN-edf0_D-8Ta-ZFaPTxc9CxJdKoh_XDECqqA99jILw2mBJuG/s550/Scroll+storage+4.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj-YpH-D33UFna4sYsCJTVXK0oBTmMz3t0hUcr03Nj6U4g660FfDMWRLkaK9EMbDkPJkPEVkcyNw5r-70bP7gULziLjNhEN-edf0_D-8Ta-ZFaPTxc9CxJdKoh_XDECqqA99jILw2mBJuG/s600/Scroll+storage+4.png" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture 4: Left, the 5.5cm core and right, the 3.5cm core which we hand-make for very long scrolls.</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p>And what about the shortest surviving fragments? They are usually severely damaged. To prevent possible dissociation and further weakening of the paper, we encapsulate them in Melinex pockets. Melinex is an archival grade, glass-clear, thin polyester sheet, which not only helps us protect such delicate fragments but also allows them to be stored flat within custom made folders. Scroll fragments in Melinex are safe and easy to handle as both sides can be easily accessed, whether by our imaging staff during digitisation, or researchers wishing to examine the manuscripts in the reading rooms.</p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuwI66f-_QofsvtZ2S_l8BmS6loGeispi6Hvf-B6uyBDYYVe0T6naIcQ4qQFlltrqSU1rLahyphenhyphen8VZz4CUZtGMBlHbgYOKFlF63K6ksYDszwWntVwz9d8tesq0cFcMppXOhuYAd0e_3dT99Q/s550/Scroll+storage+5.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="366" data-original-width="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuwI66f-_QofsvtZ2S_l8BmS6loGeispi6Hvf-B6uyBDYYVe0T6naIcQ4qQFlltrqSU1rLahyphenhyphen8VZz4CUZtGMBlHbgYOKFlF63K6ksYDszwWntVwz9d8tesq0cFcMppXOhuYAd0e_3dT99Q/s600/Scroll+storage+5.png" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture 5: Encapsulation of a scroll fragment in Melinex.</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p>We are lucky that a large number of scrolls in our collection survive with their original wooden rollers still in place. In order to house the rod safely, whilst simultaneously providing appropriate support for the scroll, we have modified our standard core to create a custom-made clamp which fits the original roller inside and increases the rolling diameter. The cardboard core is cut in half; an intricate system of Japanese paper tabs is then pasted down to allow it to open and close smoothly; and, finally, a small groove is cut out to facilitate accommodating the scroll and rolling it onto the core. This clasp core design is adapted from the traditional Japanese wooden roller clamp, known as futomaki 太巻 or futomaki jiku 太卷轴, used for hanging scrolls, but is much more lightweight and economical!</p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlhm61L_FwZOXeniZcIK4jyoXx_tCi2vAMAGNiCOCPoJn6ThC3ZQ32LBYtdEjZssOv_G9gtKXajjDbVsvtvSQ-OeU7gMHH6MRVpKwxKlbig6xK4UMZ8G7qlEhv8YKtztquP2_KYEfhMZak/s474/Scroll+storage+6.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="366" data-original-width="550" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlhm61L_FwZOXeniZcIK4jyoXx_tCi2vAMAGNiCOCPoJn6ThC3ZQ32LBYtdEjZssOv_G9gtKXajjDbVsvtvSQ-OeU7gMHH6MRVpKwxKlbig6xK4UMZ8G7qlEhv8YKtztquP2_KYEfhMZak/w168-h320/Scroll+storage+6.png" width="166" /> </a>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSw0HAoKmYqrMFjeYEKBsOVrjtx_N0hvSXVdjr10uTiUbBhyZ4HQgzqDJpaAkkDsnTNOqS9eXT8oBsvoR87WrrQjvJkeFQERID_ys2-mGYwgCNHjerR0k_ZC6mPEGi288NBlR2fPogBiFg/s384/Scroll+storage+7.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="366" data-original-width="550" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSw0HAoKmYqrMFjeYEKBsOVrjtx_N0hvSXVdjr10uTiUbBhyZ4HQgzqDJpaAkkDsnTNOqS9eXT8oBsvoR87WrrQjvJkeFQERID_ys2-mGYwgCNHjerR0k_ZC6mPEGi288NBlR2fPogBiFg/w166-h320/Scroll+storage+7.png" width="166" /></a>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgTvqpxoauHf2nDT345lFXuoB7dbZ9v_729Km_2m8FMVpkB1A9dM7UoxNupCNKMvxOEOa9V_12RnEX7RfRNWOGfC1Qr8zCQ8W9HJqgmRrWjnxXzYQRjgmla88P7UAaXjwo7JWhdeqsLMof/s481/Scroll+storage+8.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="481" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgTvqpxoauHf2nDT345lFXuoB7dbZ9v_729Km_2m8FMVpkB1A9dM7UoxNupCNKMvxOEOa9V_12RnEX7RfRNWOGfC1Qr8zCQ8W9HJqgmRrWjnxXzYQRjgmla88P7UAaXjwo7JWhdeqsLMof/s600/Scroll+storage+8.png" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pictures 6, 7 & 8: The clasp core design, which safely houses scrolls with the original rods still attached.</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p>In some instances, the original wooden rod is detached from the scroll, which creates another storage challenge. To avoid any dissociation, we always aim to store the rod together with the scroll. In order to achieve this, we have created small foam inserts that fit the roller in them and placed them inside standard cores. We found that polyethylene pipe insulation tubes are well-fitted for the purpose! Thanks to the Oddy tests carried by our conservation scientist Paul Garside, we know they can be safely used with our collection. The tube is cut in half and hinged on one side with Filmoplast SH cotton tape to allow for smooth opening and closing. The rod, wrapped in a protective layer of xuan paper, is placed inside and secured in place with pieces of cotton tying tape, threaded through small slits cut in the tube. The insert fits inside the core quite snugly, so we place a small tab on the bottom of the tube to facilitate access.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJNAD-WNwr1kzCFjxqZWLxaNXi2AsuQSnLPX6PvFDZjHBEkGlhuL_XJpusq9Ows_QpbWZcFA_2nXu8aIdhcVCRh-AnCELYvSuHHaUvqvX09tdd-Kyva_4AgJvSGnqXhbDMptN3C3LJAfmx/s550/Scroll+storage+9.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="366" data-original-width="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJNAD-WNwr1kzCFjxqZWLxaNXi2AsuQSnLPX6PvFDZjHBEkGlhuL_XJpusq9Ows_QpbWZcFA_2nXu8aIdhcVCRh-AnCELYvSuHHaUvqvX09tdd-Kyva_4AgJvSGnqXhbDMptN3C3LJAfmx/s600/Scroll+storage+9.png" width="600" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJCpEvMqi-3mlBQ0atFYlFby7MJa0hOw7WLbrsg0DaXHc-v7W8FA6p4dzOagKGE29ZLYTBcPofTEiUImJmAREU-Jopvyd7RWiHJiatfsPlQ2kd2nZFzFxahWhTzK-sZeUEYrhmbsxkhscT/s550/Scroll+storage+10.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="366" data-original-width="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJCpEvMqi-3mlBQ0atFYlFby7MJa0hOw7WLbrsg0DaXHc-v7W8FA6p4dzOagKGE29ZLYTBcPofTEiUImJmAREU-Jopvyd7RWiHJiatfsPlQ2kd2nZFzFxahWhTzK-sZeUEYrhmbsxkhscT/s600/Scroll+storage+10.png" width="600" /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUBcLXlc4WlqSX9KBX7cU5tvaJ2jHahr0N7gxkXnE4ns1ECom7PBOKV0HRmuTwxFfLiDCDtxGuTYXtPHPkoxo2fyF_1M3MS8c8pue0DH7kHPYiAItJL_MiLLQTnuJfjpexJzHa9lImlu1x/s550/Scroll+storage+11.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="366" data-original-width="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUBcLXlc4WlqSX9KBX7cU5tvaJ2jHahr0N7gxkXnE4ns1ECom7PBOKV0HRmuTwxFfLiDCDtxGuTYXtPHPkoxo2fyF_1M3MS8c8pue0DH7kHPYiAItJL_MiLLQTnuJfjpexJzHa9lImlu1x/s600/Scroll+storage+11.png" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pictures 9, 10 & 11: The foam tube which houses the detached original rod with the scroll.</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p>These storage solutions show how our work doesn’t end in the conservation studio. To ensure that the collection is well-preserved for future generations, we have to think beyond just the treatment of the object. This project has enabled us to challenge ourselves in thinking outside the box and approach the various storage issues with innovative solutions.</p>
<p>By Paulina Kralka, Digitisation Conservator and Marya Muzart, Digitisation Conservator, International Dunhuang Project<br />
<i>This article was originally posted on the <a href="https://blogs.bl.uk/collectioncare/2020/12/lotus-sutra-project-storage-solutions.html">British Library Collections Care blog</a> on 07 December 2020</i></p><br />
<p></p>IDPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00383993440160812282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-779666019747639749.post-26705686520470537042021-08-05T08:46:00.006+01:002021-11-19T17:39:31.949+00:00The Georgetown-IDP Lecture Series: Following the Silk Roads to North AmericaWe are pleased to announce the <b>Georgetown-IDP Lecture Series: Following the Silk Roads to North America</b>, co-organised by the International Dunhuang Project and Georgetown University.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis-JagHd31h1xbwrKfZo9G0YEH2xo7wV9FL2IMqiQXmd90y78vRelM2Avv59pGaFCk4tSRcIInifoV-cHz_AtBtALc-tdblOgK2OeYxailfMouiHoZyyULSMZ5U50OTHwJghtKH0dzToMm/s2048/Composite+Image+of+Speakers.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="1448" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis-JagHd31h1xbwrKfZo9G0YEH2xo7wV9FL2IMqiQXmd90y78vRelM2Avv59pGaFCk4tSRcIInifoV-cHz_AtBtALc-tdblOgK2OeYxailfMouiHoZyyULSMZ5U50OTHwJghtKH0dzToMm/s400/Composite+Image+of+Speakers.png"/></a></div>
<br>This series was organised to celebrate the upcoming completion of the Georgetown-IDP project, which has worked to incorporate images of Silk Road items in North American collections into the IDP’s public database and to expand the IDP's partnership with North American institutions. Generously supported by the Henry Luce Foundation and the Dunhuang Foundation, the project began in 2016 and will virtually bring together manuscripts and various types of objects dispersed widely in North America through over 1000 images. Learn more about the project here: <a href=https://bit.ly/2VDsO85>The Georgetown-IDP Project.</a>
<br><br>The lecture series is supported by the Henry Luce Foundation.
<br><br>The talks in this series are below:
<br><br><b>July 28 (11am PDT/2pm EDT/7pm BST)</b>: Dr Miki Morita and Dr Michelle Wang
<br>‘The Georgetown-IDP Project: Prospects for Collaboration and Research’
<br><a href=https://www.bl.uk/events/the-georgetown-idp-project-prospects-for-collaboration-and-research>https://www.bl.uk/events/the-georgetown-idp-project-prospects-for-collaboration-and-research</a>
<b><br><a href=https://youtu.be/qSDopW-0rzY>Watch this lecture on YouTube here.</a></b>
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<br><br><b>August 4 (10am PDT/1pm EDT/6pm BST)</b>: Dr Amanda Goodman
<br>‘The Many Lives of a Buddhist Devotional Print: A Dated Dunhuang Document in the Royal Ontario Museum Collection’
<br><a href=https://www.bl.uk/events/the-many-lives-of-a-buddhist-devotional-print>https://www.bl.uk/events/the-many-lives-of-a-buddhist-devotional-print</a>
<b><br><a href=https://youtu.be/A22DZjQ2Omw>Watch this lecture on YouTube here.</a></b>
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<small><div style="text-align: center">Image Credit: Courtesy of the Royal Ontario Museum, ©ROM</div></small>
<br><br><b>August 11 (10am PDT/1pm EDT/6pm BST)</b>: Dr Xin Wen
<br>‘A Traveler’s History of the Silk Road: Revelations from Dunhuang Materials’
<br><a href=https://www.bl.uk/events/a-travelers-history-of-the-silk-road>https://www.bl.uk/events/a-travelers-history-of-the-silk-road</a>
<b><br><a href=https://youtu.be/8-ACQHbWiBg>Watch this lecture on YouTube here.</a></b>
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<br><br><b>August 18 (10am PDT/1pm EDT/6pm BST)</b>: Dr FOONG Ping
<br>‘Dunhuang in Seattle’
<br><a href=https://www.bl.uk/events/dunhuang-in-seattle>https://www.bl.uk/events/dunhuang-in-seattle</a>
<b><br><a href=https://youtu.be/MZS_rYtkhxE>Watch this lecture on YouTube here.</a></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqHHbRTgcSeyiNSj-iHulefGYyl3xOtZ9EEiMNX-3S5QIP3H2Y3SwLVNmn7JW9U7UJmi_TazZXDrtXRnf2n2s1A9w6-HNL4vm9GfF8UH_qaOfiDbbt9txrTyr2MEeJ02ktFeZ6FmTII4pP/s2048/circle-cropped+%25282%2529.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="200" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqHHbRTgcSeyiNSj-iHulefGYyl3xOtZ9EEiMNX-3S5QIP3H2Y3SwLVNmn7JW9U7UJmi_TazZXDrtXRnf2n2s1A9w6-HNL4vm9GfF8UH_qaOfiDbbt9txrTyr2MEeJ02ktFeZ6FmTII4pP/s200/circle-cropped+%25282%2529.png"/></a></div>
<small><div style="text-align: center">Image Credit: <i>Fragment of a manuscript of the Sutra on Solemn Attainment of Buddhahood by Means of Repentance to Extinguish Sins in a Great, Thorough, and Broad Way (Datong fangguang chanhui miezui zhuangyan chengfo jing), ca. 7th–8th century</i> – Handscroll; ink on mulberry fiber paper – Chinese, Tang dynasty (618–907), attributed to Mogao, Dunhuang – Gift of Anna M. Bille, Fook-Tan, and Clara Ching, 2017.21</div></small>
<br><br><b>August 25 (10am PDT/1pm EDT/6pm BST)</b>: Dr Fan Jeremy Zhang
<br>‘Exploring Eastern Silk Roads: A Journey Through the Collection at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco’
<br><a href=https://www.bl.uk/events/exploring-eastern-silk-roads>https://www.bl.uk/events/exploring-eastern-silk-roads</a>
