Avalokitesvara
觀世音菩薩像
Tang dynasty, 2nd half of the 9th century A.D.
Ink and colours on silk
H. 148.3 cm, W. 55.9 cm
British Museum, Stein painting13. Ch. liii. 005
This impressive standing figure of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, holding a willow spray in his right hand and a sprinkler vase in his left, displays features shared with other representations of the same Bodhisattva, such as those shown in Pls. 2 and 3 and in Vol. 1, Pl. 23.
The suggestion for a possible date in the second half of the ninth century arises from resemblances to the dated painting of four Avalokitesvaras, Manjusri and Samantabhadra, dedicated in A.D. 864 (Vol. 1, Pl. 23). The four figures there do not display the same swaying pose as the present painting, but the general outline of the face and arrangement of the headdress is very similar. Beginning with the headdress, the hair is seen above an elaborate crown, in a high chignon. Below the crown, the hair frames the forehead in a smooth curve, and around the ears and the upper part of the shoulders as a continuous narrow black edging. The nimbus is also of the same type as two of those in the dated painting, with a single outer band ornamented with cloud motifs. Turning to the garments, the upper half of the body, clearly under Indian influence, is unclothed save for ornaments and scarves. Behind the shoulders, the apparently unsupported double loop of one of the latter again recalls the four Avalokitesvaras of the dated painting, as does the yellow and orange under-robe with its agitated pattern of folds.
In both paintings, but especially in the present one, it is clear that considerable attention was paid to achieving a harmonious balance of curving forms. There is under-drawing in a pale red as well as in ink, and darker ink has been used to accent salient features such as the eyelids and the mouthline. The latter shows the first signs of a development from a plain line with swelling ends to a hooked form. It is interesting to note that the final accenting lines in a darker ink quite often ignore the outlines earlier laid down in red or pale ink, suggesting that a different hand or master painter was responsible for adding the final touches.
唐代，9世紀後半葉
絹本設色
高148.釐米 寬55.9釐米
英国博物館,斯坦因繪畫13.Ch.liii.005
此精美的觀世音菩薩立像，右手持小柳枝，左手持淨瓶，姿態與圖2、3以及第1卷圖23等的觀音像相同。
此畫與有咸通五年（864年）題記的四觀音文殊普賢圖（參照第1卷圖23）中的四觀音描繪極其相近，推斷其製作年代爲9世紀後半葉。那四觀音的姿勢中不見與該繪畫一樣的動態，但臉部的輪廓線和髮型的描繪等都很相似。頭髮先高高盤在華麗的寶冠上，然後垂下，在額上描出流暢的弧形，繞過耳朵背後到肩上，好像是黑色的鑲邊圈起了臉。邊緣飾有雙雲渦文的頭光的形式，也和四觀音中的兩身相同。
注意其衣著，上半身只披瓔珞、天衣和綬帶等，幾近裸身，殘留了很濃的受印度影響的痕迹。肩頭的雙層的輪形裝飾綬帶很突出，黃色和橙色裙褶線等，也使人想起四觀音的描繪。雖然四觀音也那樣，但尤其是本圖的觀音，在保持均衡的身體曲線上下了很大功夫。底稿的線不僅用墨，也用了淡紅色，像眼瞼和嘴唇等特別引人注目的部分，則用濃墨強調。其嘴唇部分的描繪，相當於唇線兩端稍作膨脹的簡單表現向鈎狀表現轉移的第一階段。而進入完成階段的濃墨的勾勒線，隨處有不顧底稿的淡墨和紅線的地方，引人注目。這會使人想象，完工的線是由其他畫家或者匠師完成的，非常有趣。
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