AN EXTREMELY RARE AND IMPORTANT TANG DYNASTY PAINTING ON SILK

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A VERY RARE TANG BUDDHIST PAINTING FROM THE COLLECTION OF FRED H. ANDREWS, O.B.E. (1864-1957) Fig. 1 Fred Andrews (on the right) with his brother the actor George Arliss (centre), who is pictured wearing his costume as the Raja of Rukh in the film The Green Goddess, and the actor Sir Godfrey Tearle (left), who played Sir Henry Mallory to Arliss's Sultan of Rungay in the 1936 production of East Meets West. Fred H. Andrews, was born in Bloomsbury in London, one of nine children, of whom he was the fourth. His father was Arliss Andrews, whose family printing and publishing business had been founded by his grandfather John. Fred Andrews' younger brother was the famous actor who took the name George Arliss (shown in the photograph fig. 1 with Fred Andrews), who was the first British actor to win an Academy Award, for the title role in Disraeli, in 1930, and in the same year he was nominated for an Academy Award for his part in The Green Goddess. Early excursions to the British Museum, seem to have been one source of Fred Andrews' later interest in ancient cultures, while his early artistic talents took him the studio of an artist who worked with both stained glass and mural decoration, which no doubt provided him with useful insights into mural painting techniques that would serve him well in his subsequent researches in Asia. He also attended the St. Martin's School of Art, graduating from there in 1887, and teaching for a while at Chancery Lane School of Art. In 1890 he was appointed vice-principal of the Mayo School of Art in Lahore, later succedin Lockwood Kipling, father of Rudyard, both as principal of the school and also as curator of the Punjab Museum, which Rudyard Kipling immortalized in Kim. It was in Lahore that Andrews met, and became close friends with, Aurel Stein, who was then principal of the Oriental College and registrar of the new Lahore University. Andrews and his wife Alice (nèe Warr), became close friends with Stein and his wife, and with Sir Edwin and Lady Lutyens. It appears to have been Andrews who inspired Stein to turn his energies towards Asian archaeology and exploration. Andrews himself held a number of educational appointments: in 1898 he became head of the art department at the People's Palace, Whitechapel; in 1906 he became head of the Art School of Battersea Polytechnic; and in 1913 he went to Asia again, to Kashmir as principal of the new Technical Institute at Srinagar, for which he also drew up the plans. Wherever he was employed at the time, Andrews seems to have devoted his free time to working on the material collected by Stein, and in 1920 he resigned his post at Srinagar to concentrate on mounting, arranging and describing the wall paintings from Central Asia housed in New Delhi. Also in 1920 Andrews published his ground-breaking paper 'Ancient Chinese Figured Silks Excavated by Sir Aurel Stein at Ruined Sites of Central Asia', which first appeared in the Burlington Magazine, July-September 1920, and was then reprinted as a monograph by Bernard Quaritch, London. He received the O.B.E. in 1924, and finally returned to England in 1929. In the Introduction to Serindia: Detailed Report of Explorations in Central Asia and Westernmost China, published in 1921, Aurel Stein said: 'I could not have attempted within the allotted time of my 'deputation' in England to undertake all the manifold labours which arrangement and description of a collection so varied demanded, and for which my personal direction was needed, had I not enjoyed once again the great boon of the experienced and devoted assistance of my artist friend, Mr. Fred H. Andrews, late Principal of the School of Art, Lahore, and now Director of the Technical Institute of Kashmir. I have had repeated occasion before to record the invaluable services which his exceptional knowledge of Eastern arts and crafts in general, his prolonged study of Central-Asian antiquities, and his own artistic gifts have enabled him to render to our common tasks ever since the commencement of my Central-Asian explorations. My gratitude for the untiring efforts which Mr. Andrews bestowed upon tasks connected with my collection and the preparation of the present Report must be all the deeper because during those years, and down to 1913, they implied the sacrifice of what hard-earned leisure he could spare from exacting educational duties in London.' In his obituary in the Times of 2nd November 1957 the writer noted that Fred Andrews had not only read the proofs of all Aurel Stein's books and suggested certain corrections and adjustments, he had also prepared all of the illustrations, and many of the plans and sketch maps. On a more personal note, the Times recalled Andrews not as a dry scholar, but as 'a delightful companion', and one whose superb memory rendered him a fun of entertaining stories. A VERY RARE TANG BUDDHIST PAINTING Both the rectangular and triangular paintings would have been component parts of a Buddhist banner. It is not possible to be sure that they were from the same banner, but the triangular piece would have formed the top section of a banner, while the rectangular painting would have provided the main section, below which streamers would have been attached. Such banners could be either hung in temples or carried aloft on poles, as shown in an early 10th century painting depicting Avalokitesvara as Guide of Souls in the British Museum's collection of material from Aurel Stein.1 The silk of this banner is much finer than the fabric of which most banners are made, many being made of ramie. The silk of the current painting is fine