<b><br><a href=https://youtu.be/859aohHa53c>Watch this lecture on YouTube here.</a></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjryeEwyP4m9vXc1O5UtYjQOg3Bx6bxyduZIGSx0kDam2ZljCIeCjzUB4xl_Wu0mDQeHt0pnfWBCNyGtADrjuSbRiG69iKJxqoLjc5hLgKEi6jOgvBa7V8jWIY4Wd7ssXF67OYfalZC8U1n/s910/circle-cropped+%25283%2529.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="200" data-original-height="910" data-original-width="910" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjryeEwyP4m9vXc1O5UtYjQOg3Bx6bxyduZIGSx0kDam2ZljCIeCjzUB4xl_Wu0mDQeHt0pnfWBCNyGtADrjuSbRiG69iKJxqoLjc5hLgKEi6jOgvBa7V8jWIY4Wd7ssXF67OYfalZC8U1n/s200/circle-cropped+%25283%2529.png"/></a></div>
<small><div style="text-align: center">Image Credit: <i>Camel</i>, approx. 690-750. China; Shaanxi or Henan province, Tang dynasty (618-907). Earthenware with glaze. <i>Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, The Avery Brundage Collection</i>, B60S95. Photograph © Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.</div></small>
<p><br><br>Edit 15 October 2021: YouTube links for each of the published lectures have been added. You can also see these videos by visitng our International Dunhuang Project <a href=https://www.youtube.com/user/IDPUKvideo>YouTube channel.</a><br>
IDPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00383993440160812282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-779666019747639749.post-58361646379031619622021-07-21T23:16:00.005+01:002021-08-06T11:09:51.329+01:00Lotus Sutra Project: Scroll with Blue Cover<p>The <a href="https://www.bl.uk/projects/lotus-sutra-manuscripts-digitisation?_ga=2.230183068.1273887433.1626708313-1047848386.1605255342">Lotus Sutra Manuscripts Digitisation Project at The British Library</a>, is a multi-year project aiming to conserve and digitise almost 800 copies of the Lotus Sutra scrolls in Chinese, with a view to make images and information freely accessible on the International Dunhuang Project (IDP) website. These manuscripts come from a small cave in a Buddhist Cave complex near Dunhuang, in Northwest China, where tens of thousands of documents, paintings and artefacts dating from the late 4<sup>th</sup> to the beginning of the 11<sup>th</sup> centuries were discovered in 1900. Out of the 800 manuscripts included in this project, a large portion of them need conservation work. This blog post covers the treatment of Or.8210/S.3796 which measures over 10 metres long.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGZ6JyYyokFvVNA16YB9SQRhgxoC_UEOAzfNpL_QYBPBQ8FAHUo7714Tdehgu-wlf9FNsS7R2QaWv5A_A7BdLMxjoNDUJlwbowfL6IQM1rJXUmfpUQjOtR8j5qL67NMzV_FjNo8Ye7oCST/s0/Close+up+of+digitised+scroll+after+treatment.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="604" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGZ6JyYyokFvVNA16YB9SQRhgxoC_UEOAzfNpL_QYBPBQ8FAHUo7714Tdehgu-wlf9FNsS7R2QaWv5A_A7BdLMxjoNDUJlwbowfL6IQM1rJXUmfpUQjOtR8j5qL67NMzV_FjNo8Ye7oCST/s0/Close+up+of+digitised+scroll+after+treatment.png"/></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center">Picture 1. Close up of digitised scroll after treatment</div>
<p>What is particularly striking about this item is the blue cover or protective flap at the beginning. Whilst it bears a few stains from water damage, the colour is incredibly vivid considering the age of the item. It is unusual in this project to see scrolls which are 100% complete, from the front cover to the very last panel, so having the front cover present, in addition to its striking colour, makes this item quite special. In addition, part of the thin wooden stave on the cover is still present, a silk tie would once have been attached to this, however it is now gone.</p>
<p>The use of blue paper (typically dyed using indigo) for sutras grew in popularity in China from the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE) onwards, it flourished in Korea and Japan around the same time and can also be found in other cultural traditions beyond East Asia. By the end of the Dunhuang period, and in later Chinese tradition it became common to use silver or gold ink on dark blue paper for the finest manuscripts. See this fragment of scroll <a href="https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/chinese-buddhist-sutra-on-indigo-dyed-paper">Or.8210/S.5720</a>, which is part of our wider collection, as an example.</p>
<p>Re-use and recycling of paper was a common practice carried out by the monks in Dunhuang (Rong 2013, 123). It is possible that the cover of Or.8210/S.3796 was sourced from some left-over paper which had previously been used for one of the finer sutras written on blue paper.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeNRAF_HgLGvWe7Hc-c5tzkwTaQdK1R670qIoUUpqve2zXn-7IlSle7tVL1nLi9AGcS-e7cY9iXHCDNwqDw8HkdLSlSJlSQiP-6uvKezFSFOcN4EQ5eDUis6CrgIh6G_FjM2LGV5TqvoDa/s831/Recto+before+treatment.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="587" data-original-width="831" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeNRAF_HgLGvWe7Hc-c5tzkwTaQdK1R670qIoUUpqve2zXn-7IlSle7tVL1nLi9AGcS-e7cY9iXHCDNwqDw8HkdLSlSJlSQiP-6uvKezFSFOcN4EQ5eDUis6CrgIh6G_FjM2LGV5TqvoDa/s600/Recto+before+treatment.png"/></a></div>
<div style="text-align:center">Picture 2. Recto before treatment</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmpLqknB6a_-ZupPQbrdfd0Aj_2sGpdLF4yNKv88lmG4bp01sS1LwlLIZwBLSyw4WZmrAnhaNL1dEuZ4vszDBAM9RHUg8ABrlOal3ajkrcVY1HYphLzSMh_NH5xxWiBHtEOx0nH_oblJra/s831/Verso+Before+Treatment.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="831" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmpLqknB6a_-ZupPQbrdfd0Aj_2sGpdLF4yNKv88lmG4bp01sS1LwlLIZwBLSyw4WZmrAnhaNL1dEuZ4vszDBAM9RHUg8ABrlOal3ajkrcVY1HYphLzSMh_NH5xxWiBHtEOx0nH_oblJra/s600/Verso+Before+Treatment.png"/></a></div>
<div style="text-align:center">Picture 3. Verso Before Treatment</div>
<p>The losses which you can see in the before images were a result of historical rodent damage, when the scroll was examined closely small teeth marks could be seen. As the damage occurred when the scroll was rolled, there is a repetitive nature to the losses which get smaller as we move away from the beginning of the scroll. Due to the presence of these numerous large losses conservation treatment had to be carried out in order to stabilise the scroll for digitisation.</p>
<p>The first step to treatment was creating a blue repair paper to match the cover. At the IDP conservation studio our usual repair papers are hand dyed in relatively large batches using fabric dye, this is so that we always have lots of different tones and colours at hand. However as blue isn’t a typical colour we come across in this project, some experimentation had to be carried out in order to get the correct blue shade for the repair paper. Dyeing was tried at first using the usual fabric dye, however the right blue hue still wasn’t accomplished after a few attempts, so I decided to tone the paper using a diluted acrylic paint instead, which was more successful and efficient.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4kMJbntaKhi2uhKFsFsn4H6sCt8SWxI7QQvLLVpciz_QLrO2NVfwSDkr_Vykvm23VlSAnMgR3fs4wEfYg1nhyphenhyphentvGhLYp1UKG3U1nblveEArpcxUO5_Nf0yATEBIeSlXPkgUjqBwQzb-gm/s637/Some+repair+paper+samples+from+experimentation.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="458" data-original-width="637" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4kMJbntaKhi2uhKFsFsn4H6sCt8SWxI7QQvLLVpciz_QLrO2NVfwSDkr_Vykvm23VlSAnMgR3fs4wEfYg1nhyphenhyphentvGhLYp1UKG3U1nblveEArpcxUO5_Nf0yATEBIeSlXPkgUjqBwQzb-gm/s600/Some+repair+paper+samples+from+experimentation.png"/></a></div>
<div style="text-align:center">Picture 4. Some repair paper samples from experimentation</div>
<p>Finding the correct colour when custom toning repair paper is typically a matter of trial and error. Once I had found the correct combination of colours, I used a Japanese paper which had previously been dyed a yellow tone and this created the perfect base for applying the diluted blue acrylic wash. As the verso of the cover is lighter, once dry, the blue repair paper was then lined onto a lighter, yellow toned paper using diluted wheat starch paste. My custom toned repair paper was then used to infill the losses present on the cover of the scroll. For the remaining losses throughout the scroll, a yellow toned paper was used, this was a much easier source out of our existing repair paper collection!</p>
<p>As you can see from the after images, the scroll can now safely be handled and digitised by trained internal staff. It is a unique item in the project, which was a pleasure to work on. All in all, a successful treatment!</p>
<p>The digitised scroll is available to be viewed via <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=Or.8210/S.3796">this link</a> thanks to Jon Nicholls.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK6nFAmdU-a6oaqjdqZXQ-Bqv0AeUiHLUjN_qmtkkObe3bmkldPY94_J2FPiVJoNaFxTcD2dysZ1Sh3EIu4ApLgkLZ5GJM8RY3w2z-gUXEfrHeJJ6WiqkW9riBUZ_Ib2a5VIZ2oTaBvSVf/s593/Closeup+after+treatment.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="529" data-original-width="593" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK6nFAmdU-a6oaqjdqZXQ-Bqv0AeUiHLUjN_qmtkkObe3bmkldPY94_J2FPiVJoNaFxTcD2dysZ1Sh3EIu4ApLgkLZ5GJM8RY3w2z-gUXEfrHeJJ6WiqkW9riBUZ_Ib2a5VIZ2oTaBvSVf/s600/Closeup+after+treatment.png"/></a></div>
<div style="text-align:center">Picture 5. Closeup after treatment</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGvAbqX6K5c4NuPV_2Az4yxaFV-ghH6SDMH0cAolngFHNuTwxmMctz71wJ2oPwo7r2-Em-gvrxYMhVGV4YXxzxa7Fx23W1RBpdKb43CYBuz0NkstbIR-_caScv-h7r-7lIOfqseDWEOCKB/s941/Scroll+after+treatment.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="416" data-original-width="941" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGvAbqX6K5c4NuPV_2Az4yxaFV-ghH6SDMH0cAolngFHNuTwxmMctz71wJ2oPwo7r2-Em-gvrxYMhVGV4YXxzxa7Fx23W1RBpdKb43CYBuz0NkstbIR-_caScv-h7r-7lIOfqseDWEOCKB/s600/Scroll+after+treatment.png"/></a></div>
<div style="text-align:center">Picture 6. Scroll after treatment</div>
<p>By Marya Muzart, Digitisation Conservator, International Dunhuang Project<br>
<i>This article was originally posted on the <a href="https://blogs.bl.uk/collectioncare/2020/11/lotus-sutra-project-scroll-with-blue-cover-.html">British Library Collections Care blog</a> on 25 November 2020.</i></p><br />
<br><p><b>Reference</b></p>
<p>Rong, Xinjiang. 2013. <i>Eighteen Lectures On Dunhuang</i>. Translated by Galambos, Imre. Boston: Brill.</p><br /> IDPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00383993440160812282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-779666019747639749.post-65491724771723362572018-07-11T17:02:00.000+01:002018-07-11T17:02:01.292+01:00Breathing New Life into Old Information – Updating the IDP Stein Site Database <i>By Alexandra Sidebottom, UCL</i>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbO8cQLSQ6pTVM9CxdKpbs1wv7MC9q7Xse-M117w2LjCNSa-pyPIgySeBgU1DfKDOleRLP79LAdfawYpOs9IbvX3xSelBn14U7jXVNUF7boQ36QNHtKF__qhLFHm9uVS43Jxp5KZo1bI05/s1600/Serindia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="867" data-original-width="1024" height="339" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbO8cQLSQ6pTVM9CxdKpbs1wv7MC9q7Xse-M117w2LjCNSa-pyPIgySeBgU1DfKDOleRLP79LAdfawYpOs9IbvX3xSelBn14U7jXVNUF7boQ36QNHtKF__qhLFHm9uVS43Jxp5KZo1bI05/s400/Serindia.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif;">The beautiful 1921 Clarendon Press edition of <i>Serindia, </i>by Aurel Stein</span></td></tr>
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For the past six weeks, I have been undertaking a work placement at the International Dunhuang Project (IDP) as part of my Masters course. My main role has been updating and improving the existing Stein site database, and I am pleased to say this work is now complete. Sixty-seven detailed site entries have been included in the updated database. </div>
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The Stein site database is an internal record of all of the sites Aurel Stein excavated during his three Central Asian expeditions. Prior to this project, it was a loosely-updated resource, lightly filled in over many years by different people. There was no standardised method to inputting data, and important information was often overlooked. Some minor sites had entries, whereas major sites such as the Mogao Caves, Ming-oi and Lou-lan had nothing. I believe this was because of several factors - a variety of researchers working infrequently on the database, the IDP’s understandable focus on more important and time-sensitive projects, and an assumption of knowledge within the IDP.
