72 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1914. 



height, which could not be inclosed in a case, is installed in the cen- 

 ter of the western end of the gallery, facing the rotunda. It is con- 

 structed in a combination of the Gothic, Renaissance and Eococo 

 styles, and is adorned with two paintings, one above the other, the 

 upper representing St. John the Evangelist holding the chalice of the 

 Lord's Supper, the lower the assumption of the Virgin Mary. 



The Eastern Church, in one case, is illustrated by the ecclesiastical 

 vestments of a Greek Catholic monk and a Russian and Armenian 

 priest; the staffs or croziers of a Greek Catholic bishop and an Ar- 

 menian patriarch ; an altar cover ; a set of musical instruments used 

 in the service of the Armenian Church, and a series of Russian icons. 

 One of these icons, representing the Virgin with the Infant Jesus, 

 is covered with a silver-gilt plate of chased work to represent the 

 clothing, with apertures for face and hands, and studded with fresh- 

 water pearls, emeralds, ruby spinels, and garnets, which date from 

 the eleventh to the fourteenth century. The folding doors are 

 adorned with miniatures depicting scenes from the lives of Christ 

 and Mary, and were painted by the artist who designed and deco- 

 rated the cathedral of Nizhni Novgorod, about 1645. 



Passing to Asia, the first case is devoted to Brahmanism, the re- 

 ligion which sways the millions of India. The collection comprises 

 a set of marble images of the so-called Trhnurti gods and their suites, 

 of the incarnations {avatars) of Vishnu and some of the minor 

 divinities. Deserving of special notice are two finely carved stone 

 steles representing Vishnu and his retinue and marble statuettes of 

 Parvati and the sacred cow, exquisitely painted and gilded. Temple 

 utensils, such as lamps, bells, vases, and cruses, illustrate some of the 

 Brahmanic customs, and caste marks give opportunity for explaining 

 the caste system, which plays such an important part in the religious, 

 political, and social life of India. The contemplative and ascetic ele- 

 ment of Hinduism is portrayed by a series of terra-cotta models of 

 Yogis and ascetics in various attitudes. In a special case is a com- 

 plete set of brass utensils used in Hindu family worship, and the 

 sacred writings of Brahmanism are represented by a facsimile of a 

 bark manuscript of the Atharva Veda of the seventeenth century. 



Of Buddhism, the offspring of Brahmanism, there is an exceed- 

 ingly rich collection, filling two alcoves and one special case. It 

 contains many representations of Buddha, in bronze, stone, and 

 shells, and carved and lacquered wood, some of which have much 

 art value. The Sakya sage can be seen in the Burmese, Sinhalese, 

 Japanese, and Tibetan conceptions of him — sitting in meditation, 

 preaching, blessing, and even reclining. A magnificent seated statue 

 of Buddha in bronze, 3 feet high, cast in Ise, Japan, A. D. 1648, 

 with an engraved inscription, rests on a pedestal outside the cases. 

 In addition are figures of temple guards (Nios), various divinities, 