silk tabby, and the sides have been carefully finished. The painting is also unusually finely done, and the colours have remained remarkably fresh. The figure of a young man is depicted richly dressed, with particularly fine and elaborate jewellery, and even wearing golden sandals. The tiara, heavy necklace, the large earrings which hang from his elongated ears, the disk-like upper arm bracelets, and the multiple bangles at his wrists, all appear to be made of gold, as does the bowl he holds in his left hand. Such rich accessories, together with the fine material of his skirt all suggest a prince of some importance, while the lotus pedestal on which he stands, the canopy above him, and the mandorla behind him all suggest a Bodhisattva. The peacock feather in the figure's right hand is an unusual attribute. Although Mukherjee convincingly argues that the bird on which the 5th century five-headed figure rests his feet at the entrance to cave no. 8 at Yungang, Shensi province is a peacock,2 the bird is by no means a naturalistic representation. However, as Ball points has pointed out, by the Tang dynasty peacocks were well known in China, and indeed some districts paid tribute in peacocks, their feathers being used both for imperial decoration, and for the designation of official rank.3 Even at this early date peacock feathers were apparently also bestowed on both civil and military officials as marks of imperial favour, rewarding faithful service. There are arguments for identification of the current figure as Avalokitesvara (Guanyin), however the painted Bodhisattva has no figure of Amitabha in his crown, and holds a bowl rather than the flask normally associated with Avolokitesvara. Nevertheless the peacock is associated with Avolokitesvara. One of the stories relating to the Chinese Guanyin in female form tells of Guanyin summoning a large bird with dull plumage, sweeping her hands across her own face and then over the feathers of the bird. The bird was suffused with brilliant lights and colours, to the extent that other creatures had to look away. When they looked back they saw that each of the bird's 100 tail feathers contained an eye. Guanyin explained this by saying that as she was unable to be omnipresent in watching over them, the eyes in the peacock's tail would keep watch for her and remind them of her constant care.4 The peacock feather in the figure's hand may alternatively suggest that he was intended to represent Skanda (Wei Tuo Pusa). Skanda is usually depicted as a handsome young man dressed in the full armour of a general and with a vajra staff. He is sometimes shown accompanied by a peacock. Although he is only a Deva, Skanda is often addressed as a Bodhisattva. This is because of the prediction that in the future he will attain Bodhi. It seems possible that the figure in the current painting is Skanda shown in princely attire before he took up his armour in the defence of the Dharma, and that the peacock feather stands for the bird that will later become his familiar. The accoutrements of a bodhisattva would then refer to his future status. The peacock is also associated with the Bodhisattva Manjusri (Wen Shu Shili) who in Chinese Buddhism turns the Wheel of Law for the salvation of humankind and is seen as the God of Transcendent Wisdom.5 Some scholars have noted a syncretistic relationship between Manjusri and the Brahmanical Karttikeya, who is regarded as the god devoted to sacred knowledge.6 Karttikeya is often depicted riding on a peacock. Karttikeya is also linked by some scholars with Skanda. The beautifully painted standing figure in the current painting (fig. 2) may be compared with another painted Buddhist figure on a fragment excavated from Yaerhu in Xinjiang province, and now in the Lushan Museum (fig. 3).7 The Yaerhu fragment, which comes from a site dated to the 14th year of Zhenguan (AD 640). Both figures share a distinctive face shape, as well as the finer details of mouth, nose, eye and eyebrow depiction. They both have black hair that is shown as falling in waves around the face and down the shoulders. The similarities are such that a similar date and area of manufacture may be postulated for the two paintings, although the Yaerhu fragment is painted on much coarser fabric than the current painting. The fall of the Bodhisattva's skirt suggests that it is intended to look as if it were made of a soft fabric, such as a gauze, and has a woven or printed design. A Tang dynasty gauze that may have been of similar type and colour with alternating rows of blue and red motifs, was excavated in Xinjiang in 1972 and is illustrated in Zhongguo meishu quanji, Gongyi meishu bian 6 Yin ran zhi xiu (shan), Wenwu chubanshe, Beijing, 1985, pp. 57 & 144, no. 134. The canopy painted above the Bodhisattva's head incorporates a rich floral design, on which flower heads are off-set in alternating rows, of a type that is also well known amongst Tang dynasty textiles. Fig. 2 Detail of the head of the figure Fig. 3 Detail of the fragment from Yaerhu 1 See R. Whitfield, The Art of Central Asia: the Stein Collection in the British Museum, 2 Paintings from Dunhuang, Kodansha, Tokyo, 1983, plate 10. 2 B.N. Mukherjee, Buddhist Iconography, pp. 138-141. 3 Katherine M. Ball, Decorative Motives of Oriental Art, John Lane The Bodley Head Ltd., London, 1926, p. 222.. 4 M. Palmer, J. Ramsay and Man-ho Kwok, Myths and Prophecies of the Chinese Goddess of Compassion. 5 A. Getty, The Gods of Northern Buddhism, 2nd edition, reprint, Tokyo, 1962, p. 110. 6 B.N. Mukherjee, op. cit. 7 Treasures of the Silk Road in Chinese Central Asia - Buddhist Art Masterpieces of Lushan Museum, Sagawa Art Museum, Japan, 2002, pp. 90-91, no. 41.