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Fundamentally, I wanted to make the Stein site database useful to IDP researchers. The data was due to be moved to a new database, so my goal was to make the information as high quality as possible. I organised and inputted the data in a standardised way – all the entries now have a site ID, their general location, a detailed site description, which expeditions they relate to, an excavation history, page numbers and a brief description. The detailed site descriptions can either replace Stein’s books or serve as a starting point for researchers depending on the level of detail required.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWWEdeM3CGGi1dww39symspCw_ptDRtjr_2eaW8SHVztDVVkVri_oEJuYI9CNyQbGZcFt0uLoKbdR_X7maZVbld8kOvCG8lISvwbEGqDJWWWt_jcXM1stIM3pLGTtlYncrVVEjav1QVD2c/s1600/Aurel_Stein.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWWEdeM3CGGi1dww39symspCw_ptDRtjr_2eaW8SHVztDVVkVri_oEJuYI9CNyQbGZcFt0uLoKbdR_X7maZVbld8kOvCG8lISvwbEGqDJWWWt_jcXM1stIM3pLGTtlYncrVVEjav1QVD2c/s320/Aurel_Stein.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
The IDP decided to use Aurel Stein’s three major works – Ancient Khotan, published in 1907, Serindia, published in 1921, and Innermost Asia, published in 1928 – as the primary source material for the updated database. For many of these sites, Stein’s work remains the major source. I therefore made sure to specify what was Stein’s opinion and what was objective fact; if Stein believed an artefact to be Han Chinese, or a language to be Kharosthi, or a fort abandoned during the 8th century, I tried to make it clear that it was his own interpretation of the evidence, coloured by the technology, scholarship and societal conditions of his era, and not necessarily the position of current academics or the IDP. Other material from previous IDP research was also incorporated; the sites of Astana, Endere, Miran and Niya have excellent profiles on the IDP site database website with collections history, detailed excavation history and maps, but this was not reflected on the internal site database prior to this project.<br />
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I have found updating the database to be a deeply enjoyable process. Prior to this project, I had a working knowledge of Stein and his expeditions in Central Asia, but this gave me the opportunity to learn about the sites in detail, and to learn more about Stein himself through his books. Working with physical copies of Stein’s books has also been a highlight, despite the lack of an index. His three accounts of his expeditions are enormous, unwieldy things with multiple volumes, filled with beautiful colour plates of his finds, intriguing maps, and photos of eerie ruins in dusty deserts. In an era of increasingly digitised research, it has been refreshing to pore over dusty books.<br />
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For the IDP online site database (incomplete), <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_cat.a4d?shortref=IDPsites;random=20752.">click here.</a>Sam van Schaikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00056636306127814762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-779666019747639749.post-3856673051001037262018-03-01T12:05:00.000+00:002018-03-01T12:05:56.915+00:00Introducing the Lotus Sutra Project - Conserving and digitising the Stein Collection's Chinese copies of the Lotus Sutra at the British Library<br />
The Lotus Sūtra, whose earliest known Sanskrit title is the <i>Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra</i> and means “Sūtra on the White Lotus of the Sublime Dharma,” was possibly composed between the first century BCE and the second century CE. It is thought to contain the Buddha’s final teaching, complete and sufficient for salvation. Through the medium of parables and short stories, it delivers the message that all sentient beings have the potential to attain Buddhahood. As such, it is one of the most influential scriptures of the <i>Mahayana</i> branch of Buddhism, and it is highly regarded in a number of Asian countries, including China, Korea and Japan, where it has been traditionally practised.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhadeqkpfMzd_M2BMBWZro2ZU6hmkok0Bgpw1Vk8gK1TpV3cp5qz8Eg29ViqDcxBk1LTQd0zOk-l97jqZ2sCun-8MQ-zyMg2Rt6FBHTySR4wqliTVehWMCvAQ4rSidby15Q66vHA5U9SW5x/s1600/S.1511.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1124" data-original-width="1500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhadeqkpfMzd_M2BMBWZro2ZU6hmkok0Bgpw1Vk8gK1TpV3cp5qz8Eg29ViqDcxBk1LTQd0zOk-l97jqZ2sCun-8MQ-zyMg2Rt6FBHTySR4wqliTVehWMCvAQ4rSidby15Q66vHA5U9SW5x/s320/S.1511.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=Or.8210/S.1511;img=2">Frontispiece of Or.8210/S.1511</a>, <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"> "The Parable of the Medicinal Herbs" (Chapter 5 of the Lotus Sūtra)</a> © The British Library</div>
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The most prevalent versions of this Sūtra in Chinese are the <i>Zheng fahua jing</i> (徵法華經 “Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Correct law”), translated by the monk Dharmarakṣa between 286 and 288, and the <i>Miaofa lianhua jing,</i> (妙法蓮華經 “Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law”), translated by Kumarajiva over a century later, in 406. There is also an alternative version called the <i>Tianpin Miaofa lianhua jing</i> (添品妙法蓮華經 “Supplemented Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law"), compiled in 601 by the masters Jñānagupta and Dharmagupta.<br />
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Images and scenes inspired by the Lotus Sūtra can be seen in the murals adorning the caves of the Mogao Buddhist complex, near the oasis-town of Dunhuang, Gansu. An estimated 4,000 copies of the Lotus Sūtra were also found in one of the caves, commonly called the Library Cave or Cave 17. They are now dispersed across various institutions in Beijing, Paris, St Petersburg and London. In the British Library's collection, the Lotus Sūtra outnumbers all the other Chinese Buddhist texts brought back by Sir Aurel Stein during his second expedition to Central Asia (1906-1908). There are over a thousand manuscripts, some of which are scrolls measuring up to 13 meters long.<br />
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If a few have already been digitised and are now accessible via the IDP website, a large proportion has remained practically untouched since their discovery in 1907 and is currently unavailable online. Thanks to a generous grant from the Bei Shan Tang Foundation, in Hong Kong, work is now underway to address this issue. The aim of this four-year project is to conserve and digitise nearly 800 copies of the Lotus Sūtra in Chinese, with a view to make images and information about them freely accessible on the Internet.<br />
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For the past six months, I have been busy checking the condition of all these manuscripts in order to plan both the conservation and digitisation workflows for the years to come. I have been extremely lucky to be joined in this task by three colleagues from the British Library Conservation department, who have volunteered some of their precious time to assess the collection with me. Together, we have been writing up detailed condition status reports to facilitate future conservation treatment and handling during photography. Another important part of my curatorial role has also been to enhance information on each of the corresponding catalogue records.<br />
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Meanwhile, Vania Assis, full-time conservator for the project, has started conserving the scrolls. Although an initial estimate based on a sample of manuscripts had established that between 200 and 300 items would need to be conserved, the ongoing assessment of the scrolls has so far revealed that most of them require some level of intervention. They are extremely fragile: they present tears, missing areas, creases and other damage that make photographing them in their current state inadvisable. Vania has already completed treatment of more than 50 items and will tell you about her amazing work in a separate post.<br />
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The project's team should soon include two senior imaging technicians, who will be ensuring the digitisation of the Lotus Sūtra copies. We will let you know how the project progresses and will post updates as regularly as possible, so watch this space!<br />
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<a href="http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=Or.8210/S.54;img=1">End piece of Or.8210/S.54, with wooden roller</a> <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"> </a>© The British Library</div>
</div>Mélodie Doumyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683938866329949380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-779666019747639749.post-8453966793697288712017-06-28T01:29:00.000+01:002017-06-28T01:29:40.367+01:00North American Silk Road Collections: the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
<p><a href="http://www.asianart.org/about/history">The Asian Art Museum of San FranciscoーChong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture</a> is the largest museum in the United States that is devoted exclusively to Asian art. The museum was originally established as a wing of the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum in 1960s by the city of San Francisco to house the prestigious Asian art collection of Chicago industrialist Avery Brundage (1887-1975), who stated that “[the museum] will help San Francisco and the Bay Area become one of the world's greatest centers of Oriental culture.” In 1969, an autonomous institution was established to function as the foremost center for Asian art in the Western world which was renamed the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco in 1973. The museum was renamed again in 1996 upon receiving a generous gift from Chong-Moon Lee, an Asian Art Commissioner and Silicon Valley entrepreneur. Today, the Asian Art Museum of San FranciscoーChong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture boasts more than 18,000 pieces of Asian art, serving local and global audiences and bridging the diverse cultures of Asia and the United States.</p>
<p>Briefly introduced here are pieces from the museum that will join the IDP database through the current project. Reflecting the goals of the museum, these works consist of various media and came from various sites.</p>
<p>Two pieces belong to the Avery Brundage Collection, which consists of over 7,700 pieces. The first piece is the <i>Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara with Willow Sprig</i> (B62D10) from Dunhuang, dated approximately to 800-900. Painted on ramie, this bodhisattva holding a willow sprig exhibits great similarity to a series of bodhisattva paintings housed now in the Musée Guimet and the British Museum (especially to <a href="http://idp.bl.uk:80/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=MG 17783;img=1">MG.17783</a>). </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4qZLFJkIcukrd7tDfwlVvtwKgra_ymrFqVrcwVLYzMTiHTk8QZdhzNHMZBFJG_-wMWZNbjWvOrY58Pnidpj6A8iedJwF1vitk_gADn-v12pwLXOxaGW95LcbA8W5OM0cKZKNLRyqJwcM/s1600/B62D10.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4qZLFJkIcukrd7tDfwlVvtwKgra_ymrFqVrcwVLYzMTiHTk8QZdhzNHMZBFJG_-wMWZNbjWvOrY58Pnidpj6A8iedJwF1vitk_gADn-v12pwLXOxaGW95LcbA8W5OM0cKZKNLRyqJwcM/s400/B62D10.tif" width="159" height="400" /></a><div>The bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara (Chinese: Guanyin) with willow sprig © Asian Art Museum of San Francisco</div></div>
<p>The second piece from the Brundage Collection is the <i>Bottle Vase</i> (B60P506) from the Tangut (Xixia) Empire (1038-1227). A wide unglazed band around the shoulder has been identified as a feature of Tangut jars. Another Tangut piece is the <i>Buddhist deity Green Tara</i> (1992.59), who personifies compassion in action and is the female counterpart of Amoghasiddhi, one of the five important Buddhas of esoteric Buddhism. The IDP database has been incorporating collections of Tangut manuscripts from St. Petersburg and London, and this and other paintings and artefacts will enable the database’s users to access both the manuscripts and material culture of this prominent culture.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVV4J_6BJ4CKj6JFhqyfPjrg7rwsfzgGqvrBRahtq8YiKcMtsvXk3HYZWv2DpQGlouq04mT54t9Ave_OyTr33EQsmdLDQS4k5oaSqQtZ3MF9IPCuqJGeZD8bQzyHv6jiOZR2guyktEge4/s1600/B60P506_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVV4J_6BJ4CKj6JFhqyfPjrg7rwsfzgGqvrBRahtq8YiKcMtsvXk3HYZWv2DpQGlouq04mT54t9Ave_OyTr33EQsmdLDQS4k5oaSqQtZ3MF9IPCuqJGeZD8bQzyHv6jiOZR2guyktEge4/s320/B60P506_2.jpg" width="243" height="320" /></a><div>Bottle Vase © Asian Art Museum of San Francisco</div></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTLwaNeKSvmWerTw6TKGrdjYRQ8eH0xAHLNQ0doCORe4qQw6SVGzv7cZdQlqo_qNiUXLcEeCRoOU2Foxd-ZUqx6xt3kVr6PBZ9kYqpGgWGc50PkZEkPY2g1XfZ0YZJkovmjO0b2KMYWrE/s1600/1992.59_002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTLwaNeKSvmWerTw6TKGrdjYRQ8eH0xAHLNQ0doCORe4qQw6SVGzv7cZdQlqo_qNiUXLcEeCRoOU2Foxd-ZUqx6xt3kVr6PBZ9kYqpGgWGc50PkZEkPY2g1XfZ0YZJkovmjO0b2KMYWrE/s400/1992.59_002.jpg" width="295" height="400" /></a><div>Buddhist deity Green Tara © Asian Art Museum of San Francisco</div></div>
<p>The fourth and fifth pieces are both from the Kucha region. The <i>Head of a Buddhist Deity</i> (B79D2), painted with sensitive brush execution, is attributed to the Simsim Caves. According to its provenance record, this piece was originally found by <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/pages/collections_de.a4d">Albert von Le Coq (1860-1930)</a> in 1913. Le Coq presented it to Lucien Scherman, father of the piece's donor Dr. Richard P. Scherman. While its original location in the Simsim Caves awaits further discussion, the details of the face and curly black hair resonate with those of the figures in Cave 48. Also attributed to the Kucha region is the <i>Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara</i> (2004.23), a small wooden sculpture dated to 600 – 700.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOqJ_eUFf_678xGGF-XvBGtKtsbL00_a8EXti9GbKwM5RhDvudAuR9BNnIAuwl8nB_50cMwO7e7cq0S22IuV3obZsijjuAgUOH7xNq231pajNRb5-DhCA-PiofLqOGw4j6tIpb-NO83Ww/s1600/Kizil+Head+of+SF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOqJ_eUFf_678xGGF-XvBGtKtsbL00_a8EXti9GbKwM5RhDvudAuR9BNnIAuwl8nB_50cMwO7e7cq0S22IuV3obZsijjuAgUOH7xNq231pajNRb5-DhCA-PiofLqOGw4j6tIpb-NO83Ww/s320/Kizil+Head+of+SF.jpg" width="267" height="320" /></a><div>Head of a Buddhist Deity © Asian Art Museum of San Francisco</div></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzuUG2Y5FH8werO0hzUgvt-ZLVn0O4pa_0BaDJF7RvTkDyjbAWCs1OHegI-N6CLML647tdiqQcGQz5IOkuizxV-SOk08owyAzbNXqkT9YXQ-7ABKWe_5AniXnFd3D5OVfawPxWIXfprcM/s1600/2004.23_v1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzuUG2Y5FH8werO0hzUgvt-ZLVn0O4pa_0BaDJF7RvTkDyjbAWCs1OHegI-N6CLML647tdiqQcGQz5IOkuizxV-SOk08owyAzbNXqkT9YXQ-7ABKWe_5AniXnFd3D5OVfawPxWIXfprcM/s320/2004.23_v1.jpg" width="229" height="320" /></a><div>Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara © Asian Art Museum of San Francisco</div></div>
<p>The next piece is the <i>Fragments of calligraphy</i> (2014.47), an album that contains six fragments of Chinese calligraphy allegedly discovered in the Turfan region. Three of them contain dates in era names, indicating 733, 791 and 729, respectively. This piece will be featured in the future blog post on North American collections. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOjvXTDvcr4ZqSKPa91jG73kLMeLVB0oddaawRidS4TvUxb4-eg7RNz8th5Cy-Oiu4ZAlsKNqMVrrc83pq78XFsCKIAUzWlxwBRnTL1Bbimr1FpBTsCZD28GeiAelzDlln-3blh0e4DBo/s1600/2014.47_03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOjvXTDvcr4ZqSKPa91jG73kLMeLVB0oddaawRidS4TvUxb4-eg7RNz8th5Cy-Oiu4ZAlsKNqMVrrc83pq78XFsCKIAUzWlxwBRnTL1Bbimr1FpBTsCZD28GeiAelzDlln-3blh0e4DBo/s400/2014.47_03.jpg" width="400" height="333" /></a><div>Fragments of Calligraphy © Asian Art Museum of San Francisco</div></div>
<p>The final piece is the <i>Standing Buddha</i> (B87B3). This rectangular plaque (28.2 x 17.1 cm), made of iron with gold and silver inlay, is a very intriguing piece. Sold in an auction in 1985 and then purchased from an art dealer, this piece’s previous owners and original provenance are unknown. However, many aspects of this figure closely resonate with buddha figures of the <i>praṇidhi</i> murals in the Bezeklik Caves: the standing posture with a three-quarter view of the face, drapes of the robe, and personal adornments which are not usually worn by buddha figures. <a href="http://dsr.nii.ac.jp/toyobunko/LFc-42/V-1/page/0092.html.ja">One of them from Cave 20</a> especially shares similarities to the Buddha on this iron plaque. Based on this stylistic similarity, the piece has been dated to the tenth to eleventh centuries. While metal votive plaques or mirrors with Buddhist images existed in other parts of Asia around that time, there have not been any comparative pieces with the images of the <i>praṇidhi</i> buddhas. What do IDP blog readers think about the original function of this piece? </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7kIv7hGIJ4afuQdpZj2NmtctZV28oL8R3LGwP7EY5ItqfZJG1taH1uPRrAa4As-CJROKrBbJMEw_bfC3unLAm1PMiMNHF0F48oF8fR4F7kcokNdHykY_yJUo09Zvnv_bEoLrh-_RqFOE/s1600/B87B3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7kIv7hGIJ4afuQdpZj2NmtctZV28oL8R3LGwP7EY5ItqfZJG1taH1uPRrAa4As-CJROKrBbJMEw_bfC3unLAm1PMiMNHF0F48oF8fR4F7kcokNdHykY_yJUo09Zvnv_bEoLrh-_RqFOE/s400/B87B3.jpg" width="254" height="400" /></a><div>Standing Buddha © Asian Art Museum of San Francisco</div></div>
<p><i>I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Dr. Li He, Ms. Jamie Chu, and Mr. Jonathan Bloom for their help and support for the Georgetown-IDP Project.</i></p>
Miki Moritahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12466832859886799215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-779666019747639749.post-29616271606221222922017-06-05T09:29:00.000+01:002017-06-05T09:29:26.502+01:00A mysterious miniature implement<p>Shortly after I joined the International Dunhuang Project (IDP) team, almost a year and a half ago now, an item from the Stein collection caught my eye. Roughly dated from the 9th to 10th centuries, the artefact is catalogued as a ritual implement and comes from the ‘Library Cave’ (Mogao Cave 17), near Dunhuang. It was acquired by Sir Aurel Stein, along with many other manuscripts and objects, during his second Silk Road expedition in 1906-08.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRma3b4F__MmOrSOOBKGcpReffuJyCWJC3VZ1gPas_-41q-R2PQJiViNbTcH9ebTyNATtNcXiKAe0GpP2UzFQ8NN-GWhciV2Es-YsCUzeSiiGJQE2fPco10tBvmO9urV8NYZy7Vp-xiXv4/s1600/Front.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRma3b4F__MmOrSOOBKGcpReffuJyCWJC3VZ1gPas_-41q-R2PQJiViNbTcH9ebTyNATtNcXiKAe0GpP2UzFQ8NN-GWhciV2Es-YsCUzeSiiGJQE2fPco10tBvmO9urV8NYZy7Vp-xiXv4/s400/Front.jpeg" width="271" height="400" /></a><div>Front of ritual implement <a href "http://idp.bl.uk:80/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=IOL Tib J 1364;img=1">IOL Tib J 1364</a><a> © The British Library</a></div></div>
<p>I showed it to a small group of post-graduate students from the Courtauld Institute just before Christmas in the context of their course on Buddhism, and when I saw that they were as fascinated as I was, I decided that it was high time to write a blog post about it!</p>
<p>The small octagonal object measures 18.2cm by 11cm, and is made of several layers of paper, glued together and mounted onto a pointed wooden stick. Its reinforced structure and size indicate that it could be held upright and could be carried. Although it bears no writing, it is decorated on both sides. At first I thought that it may be a fan, but a closer look revealed I had jumped to this conclusion a little too quickly...</p>
<p>The back is illustrated with some fairly intriguing geometric patterns. Have you ever come across similar designs before? Do you know what they represent? They remind me of a stylised cross-section of a <i>vajra</i>, a ritual object otherwise known as the 'thunderbolt' or 'diamond sceptre'. Quintessential in Tibetan Buddhism, it represents the fundamental nature of the enlightened state as unbreakable and indivisible.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK80bwuDNZCYQuEyKYpZXhIbXPR4qLsm8UtXMo-oLBNPeeUrtQnCj2uf3WXtbocJFcRW6VEClnjWAsmX30-bKfcWm799eSlk6k-zTrlhbv0Mv1XwwHbjhOvBRDJ1Ae0Kqm0awuO2Cf6pfC/s1600/back.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK80bwuDNZCYQuEyKYpZXhIbXPR4qLsm8UtXMo-oLBNPeeUrtQnCj2uf3WXtbocJFcRW6VEClnjWAsmX30-bKfcWm799eSlk6k-zTrlhbv0Mv1XwwHbjhOvBRDJ1Ae0Kqm0awuO2Cf6pfC/s400/back.jpeg" width="276" height="400" /></a><div>Back of ritual implement <a href "http://idp.bl.uk:80/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=IOL Tib J 1364;img=2">IOL Tib J 1364</a><a> © The British Library</a></div></div>
<p>The association to the <i>vajra</i> makes more sense if we consider the iconography on the other side of the implement. The front depicts a cross-legged figure drawn in black and painted in blue and green. The swirling blue scarves, various princely ornaments and oval halo behind his head indicate that he is a bodhisattva (being on the path of becoming a Buddha). Sitting on a lotus flower, he is holding a <i>vajra</i> in the right hand, close to his heart, and a ritual bell called <i>ghanta</i> in the left hand, against his hip. He is also wearing a tall two-tiered crown displaying five Buddhas. These attributes allow us to identify him as Vajrasattva, the ultimate Buddha.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJtKV040CETko-hDGaJgvqBRgLZTX7p-JttsRpl6RJqgPbCn55Y9XN_VF2Xg7UTDkElUrYmuGDpluRMlaeloCCky2EPugOLOs5T0M2K9o47NBs8hbl8lqqdRNcBAflxHOEDkSUhSNeEQRm/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-03-22+at+13.04.51.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJtKV040CETko-hDGaJgvqBRgLZTX7p-JttsRpl6RJqgPbCn55Y9XN_VF2Xg7UTDkElUrYmuGDpluRMlaeloCCky2EPugOLOs5T0M2K9o47NBs8hbl8lqqdRNcBAflxHOEDkSUhSNeEQRm/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-03-22+at+13.04.51.png" width="361" height="400" /></a><div>Detail of the front of ritual implement <a href "http://idp.bl.uk:80/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=IOL Tib J 1364;img=1">IOL Tib J 1364</a><a> © The British Library</a></div></div>
<p>Although it is not square, this object is actually similar to <i>tsakalis</i> or <i>tsaglis</i>, miniature painted cards used in modern Tibetan rites. Normally produced as thematic sets, such as the one in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (see <a href="http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/61720">here</a>), they can be laid together to form a mandala, or function individually to evoke a specific deity. Some <i>tsakalis</i> have been known to possess a stick so as to be placed on a shrine or held up during the ritual.
