98 ACCOUNTS, ETC., OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 



Chinese Enatnels. — A saucer, dish, and a covered bowl of 

 Canton enamel of unusual delicacy of execution. 



(8 ) Chinese Buddhist Statue. 



The most important single object acquired by the Depart- 

 ment during the year is a seated figure of a Buddhist priest in 

 pottery, attributed to the T'ang dynasty (618-906 a.d=). The 

 statue is slightly larger than life, and measures 43 inches in 

 height, seated in Buddhist fashion. It is made of a hard 

 pottery, covered with glazes of various colours, chiefly yellow 

 and green, the former being the colour of the chai-acteristic 

 Buddhist patched robe ; the head is shaven and bare, and the 

 hands are folded in the lap with the palms upwards. 



Works of art of the T'ang dynasty of any size are most 

 uncommon, and it is evident that statues of the proportions of 

 this example must necessarily be very rare. It is an astonishing 

 piece of work, even when regarded from the point of view of 

 the practical potter, to have dried and fired a figure of this size 

 with such conspicuous success, and it is somewhat of a revela- 

 tion to Europe that the Chinese were capable of such work in 

 the 9th century. 



While the technical peculiarities are noteworthy, the artistic 

 side of the figure is fully as worthy of remark. 



Hitherto in Europe students have been obliged to depend 

 upon the historic statues of Japan for an idea of the style of 

 the Chinese T'ang dynasty. This dynasty is regarded in Japan 

 as representing the highest ideal of art, and upon it is founded 

 the classical Japanese style. Now for the first time an original 

 statue of Chinese work, on a scale which is nearly monumental, 

 has been brought to Europe, It is clearly a portrait figure,, 

 perhaps shewing some well-known Buddhist dignitary of the- 

 time in the character of a Lohan, or apostle ; but there is not 

 only a complete absence of conventionality in the modelling of 

 the head and face, but so personal a character, that it is almost 

 certain that we have to deal here with a lifelike portrait of a- 

 personage of distinction in the Buddhist hierarchy of the 9th 

 century. 



Purchased with the help of contrihutions from the 

 National Art-Collections Fund and froiin i^'t'ivate sources. 



(9.) Oriental and Ethnographical : — 



Asia. — Bronze votive axe, inlaid with silver, representing a 

 tiger attacking an ibex and being attacked by a boar, the back 

 of which forms the cutting edge ; probably Bactrian work. 

 Presented hy Henry Oppenheimer, Esq., through the National 

 Art-Collections Fund.. (See Proceedings of the Society of 

 Antiquaries, Vol. XXV., p. 56, and Man, 1914-11.) 



Bronze figure of a monstrous winged lion, cast and finished 

 by chiselling, probably Bactrian, and a stone bowl-shaped disc, 

 with a lion and bufi'alo confronted in relief, from the Helmund 