AN EXTREMELY RARE AND IMPORTANT TANG DYNASTY PAINTING ON SILK

TANG DYNASTY 7TH-9TH CENTURY

Details

AN EXTREMELY RARE AND IMPORTANT TANG DYNASTY PAINTING ON SILK
TANG DYNASTY 7TH-9TH CENTURY
The rectangular painting, which would have provided the main part of a Buddhist banner, beautifully and delicately painted on fine silk, depicting a Bodhisattva standing on a lotus pedestal beneath a canopy, with an arched mandorla behind the figure, wearing a three-leafed golden tiara studded with jewels and a similarly decorated heavy gold necklace and earrings, while circular gold bracelets adorn the figure's upper arms, and narrower bangles encircle his wrists, the upper torso naked, except for a narrow patterned scarf worn diagonally across the chest, wearing a long flowing skirt, softly gathered and tied at the waist, with a red and blue scarf wound around the arms, white scarves floating from the sides of the tiara, and feet in golden sandals, while the right hand holds a golden bowl and the left a peacock feather; sold together with a triangular silk painting, which would have provided the top section of a Buddhist banner, bearing a depiction of a seated Buddha surrounded by flowers; also sold with Mr. Fred Andrews' copies of the two volumes of his major publication Wall Paintings from Ancient Shrines in Central Asia Recovered by Sir Aurel Stein, K.C.I.E., Described by Fred H. Andrews, O.B.E., Oxford University Press, London, 1948.
The banner 57 x 28 cm. (221/2 x 11 ins.)

Provenance

From the collection of Mr. Fred H. Andrews, O.B.E., and by descent to the current owner

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Sale room notice

Please note the date of this lot should read Tang Dynasty 7th-9th century.

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