<p>The precise function of this implement remains unknown, but it must also have played a role during religious ceremonies. In the <i>Vajrayana</i>, 'vehicle of the vajra', followers must receive an appropriate initiation or 'empowerment' before they are able to engage in the meditation practices derived from the tantras. One way to do this is to venerate Vajrasattva in order to purify the mind, so it is quite possible that the object presented here served such a purpose.</p>
<p>The Tantric deity, however Chinese in terms of its style, certainly suggests the presence of Vajrayana elements in Dunhuang, despite its distance from Central Tibet. As Stein remarked: <cite>'Considering Tun-huang had been for fully a century under Tibetan domination and that the vicinity of Tibetan tribes made itself felt also later the presence of a certain number of pictures either showing the influence of Tibetan style or bearing Tibetan legends is no cause for surprise'</cite> (<cite>Serindia</cite>).</p>
<p>In conclusion, like some of the manuscripts found in the Mogao Caves, it is quite possible that our ritual implement originated from a community of tantric practitioners active in the region. Its exact function and iconography are still something of a mystery and I would be delighted to hear from anyone with any theories they would like to discuss.</p>
<p><b>Further reading:</b></p>
<p>Jacob Dalton and Sam van Schaik. 2006. <cite>Tibetan Tantric Manuscripts from Dunhuang</cite>, Leiden: Brill.</p>
<p>Sam van Schaik, Agnieszka Helman-Wazny and Renate Nöller. 2015. "Writing, painting and sketching at Dunhuang: assessing the materiality and function of early Tibetan manuscripts and ritual items", <cite>Journal of Archaeological Science</cite> 53: 110-132.
<p>Aurel Stein. 1921. <cite>Serindia. Detailed Report of Explorations in Central Asia and Westernmost China.</cite> London & Oxford: Clarendon Press, vol 2: 839.
<p>Susan Whitfield and Ursula Sims-Williams. 2004. <cite>The Silk Road: Trade, Travel, War and Faith</cite>, London: The British Library: 210-211.</p>Mélodie Doumyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683938866329949380noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-779666019747639749.post-62208055147436558572017-03-29T04:21:00.001+01:002017-03-29T04:21:46.778+01:00North American Silk Road Collections: the East Asian Library and the Gest Collection of Princeton University<p>Since the beginning of the Georgetown-IDP Project on North American Silk Road Collections last fall, IDP has worked with more than thirty institutions to include their pieces on the IDP database. However, there are also a few North American institutions who joined IDP before the current project. One such institution, the East Asian Library and the Gest Collection of Princeton University, has been an IDP partner since 2007. The East Asian Library and the Gest Collection boasts rare manuscripts from Dunhuang and Turfan, collectively known as the 'Princeton University East Asian Library Collection of Dunhuang and Turfan Materials.' Prior to being housed in Princeton University, these materials were collected by <a href="http://samblog.seattleartmuseum.org/tag/james-and-lucy-lo/">James C. M. Lo 羅寄梅 (1902-1987) and his wife Lucy Lo 羅先 (née 劉)</a>, <a href="https://www.asia.si.edu/collections/downloads/Zhang-Daqian.pdf">Zhang Daqian 張大千</a>, from whom the Los obtained some manuscripts, and <a href="http://library.princeton.edu/eastasian/about"> Guion M. Gest</a> (1864-1948). </p>
<p>In total 158 manuscripts in the Dunhuang and Turfan collections consist of those in classical Chinese, Tangut, and Old Turkic, and also contain fragmentary paintings and drawings. The manuscripts in Chinese have been catalogued <a href="https://library.princeton.edu/eastasian/EALJ/">(Chen and Tomasko 2010 a, b)</a>, and as a part of the current Georgetown-IDP Project, IDP will update information about those written in non-Chinese languages for the new IDP database. One such non-Chinese manuscript is <a href="http://idp.bl.uk:80/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=Peald 6r;img=1">PEALD_6r</a>, a Buddhist manuscript illuminated with intriguing images such as huge snakes and a man burning in a blazing flame.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZjmJPu0ZRvHJZFBNCiL_ToIK0w-C_42s3DAZNqT1OG5bmX4WWtokn6J8O08RgHsk5cvDGIgr-UBW6ag3AVnHv6lNPQhidiV_vxeJFrBlhThsj6gi-S4njSJ7wGDg3zDjvasvx8b4BruM/s1600/PEALD+6r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZjmJPu0ZRvHJZFBNCiL_ToIK0w-C_42s3DAZNqT1OG5bmX4WWtokn6J8O08RgHsk5cvDGIgr-UBW6ag3AVnHv6lNPQhidiV_vxeJFrBlhThsj6gi-S4njSJ7wGDg3zDjvasvx8b4BruM/s400/PEALD+6r.jpg" width="400" height="277" /></a><div><a href="http://idp.bl.uk:80/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=Peald 6r;img=1">PEALD_6r (<i>Daśakarmapathāvadānamālā</i>)</a> <br>© The East Asian Library and the Gest Collection, Princeton University</div></div>
<p>PEALD_6r, mounted on a light tan paper, consists of text written in Old Turkic in Uyghur script, an illustration, and seals. There are two seals on the manuscript, 'Zhang Yuan 張爰' and 'Daqian jushi 大千居士' both of which indicate that this manuscript was originally in the collection of Zhang Daqian. Two additional seals on the mounting respectively read '不負古人告後人' (Respectful of the ancients while informing posterity) and '雷音寺供養' (From the Collection of Leiyinsi). The former was also used by Zhang Daqian, while the latter is one of the personal seals of James and Lucy Lo, indicating that the manuscript was also once in the possession of James and Lucy Lo (Chen and Tomasko 2010a, 9-12; Chen 2010b, 186-8).</p>
<p>This beautifully illustrated manuscript is a crystallization of the rich cultural interactions along the Silk Road. This and other pages were possibly bound together by a string through a hole pierced at the center of the circle on the left-hand side, such as the <i>pustaka</i> (palm-leaf book) format widely used in South and Southeast Asia (for a Manichaean example of an illustrated <i>pustaka</i> folio from Murtuk, see Gulacsi 2005, 188-191). The text is in Old Turkic vertically written in Uyghur script. This was developed from the Sogdian script, itself developed from Aramaic. The text has been identified as a part of <i>Daśakarmapathāvadānamālā</i> (Garland of legends pertaining to the ten courses of action), in which a teacher explains the ten modes of misdeeds to a disciple by retelling commonly known Buddhist narratives. The textual part contained in PEALD_6r is a dialogue on the effect of anger between the teacher and his disciple (Wilkens 2016b, 738-9). The colophons of this work inform that the Old Turkic version was translated from a version in <a href="http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/tocharian-language">Tocharian A</a>, which was based on the same text in Tocharian B. This suggests that the text was translated into Old Turkic in the early phase of the Buddhist literature of the West Uyghur Kingdom (mid 9th - early 13th c.) (Wilkens 2016b, 9-10).</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHOb8QHklIvvIUADQru8NMJejL5BqA_M8S5GSlt2qRCvpGYWmU0eg7w5CX0NPxsTkowAVQcBmv2zU3ikRpJ3MxWLq_e4FwpD5OfL4zeOAS4E-pmZZvhfY11BHi-SXdgsD43jVY2AMJIkw/s1600/PEALD+6r+illustration.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHOb8QHklIvvIUADQru8NMJejL5BqA_M8S5GSlt2qRCvpGYWmU0eg7w5CX0NPxsTkowAVQcBmv2zU3ikRpJ3MxWLq_e4FwpD5OfL4zeOAS4E-pmZZvhfY11BHi-SXdgsD43jVY2AMJIkw/s640/PEALD+6r+illustration.jpg" width="442" height="640" /></a></div>
<p> The illumination, placed in the middle of the page, is thought to be for a narrative in the tenth chapter (Wilkens 2016b, 738). The influence of Uyghur <a href="http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/manicheism-1-general-survey">Manichaean</a> art, whose tradition traces back further to West Asia, and of Sogdian art has been noted in the illustrated manuscripts of <i>Daśakarmapathāvadānamālā</i> in Old Turkic, including PEALD_6r, because of the use of gold and similarity to a wall painting from Shorchuk near Karashahr (<a href="http://idp.bl.uk:80/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=1919,0101,0.279.d;img=1">British Museum, 1919,0101,0.279.d</a>) (Wilkens 2016a, 209-213). A large snake is coiling itself around two male figures in Turkic attire. On the other hand, there is also an element unmistakably inspired by Chinese culture. The building in which a monk and a few other figures are residing has red-painted wooden elements and a partially green-tiled roof. Along with the 'post-and-lintel system seen here, such elements are essentialized and simplified elements of Chinese architecture seen in murals widely across the Hexi Corridor and the Tarim Basin (present-day Gansu Province and Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region) since the late fourth – early fifth century (Steinhardt 2005, 175). Turfan was formerly a part of the Tang dynasty, and the post-and-lintel system was practically used in actual buildings in the Turfan region. There, it was also mixed with other architectural techniques and styles. Examples of such include wooden corbel brackets as well as beams being structurally anchored into earth walls, and wooden parts painted in the typical Uyghur style of the 10th and 11th centuries (Ruitenbeek 2016).</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCWeb_VnLrKeWD7m6wR38XDsDF8sebCkPK7oKOyBr-plhDvVD5mtN6Xleg_7bVXVtk5D_f4ntpAC8TFqNLmUPVtIGywhEAqY3mgWf-NpOVET0KT9LSMwTRDO-6hzzOAdZawxEbFcqnzPE/s1600/MIK+IB+6887_2+monochrome+pra%25DB%25ACidhi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCWeb_VnLrKeWD7m6wR38XDsDF8sebCkPK7oKOyBr-plhDvVD5mtN6Xleg_7bVXVtk5D_f4ntpAC8TFqNLmUPVtIGywhEAqY3mgWf-NpOVET0KT9LSMwTRDO-6hzzOAdZawxEbFcqnzPE/s400/MIK+IB+6887_2+monochrome+pra%25DB%25ACidhi.jpg" width="298" height="400" /></a><div>One of <i>praṇidhi</i> paintings from Bezeklik Cave 20 (<a href="http://idp.bl.uk:80/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=MIK IB 6887_2;img=1">MIK IB 6887_2</a>; lost during the Second World War)(<a href="http://dsr.nii.ac.jp/toyobunko/LFc-42/V-1/page/0089.html.ja">Click here for colour image</a>)<br>© Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum für Asiatische Kunst</div></div>
<p>Painted during the West Uyghur Kingdom, some of the <a href="https://www.hermitagemuseum.org/wps/portal/hermitage/what-s-on/temp_exh/1999_2013/hm4_1_27/?lng=en"><i>praṇidhi</i></a> murals in the Bezeklik Caves in Turfan also depict Chinese architecture. The genre of <i>praṇidhi</i> paintings is considered to have developed in Kucha where Tocharian Buddhism was practiced, and the genre later reached Turfan (Konczak 2012; Mori 2015). Similar to the case of PEALD_6r, what we see here are Chinese architectural elements used as a background detail of Uyghur Buddhist art originally based on Tocharian Buddhism. The painters used a mixed Central-Asian and strongly Chinese architectural style for the <i>praṇidhi</i> paintings, although architectural elements inspired by the architecture of further western areas, such as later and transformed versions of Corinthian marble capitals, were co-existing with the Uyghur-Chinese style in Kocho (Gaochang; one of the capitals of the West Uyghur Kingdom) (Ruitenbeek 2016,109-112, 122). Also without major interrelations between the paintings’ inscriptions and painted architecture, one possible interpretation for the inclusion of Chinese architecture in these <i>praṇidhi</i> paintings is to exhibit the incorporation of China into the multi-cultural, Uyghur-centric sphere (Steinhardt 2004, 188).</p>
<p>Whether Chinese architecture was consciously selected for PEALD_6r or was simply copied from an architectural template of Buddhist art as a background detail cannot be easily answered. Yet PEALD_6r allows us to catch a glimpse of the complex spiritual sphere of the West Uyghur Kingdom and the formation of its Buddhist art in which various cultural elements along the Silk Road interacted with each other. </p>
<p><b>References</b></p>
<p>Chen, Huaiyu and Nancy Norton Tomasko, eds. 2010a. “<a href="https://library.princeton.edu/eastasian/EALJ/chen_huaiyu.EALJ.v14.n02.p001.pdf">Chinese-Language Texts from Dunhuang and Turfan in the Princeton University East Asian Library</a>.” <cite>The East Asian Library Journal</cite> 14 (2): 1-13.</p>
<p>Chen, Huaiyu and Nancy Norton Tomasko, eds. 2010b. “<a href="https://library.princeton.edu/eastasian/EALJ/chen_huaiyu.EALJ.v14.n02.p013.pdf">A Descriptive Catalogue of the Dunhuang and Turfan Materials</a>.” <cite>The East Asian Library Journal</cite> 14 (2): 13-208.</p>
<p>Gulácsi, Zsuzsanna. 2005. <i>Mediaeval Manichaean book art: a codicological study of Iranian and Turkic illuminated book fragments from 8th-11th century East Central Asia</i>. Leiden : Brill.
