Page 129 - The Arts of China, By Michael Sullivan Good Book

artists from central Asia and beyond, donors were content to leave
these accessory scenes to local talent.
A famous panel in Cave 257 tells the story of the Buddha's in-
carnation as a golden gazelle. The simple humped hills slant back
diagonally in rows like the seated figures in the I lan banqueting
scenes. Between them, the participants arc painted almost in sil-
houette on a flower-strewn ground. The sense of open space is
Chinese, as is the emphasis on linear movement; but the decora-
tive flatness of the figures, the dappled deer and flower-sprinkled
ground, have a Near Eastern origin. Most striking are the deco-
rations on the sloping tentlike ceiling of Cave 249 (see below),
painted early in the sixth century. While Bud d has dominate the
main walls, the ceiling is a riot of celestial beings—Buddhist,
Hindu, and Taoist, the latter including Hsi Wang Mu and Tung
135 The Buddha morn a«- in a golden
Wang Kung, with lesser deities. Beneath them runs a frieze of gazelle (the Runt Jiiaka). Wall painting
in Cave 257 (P 1 10), Tunhuang
gaily coloured mountains over which mounted huntsmen pursue
Northern Wei Dynasty.

1 j6 Landscape with fabulous beings, on
lower part of ceiling ofCave 249 (P
lOl). Tunhuang. Northern Wei
Dynasty.

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pyiiyiiitru 11