<p>Konczak, Ines. 2012. “Origin, Development and Meaning of the Praṇidhi Paintings on the Northern Silk Road.” In <cite> Buddhism and Art in Turfan: From the Perspective of Uyghur Buddhism [Buddhist Culture along the Silk Road: Gandhāra, Kucha, and Turfan – Section II]</cite>, 43-75. Kyoto : Ryukoku University.</p>
<p>Mori Michiyo 森美智代. 2015. “Kiji sekkutsu no ‘ritsubutsu no retsuzō’ to seiganzu ni tsuite” 亀茲石窟の「立仏の列像」と誓願図について [On Depictions of “Row of Standing Buddha” and Praṇidhi]. <cite>Bukkyō Geijutsu</cite> 仏教芸術 [Ars Buddhica] 340: 9-36. </P>
<p>Ruitenbeek, Klaas with contributions from Ines Koncak-Nagel and an Appendix by Gudrun Melzer. 2016. "Ruin Q in Kochoand its Wooden Architectural Elements." In <cite>The Ruins of Kocho: Traces of Wooden Architecture on the Ancient Silk Road</cite>, 103-126. Berlin : Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.</p>
<p>Russell-Smith, Lilla and Ines Konzak-Nagel, eds. 2016. <cite>The Ruins of Kocho: Traces of Wooden Architecture on the Ancient Silk Road</cite>. Berlin : Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.</p>
<p>Steinhardt, Nancy Shatzman. 2004. “Red Lintels, Green Rooftops: The Role of Architecture in Eight Paintings from Temple 9 at Bezeklik.” In <cite>Cultural interaction and conflict in Central and Inner Asia : papers presented at the Central and Inner Asian Seminar, University of Toronto, 3-4 May 2002 and 23-24 May 2003 </cite>, edited by Michael Gervers, Uradyn Erden Bulag, and Gillian Long. Vol 6 of <cite>Toronto studies in Central and Inner Asia</cite>, 175-188. Toronto : Asian Institute, University of Toronto. </p>
<p>Wilkens, Jens. 2016a. “Buddhism in the West Uyghur Kingdom and Beyond.” In <cite> Transfer of Buddhism across Central Asian networks (7th to 13th centuries)</cite>, edited by Carmen Meinert, 191-249. Leiden ; Boston : Brill.</p>
<p>Wilkens, Jens. 2016b. <cite>Buddhistische Erzählungen aus dem alten Zentralasien: Edition der altuigurischen Daśakarmapathāvadānamālā</cite>. Turnhout : Brepols.</p>
<i>I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Martin Haijdra of the East Asian Library and the Gest Collection of Princeton University, Dr. Zsuzsanna Gulácsi of Northern Arizona University, and Dr. Lilla Russell-Smith of Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum für Asiatische Kunst for their help in writing this blog entry.</i>
Miki Moritahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12466832859886799215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-779666019747639749.post-31345675385945879842017-01-27T11:08:00.001+00:002017-01-27T15:46:03.901+00:00North American Silk Road Collections: A Mañjuśrī’s prayer sheet from Dunhuang in the Cincinnati Art Museum<p>In this blog post, I would like to introduce the Cincinnati Art Museum’s Prayer Sheet (1992.139) from Dunhuang, which is an important comparative piece to similar prayer sheets in other collections. <a href="http://www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org">The Cincinnati Art Museum</a> (CAM), one of the oldest arts institutions in the United States, was founded with the goal to bring a public art museum to the area for the benefit of all citizens during the years following the 1876 Centennial Exhibition held in Philadelphia. The CAM’s diverse, encyclopaedic art collection spanning 6,000 years, includes a prayer sheet from Dunhuang that documents an aspect of rich religious culture of the region around the tenth century.</p>
<p>This print was purchased by the CAM, yet was reportedly collected by <a href="http://idpuk.blogspot.com/2016/02/paul-pelliot-diaries-of-french-explorer.html">Paul Pelliot</a>. The rectangular sheet consists of two parts: an image of a Buddhist deity and text. The upper portion mainly contains figures of Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva, the bodhisattva of wisdom, seated on a lion, a man who is holding reins of the lion, and a boy who is revering the bodhisattva with his hands joined in prayer. A similar painting of Mañjuśrī in Mogao Cave 220, facing front on the lion mount and with these two attendants, is dated to 925 and called the 'new-style' Mañjuśrī (<i>xinyang</i> Wenshu) based on its inscription. The boy is Sudhana, whose spiritual journey begins from his encounter with Mañjuśrī in the final chapter of the <i>Avataṃsaka Sūtra</i>. The man’s heavily bearded face and clothes suggest his non-Han ethnic origin, and indeed, this figure is usually identified as the king of Khotan, a Central Asian kingdom. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm-pue-EZG0E8Le1QNQuV_aMUv5bvI4Y5R8g5Yel3ptXw1UAOLw79NmISt8PikQZxi-rMznTvH3tlDRnhFcangeaIUVQhd8N8dlSI694febquGcZQN8IOU_rMniV-jXgKdZ8qUVXkZnmE/s1600/1992.139_a01_ps_20130925.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm-pue-EZG0E8Le1QNQuV_aMUv5bvI4Y5R8g5Yel3ptXw1UAOLw79NmISt8PikQZxi-rMznTvH3tlDRnhFcangeaIUVQhd8N8dlSI694febquGcZQN8IOU_rMniV-jXgKdZ8qUVXkZnmE/s400/1992.139_a01_ps_20130925.tif" width="264" height="400" /></a><div>Mañjuśrī’s prayer sheet, <a hef="http://www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org/art/explore-the-collection?id=18964044">1992.139</a> © Cincinnati Art Museum (click to zoom in)</div></div>
<P>The text in the lower portion advocates devotion to Mañjuśrī, describing the efficacy of the bodhisattva and providing the verbal incantations of Mañjuśrī. The cult of Mañjuśrī as a resident bodhisattva of Mt. Wutai in Shanxi Province flourished in the Tang dynasty and persisted throughout history. The bodhisattva’s great popularity reached remote Dunhuang. Extant Dunhuang paintings and prints reflect a rich variety of Mañjuśrī’s cult. In Dunhuang Buddhist art, Mañjuśrī was frequently paired with Vimalakīrti and Samantabhadra, and Mañjuśrī in the thousand-armed form was depicted with the Thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara (Guanyin). (Wang 2016)</p>
<p>Different variations of Mañjuśrī's prayer sheets survived among the Dunhuang Buddhist art. For example, a group of Mañjuśrī prayer sheets can be distinguished by the complete halo of the bodhisattva and a missing stroke in the character <i>xiang</i> 相 in the third line of the text (added by hand in many cases). In another group of sheets, to which the CAM print belongs, the halo is truncated at the top and the character <i>xiang</i> is complete. Other overall differences between these two groups include the extant number of prints, the quality of printing, and the size and types of paper. (Kikutake 1975, 12-13) </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhov1XTuqA5QlfbBIAZaFrSLcU1Vmmc_g31CQJq55lJVIs20KUSaWuKP26MJo-t_SEk-lmmaIEvswCDJjK0hupLnDBLq06wXt9SKfwgqiFZuP7B71U0spToxaE4ka576hDT1__t3jMrEVY/s1600/Pelliot+chinois+4514+%25282%2529+21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhov1XTuqA5QlfbBIAZaFrSLcU1Vmmc_g31CQJq55lJVIs20KUSaWuKP26MJo-t_SEk-lmmaIEvswCDJjK0hupLnDBLq06wXt9SKfwgqiFZuP7B71U0spToxaE4ka576hDT1__t3jMrEVY/s400/Pelliot+chinois+4514+%25282%2529+21.jpg" width="270" height="400" /></a><div>Mañjuśrī’s prayer sheet with a complete halo, <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=Pelliot%20chinois%204514%20(2)%2021">Pelliot chinois 4514 (2)21</a> © Bibliothèque nationale de France (click to zoom in)</div></div>
<p>A number of extant pieces inform us of the variety in the usage of Mañjuśrī prayer sheets in worship. Some sheets have holes in the four corners, most likely for mounting on a wall, and another example has a silk loop at the top for hanging. One intriguing example is a large sheet with four prayer sheets pasted on its surface. The sheet was completed with a painting of a seated Buddha and an invocation to the “Buddha of Heavenly Radiance” (南无天光明佛) at the centre.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSaTrhNOSfdEaucXHP_9NLLuRywSbeMmudgUGf1all6wzAGVHa3M8NaKf70_veHPexWw86etajXobnSUzlPg6XxeYUyYRg0mR7OajebEIp_m8OOsVMCajOfPzXTtfVomSPMxu0wX85VoQ/s1600/British+Museum_Ch.00204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSaTrhNOSfdEaucXHP_9NLLuRywSbeMmudgUGf1all6wzAGVHa3M8NaKf70_veHPexWw86etajXobnSUzlPg6XxeYUyYRg0mR7OajebEIp_m8OOsVMCajOfPzXTtfVomSPMxu0wX85VoQ/s400/British+Museum_Ch.00204.jpg" width="289" height="400" /></a><div>Woodblock print with four impressions of Mañjuśrī, <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=1919,0101,0.239">1919,0101,0.239 (Ch.00204)</a> © The British Museum (click to zoom in)</div></div>
<p>The Mañjuśrī’s prayer sheet was also combined with those of other Buddhist deities, including Amitābha Buddha and Avalokiteśvara. Such variations in the arrangement of Mañjuśrī’s prayer sheets also reflect the rich variety in the cult of this bodhisattva in Dunhuang. </p>
<p>References</p>
<p>Avril, Ellen B., and Nora Ling-yün Shih, eds. 1997. <cite>Chinese art in the Cincinnati Art Museum</cite>. Cincinnati: Cincinnati Art Museum. </p>
<p>Kikutake Jun’ichi 菊竹淳一. 1975. “Tonkō no bukkyō hanga – Daiei hakubutsukan to Pari kokuritsu toshokan shūzōhin o chūshin ni” 敦煌の仏教版画 ―大英博物館とパリ国立図書館収蔵品を中心に [Buddhist Prints from Dunhuang: Pieces in The Collections of The British Library and The Biliothèque Nationale de France]. <cite>Bukkyō Geijutsu</cite> 仏教芸術 [Ars Buddhica] 101: 3-35.</P>
<p>Nakata Mie 中田美繪. 2009. “Godaisan Monju shinkō to ōken – Tōdai Daisō ki ni okeru Kinkakuji shūchiku no bunseki o tsūjite - .” 五臺山文殊信仰と王權―唐代代宗期における金閣寺修築の分析を通じて― [The Mañjuśrī cult on Wu-t'ai-shan and kingship: through an analysis of the reconstruction of Chin-ko-ssu during the reign of Tai-tsung in the T'ang]. <cite>Tōhōgaku</cite> [Eastern Studies] 117: 40-58.</p>
<p>Sha Wutian 沙武田. 2005. “Dunhuang P.4049 ‘xinyang Wenshu’huagao ji xiangguan wenti yanjiu” 敦煌P.4049“新样文殊”画稿及相关问题研究 [A Study of P.4049: A Draft of Drawing Demonstration for a New Styled Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva and Other Relative Questions]. <cite>Dunhuang Yanjiu</cite> 敦煌研究 [Dunhuang Research] 2005(3): 26-32.</p>
<p>Sun Xiaogang 孙晓岗. 2007. <cite>Wenshu pusa tuxiang xue yanjiu</cite> 文殊菩萨图像学研究 [A Bodhisattva of Wisdom: Iconography Study]. Lanzhou: Gansu renmin chubanshe.
<p>Tsiang, Katherine R. 2010. “Buddhist Printed Images and Texts of the Eighth-tenth centuries: Typologies of Replication and Representation.” In <cite>Esoteric Buddhism at Dunhuang</cite>, edited by Matthew Kapstein and Sam Van Schaik, 201-252. Leiden: Brill.</p>
<p>Wang, Michelle C. 2016. “The Thousand-armed Mañjuśrī at Dunhuang and Paired Images in Buddhist Visual Culture.” <cite>Archives of Asian Art</cite> 66(1): 81-105. </p>
<i>I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Cincinnati Museum of Art, Dr. Hou-mei Sung, and Mr. Robert Deslongchamps for their support for the Georgetown-IDP project.</i>
Miki Moritahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12466832859886799215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-779666019747639749.post-2009549828690667932016-12-02T19:18:00.000+00:002016-12-02T19:25:21.077+00:00North American Silk Road Collections: A Kizil fragment in the Detroit Institute of Arts<p>It is with great pleasure that I announce that the <a href="http://www.dia.org/">Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA)</a> and the IDP have finalized an agreement to include a Buddhist mural painting fragment from the DIA in the IDP database. This will go onto the new IDP website when it becomes lives in 2017. Before this, I would like to introduce this beautiful piece which happens to be one of the Le Coq pieces from the Kizil caves featured in <a href="http://idpuk.blogspot.com/2016/10/north-american-silk-road-collections.html">my previous blog post</a>.</p>
<p>The Detroit Institute of Arts was founded in 1885 in Detroit, Michigan, the city known for its auto industry. Since then, the DIA served for the cultural development of this industrial city, <a href="http://www.dia.org/about/history.aspx">boasting one of the top collections in the United States</a>. Its multicultural and multinational collection contains a diverse range of <a href="http://www.dia.org/art/asian-arts-and-culture.aspx">Asian art</a>, including a mural fragment from the Kizil Caves.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi24XWgyFUJzHpo7DDnJSm42BiGXICf5Z08PGvAccbVYaN5xXHn0sZUGsEqMCS8A4Hv4Jc1k-vkxLB2_Z32K86CrD4yt_h6Bv1UCYsn2BEFMwgxF-FxqVSOl4GzkJpRYYATmKweTAwqFUQ/s1600/28.67-CM-2015-05-28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi24XWgyFUJzHpo7DDnJSm42BiGXICf5Z08PGvAccbVYaN5xXHn0sZUGsEqMCS8A4Hv4Jc1k-vkxLB2_Z32K86CrD4yt_h6Bv1UCYsn2BEFMwgxF-FxqVSOl4GzkJpRYYATmKweTAwqFUQ/s400/28.67-CM-2015-05-28.jpg" width="400" height="219" /></a><div>Four Heads of Buddhist Divinities, 28.67 © Detroit Institute of Arts </div></div>
<p>This mural fragment consists of four heads of Buddhist deities, three facing to their right in a three-quarter view and one similarly to the left. It is clear that the fragment was once a part of a larger composition covering the wall of a Kizil cave. Based on its back inscription and stylistic similarity with other fragments and murals <i>in situ</i>, this piece is considered to originate from <a href="http://dsr.nii.ac.jp/china-caves/kizil/100.html.en">Cave 224 (Mâyâhöhle, 3. Anlage)</a>. </p>
<p>Cave 224 is a type of central pillar cave in the Kizil Caves, in which a circumambulatory corridor excavated in the rear part of the main room creates a square, pillar-like structure which also doubled as an altar for the Buddha’s statue. The DIA’s fragment is considered to belong to one of the side walls of the space in front of this pillar (Ueno 1980, 56). In this type of caves, the preaching scenes of the Buddha were often depicted on these side walls of the front space, and so were those in Cave 224. While the exact location of the DIA piece on the walls await further investigation, the four figures on the mural fragment are most likely attendants of more major figures, most likely the Buddha on the side walls.</P>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnrEg7Xdk96HoH3grZgMnO7abi917eQ9he0328aqDMeNFxne5ak42WXwp76uHRfItbQ5p3KE57AwpSP8i6exc7PapO85-JGiB9IKQSKABK08YZiqL3lMrkHOkD2yWjpmWEYKlByGvaIVc/s1600/MIK_B_1739+-+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnrEg7Xdk96HoH3grZgMnO7abi917eQ9he0328aqDMeNFxne5ak42WXwp76uHRfItbQ5p3KE57AwpSP8i6exc7PapO85-JGiB9IKQSKABK08YZiqL3lMrkHOkD2yWjpmWEYKlByGvaIVc/s400/MIK_B_1739+-+2.jpg" width="299" height="400" /></a><div>Interior of a central pillar cave with wall paintings of preaching scenes and A. Grünwedel at work,
<a href="http://idp.bl.uk:80/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=MIK B 1739">B 1739</a></br> © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum für Asiatische Kunst</div></div>
<p>These and other attending figures appearing on many mural fragments preserved in North American collections are rather anonymous in many cases, yet they are indispensable and invaluable as cultural remains. This is not only because of the overall low number of remaining murals from cave shrines, but also because of visual narratives according to which the space for prayer was constructed inside caves. In the case of Kizil Cave 224, scenes based on the Buddha’s past and present life events and preachings adorned most part of the interior walls including the ceiling, and also Maitreya, the future Buddha, was depicted in the guise of Bodhisattva in the Tuṣita Heaven on a lunette above the main room’s exit. After moving from the antechamber to the main room of the cave, visitors were first greeted by a now-lost statue of the Buddha in the niche of the column, then went through the corridor where they saw the scenes of the Buddha’s Great Extinction (<i>parinirvāṇa</i>) on the rear wall of the cave. Following the scenes of events after the Buddha’s departure, such as cremation and division of his relics, the visitors encounter Maitreya in the Tuṣita Heaven above the exit.</p>
<p>As Buddhists revered the statue of the Buddha and circumambulated the pillar, they traveled through the space in devotion to the Buddha and Buddhist teachings, where axes of past, present and future time cross. Attendant figures on mural fragments of the DIA certainly contributed to the orchestration of this devotional space.</P>
<p>References:<p>
<p>Digital Silk Road Project, National Institute of Informatics. 2016. <a href=" http://dsr.nii.ac.jp/china-caves/index.html.en">"Database for Buddhist Cave Temples in China</a>."Accessed November 28. http://dsr.nii.ac.jp/china-caves/index.html.en.
<p>Miyaji Akira. 1992. <cite>Nehan to Miroku no zuzōgaku: Indo kara Chūō Ajia e </cite>涅槃と弥勒の図像学: インドから中央アジアへ [Iconography of <i>parinirvānạ</i> and Maitreya : from India to Central Asia]. Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kōbunkan. </p>
<p>Ueno Aki 上野アキ. 1980. “Kijiru dai san ku maya dō hekiga seppō zu - jō: Ru・Kokku shūshū saiiki hekiga chōsa, 2” キジル第三区マヤ洞壁画説法図—上: ル・コック収集西域壁画調査 2 [Mural paintings of preaching scenes in Māyāhöhle, 3. Anlage, first part: Research on the mural paintings from the Western Regions collected by Le Coq, 2]. <cite>Bijutsu kenkyū</cite> 美術研究 [Journal of Art Studies] 312 (February):48–61.</p>
<p>
<i>I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Detroit Institute of Arts, Dr. Birgitta Augustine (former curator of the Arts of Asia and the Islamic World of the DIA), and Ms. Susan Higman Larsen for their support for the Georgetown-IDP project.</i></p>
Miki Moritahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12466832859886799215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-779666019747639749.post-58415478628386344812016-11-24T10:48:00.000+00:002016-11-24T10:48:14.673+00:00IDP Job Vacancy: GIS Research Curator<p>An exciting opportunity has arisen in IDP at the British Library for a Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Research Curator. Working as part of a small team, you will be responsible for the development of an online map interface, creation of suitable content for base maps, and implementation of spatial search functions for inscriptions, manuscripts and other archaeological objects. This is a key post in a European Research Commission Synergy Project Beyond Boundaries: Religion, Region, Language and the State, a collaboration between the British Library, British Museum and School of Oriental and African Studies.</p>
<p>The post requires a post-graduate degree, or its equivalent, in a directly relevant field, and the successful candidate will be able to demonstrate knowledge of GIS, digital imaging, web-based map interfaces and spatial data management. Strong IT skills and excellent written and spoken English are essential, as well as excellent organisational, analytical and networking skills and an excellent attention to detail. Also desirable is experience with web programming, for example with demonstrable prior familiarity with Javascript, HTML5, PHP, Ruby, JSON or a subset of these, and/or scripting experience in languages such as Python or R.</p>
<p>Closing date for applications is 12 December. For further information see the <a href="https://britishlibrary.recruitment.northgatearinso.com/birl/pages/vacancy.jsf?latest=01001000">full job profile.</a></p>Sam van Schaikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00056636306127814762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-779666019747639749.post-57480818757121550352016-10-28T16:52:00.000+01:002016-10-28T18:18:28.478+01:00North American Silk Road Collections: From Germany to North America<p>In my <a href="http://idpuk.blogspot.com/2016/09/north-american-silk-road-collections-in.html">previous IDP blog post</a>, I talked about the inscription on the back of the Penn Museum’s fragmentary mural from Turfan. The inscription clearly indicates that it was once a part of the German collection, or to be exact, the Turfan collection originally housed in the Museum of Ethnology (Museum für Völkerkunde). How then did this and other similar pieces ended up in North American collections?</p>
<p>Many archival records of such pieces bear the name of Albert von Le Coq (1860-1930) as the source of the pieces. Albert von Le Coq participated in the second through the fourth <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/pages/collections_de.a4d">German expeditions</a>. Le Coq started his academic career in his forties as a volunteer researcher at the Museum of Ethnology and served as the director of the museum’s department of Indian art from 1923 to 1925. His presence in the archival records indicates that he was partially, if not entirely, responsible for the transfer of these German pieces to North America.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5iRLpG75w2DmQk9Bx_lpTsQYse61aGOsPVsNbL3901FBe124tSt0_2xcqWgU19mgLvvrR7mLJNQTF2hT45D21m4JVE24X76PpSUGAhc_f4g9vE5voiRyApyDdl8qNYAoRkpkOnFSWIbU/s1600/MIK+B+1070+-+Le+Coq+and+Mamasit+Mirab+in+front+of+caves+of+the+%2527Eastern+Main+Group%2527+including+%2527Cave+163%2527.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5iRLpG75w2DmQk9Bx_lpTsQYse61aGOsPVsNbL3901FBe124tSt0_2xcqWgU19mgLvvrR7mLJNQTF2hT45D21m4JVE24X76PpSUGAhc_f4g9vE5voiRyApyDdl8qNYAoRkpkOnFSWIbU/s400/MIK+B+1070+-+Le+Coq+and+Mamasit+Mirab+in+front+of+caves+of+the+%2527Eastern+Main+Group%2527+including+%2527Cave+163%2527.jpg" width="400" height="278" /></a><div>Albert von Le Coq and Mamasit Mirab in front of caves of the 'Eastern Main Group' including 'Cave 163' in Kizil, <a hef="http://idp.bl.uk:80/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=MIK B 1070">MIK B 1070</a> © Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Kunstsammlung Süd-, Südost- und Zentralasien, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.</div></div>
<p>The issue of the dispersion of the German pieces, especially of mural fragments, has been recognized for a long time, and several scholars have already discussed it from the perspectives of both art history and collection history (see works of Lee, Morita, Schlingloff, Ueno, and Zhao in the references). Among them, a recent study by Professor Sonya Lee of the University of Southern California especially details the process through which the pieces in question were brought from Germany to North America.</p>
<p>Around fifty Central Asian mural fragments in the United States are confirmed to have been removed from Germany through their sale in the 1920s. This was a difficult decision for Le Coq, who was planning an exhibition of the Turfan collection in the time of a depreciating German mark and concomitant inflationary pressures. The pieces, selected mainly based on their relative dispensability when compared to those in better conditions remaining in the Museum, were sold through the hands of various dealers. These included Edgar Worch, who was an agent from the firm called Ludwig Glenk in Berlin, and Abel William Bahr, a collector and dealer of Chinese art in North America. (Lee 2015, 11-12)</p>
<p>The same study by Professor Lee also sheds light on the shift of function and meanings of such Central Asian pieces that resulted from these sales and dispersions. Moving into the collections of people with different agendas, some of the German pieces were transformed into art objects serving the goals of their new owners. In the Museum of Ethnology, these Central Asian pieces were exhibited in accord with the museum’s educational agenda for the general public and Le Coq’s intention to tell the narrative of the classical antiquity’s eastern genealogy.</p>
<p>Some of the German pieces ended up in private collections, while many pieces were purchased by North American museums through dealers after the pieces had left Germany. Sixteen pieces of Kizil mural paintings were purchased and later donated to what is now the Smithsonian American Art Museum by <a href="http://americanart.si.edu/visit/about/history/gellatly/">John Gellatly (1852–1931)</a>. As he was primarily known for his collection of American Art, the Kizil pieces were appreciated aesthetically as art works and exhibited without any indication of their Central Asian contexts. (Lee 2015, 5-11; 12-14)</p>
<p>In other cases, the new owners sometimes appreciated Central Asian pieces as expressing a fundamental unity in artistic or religious works across cultures and times. This was the case for the French author, art historian, and statesman, André Malraux (1901-1976). Malraux saw a striking similarity between Buddhist heads from Afghanistan and the sculpted heads of Notre-Dame de Reims of the French Gothic which led him to promote his Afghan Buddhist heads as the 'Gothic-Buddhist' works, embodying the sentiment found in the French Gothic art works (Levine 2012). Interestingly, according to Ernst Waldschmidt, Malraux's pieces possibly originated from the same source that supplied pieces to the Berlin Museum of Ethnology (Waldschmidt 1932, 3; Levine 2012, 637-638).</p>
<p>Cropped from Buddhist visual narratives of cave shrines and reframed as independent pieces, many buddhas, bodhisattvas, and celestial beings with their serene expressions were appreciated in new ways in new contexts.</p>
<p>References:<p>
<p>Levine, Gregory P. A. 2011. “Malraux’s Buddha Heads.” In <cite>A companion to Asian Art and Architecture</cite>, edited by Rebecca M. Brown and Deborah S. Hutton, 629-646. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.
<p>Lee, Sonya S. 2015. “Central Asia Coming to the Museum: The Display of Kucha Mural Fragments in Interwar Germany and the United States.” <cite>Journal of the History of Collections</cite>. Advanced Access published October 17, 2015. Accessed February 4, 2016. doi: 10.1093/jhc/fhv031.
<p>Morita, Miki. 2015. <a href="http://www.metmuseum.org/art/metpublications/Morita_Metropolitan_Museum_Journal_v_50_2015">“The Kizil Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum.”</a> <cite>The Metropolitan Museum Journal</cite> 50: 115-135.<p>
<p>Schlingloff, Dieter. 2011. <cite>Albert von Le Coq und die Wandmalereien von Kizil (Addendum zu der Denkschrift: T III MQR, Eine ostturkistanische Klosterbibliothek und ihr Schicksal).</cite> Leipzig: private print.</p>
<p>Ueno Aki 上野アキ. 1978. “Kijiru nihonjin dō no hekiga: Ru・Kokku shūshū saiiki hekiga chōsa, 1” キジル日本人洞の壁画: ル・コック収集西域壁画調査 1 [Mural paintings from Japaner Höhle in Kizil: Research on the mural paintings from the Western Regions collected by Le Coq, 1]. <cite>Bijutsu kenkyū</cite> 美術研究 [Journal of Art Studies] 308 (October):113–20.</p>
<p>― 1980a. “Kijiru dai san ku maya dō hekiga seppō zu - jō: Ru・Kokku shūshū saiiki hekiga chōsa, 2” キジル第三区マヤ洞壁画説法図—上: ル・コック収集西域壁画調査 2 [Mural paintings of preaching scenes in Māyāhöhle, 3. Anlage, first part: Research on the mural paintings from the Western Regions collected by Le Coq, 2]. <cite>Bijutsu kenkyū</cite> 美術研究 [Journal of Art Studies] 312 (February):48–61.</p>
<p>― 1980b. “Kijiru dai san ku maya dō hekiga seppō zu - jō (zoku): Ru・Kokku shūshū saiiki hekiga chōsa, 2” キジル第三区マヤ洞壁画説法図—上 (続): ル・コック収集西域壁画調査 2 [Mural paintings of preaching scenes in Māyāhöhle, 3. Anlage, first part (sequel): Research on the mural paintings from the Western Regions collected by Le Coq, 2]. <cite>Bijutsu kenkyū</cite> 美術研究 [Journal of Art Studies] 313 (March):91–97.</p>
<p>Waldschmidt, Ernst. 1932. “Die Stuckplastik der Gandhära-Schule (Zu Einigen Neuerwerbungen des Museums Für Völkerkunde).” <cite>Berliner Museen</cite> 53 (1):1-9.</p>
<p>Zhao Li 赵莉. 2009. “Kezi’er shiku bufen liushi bihua yuanwei kaozheng yu fuyuan” 克孜尔石窟部分流失壁画原位考证与复原 [Historical retrospect on mural outflow in Kizil Grottoes and restoration in its original site]. <cite>Zhongguo wenhua yichan</cite> 中国文化遗产 [China Cultural Heritage] 2009(3):88–99.</p>
<p>Note: I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Michelle C. Wang for her insightful suggestion for this blog post.</p>
Miki Moritahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12466832859886799215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-779666019747639749.post-45566362939071951172016-09-30T10:46:00.003+01:002016-09-30T10:46:49.150+01:00North American Silk Road Collections: In Search of Provenance<p>One of my tasks as a research fellow for the Georgetown-IDP project for the North American Silk Road Collections is to locate the pieces’ original locations, including their placement within the archaeological sites. Such information can be derived from various sources, such as stylistic analyses, the materials used, published archaeological reports, and archival records. And sometimes, such provenance information has been inscribed on the pieces by the archaeologist.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEPVvfZ7TPQ1zp9Sssd4Xis2I8z045N3MRaCIZckrNaZujjMUWkkfp5Okt_LnDkzDMyLIWpaoe2DsE5sTfjZao1u5ZzfNzIUSBGiLST8mnc4HvmziQNKx8HYkueMUZt5lGqJejY0lLaV0/s1600/Back+of+C412.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEPVvfZ7TPQ1zp9Sssd4Xis2I8z045N3MRaCIZckrNaZujjMUWkkfp5Okt_LnDkzDMyLIWpaoe2DsE5sTfjZao1u5ZzfNzIUSBGiLST8mnc4HvmziQNKx8HYkueMUZt5lGqJejY0lLaV0/s320/Back+of+C412.JPG" width="320" height="213" /></a><div>Reverse of Object C412. Photographer: Miki Morita</div></div>
<p>The picture above shows the back of one of the fragmentary murals which I introduced in my <a href="http://idpuk.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/cataloguing-north-american-collections.html">last blog post</a> (Penn Museum, C412). The inscription incised directly into the stucco plaster base reads as follows:</p>
<p>
III Reise M. Ŏ. M.<br/>
Hŏhle I<br/>
im Schutt gefunden.</p>
<p>This simple inscription carries much information about this piece’s provenance. First, it is written in German, and we know from colleagues in the German collections that the German expeditions used various abbreviations to denote the provenance. So the first line, 'III Reise' (the third tour), indicates that this fragment was obtained during the third of the <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/pages/collections_de.a4d">four German expeditions</a> held between 1902 and 1914. The third expedition (1905–1907) covered sites around the areas of Kucha and Turfan.</p>
<p>The rest of the inscription gives information on where the fragment was discovered. This part of the inscription is usually straightforward, but sometimes confusing due to abbreviations and errors. In the case of this fragment at the Penn Museum, Professor Adam Smith of the University of Pennsylvania, Stephen Lang of the Penn Museum, and I worked together to reconstruct and translate this inscription, also consulting colleagues at IDP Germany. </p>
<p>The first two letters 'M. Ŏ.' are most probably an abbreviation for 'Ming-Öi', namely 'thousand houses'. This was a general term often used by the locals for Buddhist cave temples. However, it can be confusing. Aurel Stein, for example, used 'Ming-Öi' to refer to the Buddhist cave temples near Shikchin. In the case of some other fragments from the Kizil caves, these characters are followed by 'Q', indicating the transcription used by the Germans for Kizil, namely 'Qyzil'. Accordingly, the third 'M' should indicate a cave temple site visited in the third German expedition. In fact 'M' is most commonly used by the German expeditions to refer to 'Murtuk' (or Murtuq as transcribed by the Germans), and this is also reinforced by the style of the bodhisattva. </p>
<p>Although there are cave temples known as Murtuk, another cave temple site nearby was also included under this designation, namely that of Bezeklik. It was visited during the third German expedition, and 'Höhle I' (Cave 1) of the German numbering of the caves corresponds to Cave 9 in the current numbering. In <cite>Altbuddhistische Kultstätten in Chinesisch-Turkistan</cite> by Albert Grünwedel, the archaeological report for the third German expedition, we are able to find a record of the rear wall of 'Höhle I', which is filled with rows of praying bodhisattvas (Grünwedel 1912: 231).</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijicNoKS5HtpW9jslpv9qo-CSura9JS0c7oW6IFL3PBKSt4RRtcNB8cnWLlKbwQW8DG_7qzKD52SJFxr_M5GULp-nvgoOPoWwP51Vt7iAPWzzb8Ptkahd_NDnrHZUkBZxlE7lREI9o7Ww/s1600/MIK+IB+8492+Recto+from+IDP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijicNoKS5HtpW9jslpv9qo-CSura9JS0c7oW6IFL3PBKSt4RRtcNB8cnWLlKbwQW8DG_7qzKD52SJFxr_M5GULp-nvgoOPoWwP51Vt7iAPWzzb8Ptkahd_NDnrHZUkBZxlE7lREI9o7Ww/s320/MIK+IB+8492+Recto+from+IDP.jpg" width="320" height="214" /></a><div>Wall painting of adoring bodhisattvas from “Höhle I” (Asian Art Museum, National Museums in Berlin, MIK IB 8492 [lost during the Second World War]; retrieved from the IDP database [Le Coq 1926: 23, pl. 23; Dreyer, Sander, and Weis 2002: 152])</div></div>
<p>Fortunately, parts of these bodhisattva paintings on the back wall and also on the sides of niches of the corridor remain <i>in-situ</i> in Cave 9 (Höhle I), and they show great similarities to the bodhisattva on the Penn Museum’s piece. Therefore, we concluded that the reconstruction and translation of the inscription should be '3rd expedition, Ming-Öi, Murtuk; Cave 1; Found in the rubble', and this piece most probably originates from Cave 9 (Höhle I) of the Bezeklik caves.</p>
<p>It is confirmed that several museums in North America hold fragments of similar bodhisattva heads. Although I have not seen their inscriptions, the stylistic features and archival information of some of the pieces suggest that they most likely belong to the same Bezeklik cave. While each piece consists of a small bodhisattva’s head, together they would complete the beautiful wall of adorning bodhisattvas.</p>
<p>The question now arises of how pieces from the German state-sponsored expeditions, most of which are now in museum and libraries in Germany (and Russia), found their way to North America. I will explore this in a future blog post.</p>
<p>References:<p>
<p>Dreyer, Caren, Lore Sander, and Friederike Weis. 2002.<cite>Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Dokumentation der Verluste</cite>, vol. 5. Berlin: Staatliche Museen, Preußischer Kulturbesitz.</p>
<p>Gabsch, Toralf. (ed.). 2012.<cite> Auf Grünwedels Spuren: Restaurierung und Forschung an zentralasiatischen Wandmalereien</cite>. Leipzig: Koehler & Amelang.</p>
<p>Grünwedel, Albert. 1912. <cite>Altbuddhistische Kultstätten in Chinesisch-Turkistan; Bericht über archäologische Arbeiten von 1906 bis 1907 bei Kuča, Qarašahr und in der oase Turfan</cite>. Berlin: G. Reimer.</p>
<p>Härtel, Herbert, and Marianne Yaldiz. 1982. <cite><a href="http://www.metmuseum.org/art/metpublications/along_the_ancient_silk_routes_central_asian_art_from_the_west_berlin_state_museums">Along the Ancient Silk Routes</a>: Central Asian Art from the West Berlin State Museums: an exhibition lent by the Museum für Indische Kunst, Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany</cite>. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art.
<p>Le Coq, Albert von. 1926. <cite><a href="http://dsr.nii.ac.jp/toyobunko/LFB-2/V-5/index.html.en">Die buddhistische Spätantike in Mittelasien</a></cite>, vol. V Neue Bildwerke. Berlin:Reimer u. Vohsen.</p>
<p>The Kucha Academy and the Asian Art Museum, National Museums in Berlin, are currently also engaged in an an international project to locate the mural fragments from the Kucha region. Their aims include the reconstruction of the murals in selected caves, in which these inscriptions found on the back offer important clues. Thanks to colleagues in Berlin for their help with this work.</p>
Miki Moritahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12466832859886799215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-779666019747639749.post-38932752677368880932016-07-27T10:05:00.002+01:002016-07-27T10:05:38.275+01:00Cataloguing North American Collections<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUHRCLbaOQWAwkZkycmogpvxGx60eHUEzdJb2n9WynE_LZPt1mwTDTNbqe_PK64wMabc9oFcwCd0cdb8c83_TRqIhNqA3XXz6gls5UG2koukG0UDl7V9yge8RJiuXGysjrQfubjhQv1cY/s1600/_L2C2121%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUHRCLbaOQWAwkZkycmogpvxGx60eHUEzdJb2n9WynE_LZPt1mwTDTNbqe_PK64wMabc9oFcwCd0cdb8c83_TRqIhNqA3XXz6gls5UG2koukG0UDl7V9yge8RJiuXGysjrQfubjhQv1cY/s320/_L2C2121%25281%2529.jpg" width="213" height="320" /></a></div>
<p>My name is Miki Morita, and I am a new postdoctoral fellow for a joint project between IDP and Georgetown University in Washington D.C.* In this role I will be collecting data and conducting research on Chinese Central Asian manuscripts, art works, and archaeological artefacts in North American collections for inclusion on IDP online.</p>
<p>Very few North American items have been studied extensively, and even fewer have been incorporated into the IDP database. When I was cataloguing some mural fragments from the Kizil Caves (Baicheng County, Xinjiang) in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I came to notice the existence of less-known Chinese Central Asian works of art and archaeological artefacts, and felt a strong need to create a universal catalogue for scholarly purposes. IDP was, of course, aware of such Chinese Central Asian materials and had already been working with some of North American institutions. I feel very fortunate that I can take part in this project, which allows me to pursue my research interest in Chinese Central Asian pieces in North America.</p>
<p>The most thrilling part of this project is that we do not know what can be found in the North American collections. Some of the pieces have been recognised and studied in the past, such as a major collection of manuscripts in the Library of Congress and Kizil mural paintings at the Smithsonian Institution. On the other hand, there are pieces that have not yet attracted scholarly attention, such as the following mural fragment (C411) from the collection of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology.</p>
<div class="imgcaption">
<img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBibJ1LueKtunB6GPd53t9GGSF0Qv9V9urlf1VkYaaWwX-zaKgHpS_va-pBsSitAl1d7i9A5gRwuu-21syoVfhxR74Uz0M2McIQs6_oJrGha_VE6fPwUPWhmVTYPlp99TdA2_H7WedZgw/s400/blogC411.jpg" width="400" />Object C411. Courtesy of the Penn Museum.</div>
<p>This fragment, containing busts of three Buddhist deities in the Indo-Iranian style II of Kizil mural paintings, was displayed in one of the galleries, yet was not known and studied by art historians until recently. It turns out to be a part of a lunette of Cave 38 in the Kizil Caves in Xinjiang, and was originally collected during the fourth German expedition led by Albert von le Coq in the early twentieth century.</p>
<p>While the Cave 38 fragment of the Penn Museum is a relatively major piece with three figures, many Chinese Central Asian pieces in the North American collections could be small and fragmentary pieces. For example, the same museum also owns two small mural fragments (C412, C413B) that each depict the head of a Buddhist deity.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZjbnypiEkkdlK9L9waKS3oKNaI6aEB1mj7q02cynliHmWGc0AJnJYpJ6ifIHITRLeoBfewl9Kt3WTmaTmYm0FrWekaOI4Yzqr5p6n_4tiPWB1UdWFuT3-Kxv-5gb93Rxry3zeMtv01rY/s1600/blogC412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZjbnypiEkkdlK9L9waKS3oKNaI6aEB1mj7q02cynliHmWGc0AJnJYpJ6ifIHITRLeoBfewl9Kt3WTmaTmYm0FrWekaOI4Yzqr5p6n_4tiPWB1UdWFuT3-Kxv-5gb93Rxry3zeMtv01rY/s400/blogC412.jpg" width="347" height="400" /></a><div>Object C412. Courtesy of the Penn Museum</div></div>
<p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0noIbibQUlu3JCAcyAGfU-_FITpuaCH45qq3oJ3QBYbmitnghaqsd_vhvSZ7Sj5hAnseNlYXIrwaRRxxlrvTClr3cXBgvBGAupyFPGhhsrd-OPgFfTaZ_E1Dn4jjfqcYYz8zixkDMozw/s1600/blogC413B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0noIbibQUlu3JCAcyAGfU-_FITpuaCH45qq3oJ3QBYbmitnghaqsd_vhvSZ7Sj5hAnseNlYXIrwaRRxxlrvTClr3cXBgvBGAupyFPGhhsrd-OPgFfTaZ_E1Dn4jjfqcYYz8zixkDMozw/s400/blogC413B.jpg" width="341" height="400" /></a><div>Object C413B. Courtesy of the Penn Museum</div></div>
<p>Despite their size, such small pieces are part of a limited number of remaining Chinese Central Asian pieces and represent very important pieces in the effort to complete a picture of the history and culture of this region. Moreover, each piece comes with unique provenance information that collectively offers a perspective on the formation of the Chinese Central Asian collections in North America.</p>
<p>Fingers crossed that there remain many more pieces residing within the North American collections! I am very excited to see what new scholarly developments can be made based on the outcome of this cataloguing project.</p>
*Thanks to the Henry Luce Foundation for funding this post, and to the Dunhuang Foundation US for funding the training visit of Dr Morita to IDP at the British Library. Miki Moritahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12466832859886799215noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-779666019747639749.post-38900244636285119692016-06-17T12:38:00.002+01:002016-06-17T12:38:51.505+01:00A guide to orientating your tomb<p>Among the manuscripts found in the library cave of the Mogao Grottoes complex, near Dunhuang, there are a number of fascinating divination works. These include the scroll <a href="http://idp.bl.uk:80/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=Or.8210/S.3877;img=10">Or.8210/S.3877</a>, recently conserved by colleagues Wong Wing-hui and Vania Assis (see related <a href="http://idpuk.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/conserving-chinese-scroll.html">blog post</a>).
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBos3CuHaqRzpOi5huH8Pg_o24BpiSn6EWbJR97wDCzevoJhzyPl05BMLbKxIijmfSyw3dVPr3pjtzmV9waq5n7eypg1itYFGl0p_0bJxoxjyBLsgIgKYyDVCawxkn9fy7TwfZ62PjI793/s1600/after1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBos3CuHaqRzpOi5huH8Pg_o24BpiSn6EWbJR97wDCzevoJhzyPl05BMLbKxIijmfSyw3dVPr3pjtzmV9waq5n7eypg1itYFGl0p_0bJxoxjyBLsgIgKYyDVCawxkn9fy7TwfZ62PjI793/s400/after1.jpeg" /></a>
<p>Made of thin yellow paper and written in a rather rough hand, this manuscript was probably intended for personal, rather than more official, use. It includes extracts from different titles, as well as a lay society circular and contracts, some of which are dated from 897, 902 and 909. Its sketches are of particular interest for us as they illustrate a form of divination crucial in ancient China: one that focused on where best to build a tomb.
<p>Geomancy, sometimes referred to as 'siting', dictated the positioning of both domestic and funerary structures, from palaces to graves. It led to practices often better-known nowadays under the term <i>fengshui</i>, literally translated as "wind-water" and thought to go back to the Song Dynasty. Its primary focus, nonetheless, remained on the deceased.
<p>The front of scroll <a href="http://idp.bl.uk:80/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=Or.8210/S.3877;img=10">Or.8210/S.3877</a> is entirely filled by a drawing depicting four different topographical configurations. This appears to be a concrete example of how to determine the appropriate location for a funerary site. First is a group of mounds evoking hills. A patchy inscription, of which only the characters "大吉" (<i>daji</i>) survive, indicates a "very lucky, highly auspicious" spot.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDUsjeK7SIrwI_bwgJQS5k_Snc36jbFTJ1CzdADHQYy1jS45mNn5vDjwjPNYS-JgaDBf4vVZyFt34EYadb1llJNo8_YI4LjUxmJUc0sjbR8z4CdhGZmQwr4aeHP8l2mG9k3tTZeH0N65gl/s1600/Auspicious+caption.1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDUsjeK7SIrwI_bwgJQS5k_Snc36jbFTJ1CzdADHQYy1jS45mNn5vDjwjPNYS-JgaDBf4vVZyFt34EYadb1llJNo8_YI4LjUxmJUc0sjbR8z4CdhGZmQwr4aeHP8l2mG9k3tTZeH0N65gl/s400/Auspicious+caption.1.png" /></a></div>
<p>Another caption at the centre of this mountainous formation states that a sepulture positioned there would bring unending riches and honour: "葬得此地,富貴不絕" (<i>zang dei cidi, fugui bujue</i>).
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_5QPV3wDXGc3oxqLJUDliL7xWpAzR003pxGCCdMcOduVVllMDMj395jUBKnqGqZo-HGlf74YZVCW-0TatimfUqFcy1vnmuEaA50QV033eLKOtrQeJnWBzXLs1jNou1o-vczyqq5V7PaVH/s1600/Auspicious+caption.2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_5QPV3wDXGc3oxqLJUDliL7xWpAzR003pxGCCdMcOduVVllMDMj395jUBKnqGqZo-HGlf74YZVCW-0TatimfUqFcy1vnmuEaA50QV033eLKOtrQeJnWBzXLs1jNou1o-vczyqq5V7PaVH/s400/Auspicious+caption.2.png" /></a></div>
<p>The other three landforms, though not as easily identifiable, are all named as mountain ridges: <i>Baozi Gang</i> (抱子崗), shown in the photograph below, <i>Sangai Shangang</i> (散盖山崗), and <i>Xionglong Shangang</i> (雄龍山崗).
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfIAwQh_7ixsqmqW5n09TCLD8v5vCwWL-47894UNBukPZS3HkoZJXHSv1xQwtdfOSgMGWsZfWultisKXSa75EQ1ONQshYy5HXtZUcwMI_Ct2Q1-2UgmLNpDE1hdiCYnk8M8VnjICZ-RRws/s1600/Baozi+Gang.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfIAwQh_7ixsqmqW5n09TCLD8v5vCwWL-47894UNBukPZS3HkoZJXHSv1xQwtdfOSgMGWsZfWultisKXSa75EQ1ONQshYy5HXtZUcwMI_Ct2Q1-2UgmLNpDE1hdiCYnk8M8VnjICZ-RRws/s400/Baozi+Gang.png" /></a></div>
<p>Again, auspicious sites are designated by inscriptions: <i>chu erqian dan</i> 出二千石, <i>lingzhang</i> 令長, <i>chu jiuqing xiang</i> 出九卿相, <i>chu fangbo</i> 出方伯. Unfavourable sites for a sepulture are equally singled out by the character <i>xiong</i> 凶, meaning "ominous, inauspicious".
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7qFczfmxXBm3_Y3EXYED1E26bupYMS53JqakVLzg0dKQhQJuNAivyC41RINeZCwrQYZNMOhlztzi2kYGNp1caEI4J9ir6qP4OL6XN9GdfToFT4E_LnGgWLOQyQjZ0s4WRL_Cfchyh7MpU/s1600/Xiong.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7qFczfmxXBm3_Y3EXYED1E26bupYMS53JqakVLzg0dKQhQJuNAivyC41RINeZCwrQYZNMOhlztzi2kYGNp1caEI4J9ir6qP4OL6XN9GdfToFT4E_LnGgWLOQyQjZ0s4WRL_Cfchyh7MpU/s400/Xiong.png" /></a></div>
<p>Two mysterious human figures are also represented. Who are they? Despite looking very similar, it seems that each of them is engaged in a different type of activity. One is bare foot, while the other is wearing boots. It is hard to know what the first one is doing because of the fragmentary nature of the document, but the second one seems to be holding something.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ot1d5Ayy3Kyx23gts1LAIFRjQ7XfE6yLtxnmMUFVyfjp3vIQyJuSEwv85JEaRlElV0qCrsvwLw63Ge_rKUINEO9wnJB255voExcsJNqdQFUN-CEtRHnudGw8en_HdTl_l2ufT39S8MsK/s1600/Littleman1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ot1d5Ayy3Kyx23gts1LAIFRjQ7XfE6yLtxnmMUFVyfjp3vIQyJuSEwv85JEaRlElV0qCrsvwLw63Ge_rKUINEO9wnJB255voExcsJNqdQFUN-CEtRHnudGw8en_HdTl_l2ufT39S8MsK/s400/Littleman1.png" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirvjwpHo4HSlwrVnAlb9Q9_o9sQxSRN7a7vSfQ48CAHzOJzSRKclONg3ki6byggNdgF5z91Br9Pby7-FUkQVjmKNQObNjW3T3eYNFJdKgHpdiGAb29TqfcSuDSqGgvC4AQ74e2Hix4GqxS/s1600/Littleman2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirvjwpHo4HSlwrVnAlb9Q9_o9sQxSRN7a7vSfQ48CAHzOJzSRKclONg3ki6byggNdgF5z91Br9Pby7-FUkQVjmKNQObNjW3T3eYNFJdKgHpdiGAb29TqfcSuDSqGgvC4AQ74e2Hix4GqxS/s400/Littleman2.png" /></a></div>
<p>Could they be the geomancer? Or are they the individual who commissioned the document? My guess is as good as yours, so if you have any thoughts please let us know!
<p>On the back of the same manuscript is an incomplete diagram of an auspicious familial gravesite, with several scribbled notes.
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<p>Three circles indicate the respective grave mounds of a grand-father, '祖父' (<i>zufu</i>) and of two of his descendants, both buried with their three children. The tombs are arranged across a square plot of land, which is delineated by an open-topped enclosure, probably the entrance, and marked in each corner by what could be watch-towers.
<p>Such a distribution of the sepultures must have been fairly popular during that period, as scroll <a href="http://idp.bl.uk:80/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=Or.8210/S.2263;img=2">Or.8210/S.2263</a> - also in the Stein collection - possesses a very similar representation.
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<p>As demonstrated in this manuscript, extra care was thefore paid to the location and orientation of familial graves. Concern with divination as a device to assure a proper burial for one's parents already appeared in the <i>Classic of Filial Pity</i> 孝經 (<i>Xiaojing</i>), during the Western Han dynasty (206BCE-8CE): "<i>[The filial son] determines the burial place [of his parents] by divination and puts them to rest.</i>" Over the following centuries, Chinese people increasingly started to believe that an auspicious burial site would also bring good fortune to succeeding generations, and geomancy came to be seen as a way of influencing the future.
Mélodie Doumyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683938866329949380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-779666019747639749.post-56440152440202648122016-05-26T14:54:00.000+01:002016-05-26T14:55:55.758+01:00A Gilgit manuscript at the British Library<a href="http://idp.bl.uk:80/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=Or.11878B(A);img=1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3zr8uiwf-z9eOaOGC8Q830xlJ4iIUvX59u5DnNIJmMkQIxmm60Mjv8B_QfK4otzV5INX7PR9A0xON0GfmHYkqI6662QeX0rb5JegLqhZTcKyvCcl_8p44_BFeUSNMLqM6yUKOzYK8FAYb/s400/OR11878A.jpg" /></a>
<p>The Gilgit manuscripts, which were found in the village of Naupur in the 1930s (now in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan), are one of the most finds of important Asian manuscripts. The cache was first discovered in 1931 by locals in an ancient ruin, which may have been the residence of a Buddhist monk. They are thought to be the remnants of a Buddhist library, dating from the 5th to 7th centuries AD.</p>
<p>The explorer Aurel Stein, who was passing through the area at the time the manuscripts were first discovered, reported the find in a newspaper article, and several excavations followed. The majority of the Gilgit manuscripts are now held the the National Archives in New Delhi and Shri Pratap Singh Museum in Srinagar (see <a href="http://www.fom.sg/Passage/2014/05manuscripts.pdf">this essay</a> for more details). The British Library also has a small selection of the manuscripts.</p>
<p>In a letter, Stein wrote:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Meanwhile I have sent some well preserved leaves of two mss. which had been secured from the hands of villagers to Dr. Barnett at the British Museum as a temporary deposit. I have left it to him either to examine them himself or to pass them into competent hands. Kindly put yourself into touch with him, in case you thought it desirable to take up this limited task.</blockquote>
<p>The two manuscripts mentioned by Stein are:</p>
<p>(1) <a href="http://idp.bl.uk:80/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=Or.11878A;img=1">Or.11878A</a>: Eleven folios of a birchbark manuscript containing the major part of the <i>Saṅgharakṣitāvadāna</i> (<i>Divyāvadāna</i> XXIII), and a part of the monastic regulations of the Mulasarvāstivāda school of Buddhism.</p>
<p>(2) <a href="http://idp.bl.uk:80/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=Or.11878B(A);img=1">Or.11878B</a>: Seven folios of a manuscript containing the Sanskrit text of the Lotus Sutra (<i>Saddharmapuṇḍarīka</i>).
<p>While the vast majority of the Gilgit manuscripts are made from birch-bark, the pages containing the Lotus Sutra (pictured above) are made from paper. The white appearance of the paper is caused by the use of gypsum to 'size' the paper before it was written on. The manuscript had probably travelled west from one of the Buddhist kingdoms of the Silk Road, such as Kucha, where many manuscripts of this type have been found.</p>
<h3>
References</h3>
<p>Shayne Clarke, <cite>Gilgit Manuscripts in the National Archives of India: Facsimile Edition. Volume I. Vinaya Texts.</cite> National Archives of India and IRIAB, Soka University, 2014.</p>
<p>Oskar von Hinuber, "The Gilgit Manuscripts: An Ancient Buddhist Library in Modern Research." In Paul Harrison and Jens-Uwe Hartmann (eds.), <cite>From Birch Bark to Digital Data: Recent Advances in Buddhist Manuscript Research</cite>, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna, 2013. 79-135.</p>
<p>Noriyuki KUDO, "Gilgit Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra Manuscript in the British Library, Or.11878B–G." In <cite>Annual Report of The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University</cite> 28 (2015), 197-213.</p>Sam van Schaikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00056636306127814762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-779666019747639749.post-72685716917200460792016-04-29T17:05:00.000+01:002016-04-29T17:07:27.682+01:00Publication: The Three Hares, A Curiosity Worth Regarding<br><div align="center">
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL-QSqcSMTcS5ilJm6sFa3OFoYbJZkZlmuz-UQVv5iN-2kRRcBMbpGx7df-hraBUcQsRcVq7AhuGRWOim5wcZU2glfiPkdSZAlJhvIJdljeKqiHWejomTQayQet1gkBT-KqL8UsdSuYdXG/s400/Hares300.jpg" /></div></br>
<h2>TOM GREEVES, SUE ANDREW AND CHRIS CHAPMAN</h2>
<span style="font-size: 09.0pt;">Hardback, 368 pp., 326 illustrations</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 09.0pt;">ISBN : 9780993103926</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 09.0pt;">England: Skerryvore Productions Ltd, 2016</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 09.0pt;">Price: £30.00</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 09.0pt;">Order online <a href="http://www.chrischapmanphotography.co.uk/hares/page8.htm">here</a></span><br />
<p>From fifteenth-century rural churches in deepest Devon to sixth-century cave temples on the edge of the Gobi desert in China, this book follows its three authors on the tantalising trail of a mysterious medieval motif - three hares running in a circle sharing three ears which form a triangle at the centre of the design.</p>
<p>Along the way, a modern Devon myth is exposed, and the Three Hares in the sacred art of Christianity, Judaism and Buddhism are explored, and tentatively explained, before the trail leads into the Islamic world, and the great Mongol Empire.</p>
Mélodie Doumyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683938866329949380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-779666019747639749.post-67457199429942462432016-04-22T13:32:00.000+01:002016-04-22T13:32:04.389+01:00Conserving a Chinese scroll
<p><i>Vania Assis is Conservator of the Dunhuang scrolls at the British Library, and works on various projects supporting IDP's activities. Here is a post about one of her latest conservation jobs.</i></p>
<p>My colleague Wong Wing-hui and I recently worked on the Chinese scroll <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=Or.8210/S.3877;img=1">Or.8210/S.3877</a>. Like other items in the Stein collection, it had been previously treated during its life as a collection item.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPoX3UMGoTq0Hde0xNU-3SK3qatonuinPzZhK4chpXto9i0GmTJLjFdApV2YBenNdlmHxinqQogliF6c9qA_QVpuW6RD14sEv9BT8NfLOgpef68kJMKmpPdxe2Y4T0hkiWdt7myXIRh4zE/s400/IMG_1403.jpeg" /></div>
<p>In the past, various materials were used to strengthen and repair manuscripts. In the case of our scroll, silk gauze was pasted on both sides with animal glue. There were, sometimes, several layers on top of each other. Heavy and thick paper was also applied to reinforce weak areas, such as edges, tears and missing areas.
<div class="imgcaption"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUTPgKd8Gp1DsVpzxd-GE_lmrLb09kPG6_H9w-lQyefxbkriqWow4Z1ysQExgEb42lQ_EsiBOpmuioBPtcvhjsY5ijpCMR3jwied0CEguCTGa7F9MY6m3K42aQ-2bI8qwvIDGhIuPyWGPz/s400/IMG_0369.JPG" />Gauze covering the surface of scroll <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=Or.8210/S.3877;img=1">Or.8210/S.3877</a></div>
<p>As these materials aged, they became more unstable, causing the item to distort and transferring acidity to the paper. Higher acidity meant that the document became discoloured, which when combined with the texture of the gauze meant that it was difficult to perceive the original aspect of the scroll. In addition, a lower pH also made the item more brittle, making safe handling problematic.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3tY2fwN73zcvitssL2QkgfYMqAPMgxGvw_KzvQtLoZoxEvspeLaSoRSMcwioreWt2GPrbBamUaSvjXACdrzHAv70_3C-Glh5uH0PSkjhaZeVcAremJxtiZ-3pTd02qHzDJWVvHNrSsNNI/s400/IMG_8520.jpeg" /></div>
<div class="imgcaption"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKsFpJpKvGynlBMmQ7aPd3yFKu9FZO6uNtEJa46lcdcT6GZNQYRW-ENVXEtsOh8zOhY0yyp94JRQGQJRD9cUgVzTToXh5J2wlGgw82NqZ5e_3r4N42DOyAa6Eq1JAOUUTY-WuiFdjpqlZi/s400/before1.jpeg" />Scroll <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=Or.8210/S.3877;img=1">Or.8210/S.3877</a> before conservation</div>
<p>Removing these materials proved very challenging: first, because they heavily adhered to the most vulnerable areas; second, because the paper used to make this scroll was particularly thin and transparent.
<p>We worked on a section at a time, using hot water to reactivate the animal glue. We then removed the gauze with tweezers, carefully pulling it away from the paper. One of the most time-consuming processes was to remove the residual animal glue, which had been used in very large quantities. We did so by scraping it with a spatula, while it was damp. During this stage, we also removed old repairs, as they easily peeled away from the original material.</p>
<p>To repair the scroll's countless small tears and lacunae, we used Japanese paper, which is not only more sympathetic to the original paper, but also light weight and acid-free.<br />
<div class="imgcaption"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-0vk_u2HibKvO2C-pQms1pU0ldEBse9HaRubDorBk4eQm3fM906XLK4NsHx5_XcX5xIxkKQXqZhPmfGC1ShLdrMEFTKce9CVJeqCAhneZjR3LFQQqcd9XbqRwON8r9OG3s6xWEVP_N1iK/s400/detail1.jpeg" />Detail of scroll <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=Or.8210/S.3877;img=1">Or.8210/S.3877</a> before conservation</div>
<div class="imgcaption"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixACxR-jqB7C7y9EQIDqodtXUDCKLt1qNyR0RTGLt3qGJgROH76JQW7FGnUnZSH0_zF8MyinY1dMLKYFxliP-FFOBd__TuqD7fBUOhlbxdxAWhRpno9TbRf7_yMHTZTUNdZyJ-x4deG8kV/s400/detail2.jpeg" />Detail of scroll <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=Or.8210/S.3877;img=1">Or.8210/S.3877</a> after conservation</div>
<p>After all treatments, the scroll was lightly pressed for a week, to flatten any distortions. Finally, we rolled it onto an archival quality core support, and it is now ready to be digitised and handled!</p>
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcimQNiCzd3vg-VfmJg0teCh6CrgoLtIPg2fZrszkxa0ap3wK53XvblEVG8wCuHifjvLemX1N5c88z9PHhS9PW2LKP3yHTfKgBPiGnRQe0h22QxaLWUsYLAhrpio2d99ggZz59ktywlNeR/s400/after2.jpeg" />
<div class="imgcaption"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNE-v-rYqUqQxi0u11JONxkFR5UaHWU-8vGexyAlOqtj6sHr9Az_QoC3AuPHM7sQsE5W1UrCSkhuqQI5qZgKI3SCuBUn7F3L2vDNCKbtR3nSlO_hShnW4qcMBZTB6_LKHFZv-ZCWYfGA3W/s400/after1.jpeg" />Scroll <a href="http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=Or.8210/S.3877;img=1">Or.8210/S.3877</a> after conservation</div>Mélodie Doumyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683938866329949380noreply@blogger.com0