ID: 700008989 Page link: http://vocab.getty.edu/page/cona/700008989	Record Type: Movable Work
Images: 1

The Four Encounters: Old Age and Sickness (painting (visual work); unknown Tang dynasty; ca. 701/850; British Museum (London, Greater London, England, United King...; 1919,0101,0.88; Ch.lv.0016 (Stein no.))

Note: From Mogao Grottoes Cave 17, Dunhuang, Gansu Province. Finely painted banner fragment with two scenes from the Life of the Buddha, showing two of the Four Encounters made by Śākyamuni, as he leaves the palace on his white horse: old age (top) and sickness (bottom). Inscribed cartouches on alternate sides of the scenes; the subject implies the existence of an orderly series of banners, presenting the events of Sākyamuni’s life in sequence.

Titles:

The Four Encounters: Old Age and Sickness (preferred,C,U,English-P,U,U)

Representation of: Buddha (Śākyamuni/Gotama/Shaka) (C,U,undetermined,U,U)

佛本生故事：四苦之老、病 (C,U,Chinese,U,U)

Painting / Banner / 繪畫 / 幡 (C,U,undetermined,U,U)

Catalog Level: item

Work Types:

painting (visual work) [300033618] (preferred)

..... (Objects Facet, Visual and Verbal Communication (hierarchy name), Visual Works (hierarchy name), visual works (works), <visual works by material or technique>)

banner (declaratory artifact) [300195679]

..... (Objects Facet, Visual and Verbal Communication (hierarchy name), Information Forms (hierarchy name), information forms (objects), information artifacts, <information artifacts by function>, <declaratory and advertising artifacts>)

Classifications:

paintings (preferred)

Creation Date: ca. 701/850

Creator Display:

unknown Tang dynasty [preferred]

artists unknown Tang (Tang cultural designation) [500204343]

Locations:

Current: British Museum (London, Greater London, England, United Kingdom) [500125180] Corporate Bodies (Corp. Body)

Repository Numbers: 1919,0101,0.88; Ch.lv.0016 (Stein no.)

Credit Line: Collected by: Sir Marc Aurel Stein; Acquisition date 1919

Other: Discovery: Qianfodong [7029798] Gansu province (province), China (nation), Asia (continent), World (facet) (Geographic)

Display Materials: Ink and colours on silk

	ink [300015012]
	.......(Materials Facet, Materials (hierarchy name), materials (substances), <materials by function>, coating (material), <coating by form>)

	colors (hues or tints) [300080438]
	.......(Physical Attributes Facet, Color (hierarchy name))

	silk (silkworm material) [300014072]
	.......(Materials Facet, Materials (hierarchy name), materials (substances), <materials by origin>, biological material, animal material, fibroinous material)

Dimensions: Images on silk: 40.5 x 20.2 centimetres; individual images: 18.5 centimetres x 17.6 centimetres and 56 x 40.7 centimetres

Cultures:

Chinese (preferred)

Style/Period/Group/Movement:

	Tang (Chinese culture, style, period) [300018420] (preferred,period)
	.....(Styles and Periods Facet, Styles and Periods (hierarchy name), <styles| periods| and cultures by region>, Asian, East Asian, Chinese (culture or style), Chinese dynastic styles and periods)

General Subject:

religion and mythology (preferred)

Specific Subjects:

	Buddha [901000851]
	.....((Buddhist characters, Buddhist iconography, Legend, Religion, Mythology)) (ICON)

	Śakyamuni Buddha (Asian philosopher, founder of Buddhism, ca. 560-ca. 480 BCE) [500372531]
	.....(Non-Artists) (ULAN)

	Encounter with Old Age [901001361]
	.....((Four Encounters, Buddhist narratives, Buddhist iconography, Legend, Religion, Mythology)) (ICON)

	Encounter with Sickness [901001362]
	.....((Four Encounters, Buddhist narratives, Buddhist iconography, Legend, Religion, Mythology)) (ICON)

Copyright: © The Trustees of the British Museum

Provenance: Collected by: Sir Marc Aurel Stein; Acquisition date Exhibited: Tokyo Metrolpolitan Museum, Japan; Serinde Terre Du Bouddha (1996), organised by Tibet House, NY. 2007 8 Feb-5 Aug, BM Gallery 91, 'Gods, Guardians and Immortals: Chinese Religious Paintings' 2016 7 May-4 Sep, Los Angeles, Getty Research Institute, Cave Temples of Dunhuang: Buddhist Art on China's Silk Road

Inscriptions: in cartouches, Chinese: [Transliteration: 1. Yushi taizi chucheng dongmen guanjian laoren wen yin(__?) shi 2. Yushi taizi chucheng nanmen jian ui bingren wen yin(__?) shi' ; Translation: 1. When the prince came out of the city by the East gate and encountered an old person. 2. When the prince came out of the city by the Sounth gate and saw a sick person.]

List/Hierarchical Position:

..... Movable Works

.......... Movable Works by class: drawings, paintings, prints, other two-dimensional media

............... Works at Mogao

Sources and Contributors:
The Four Encounters: Old Age and Sickness	........ [VP]
	........ Agnew, Reed, Ball, Cave Temples of Dunhuang (2016) Cat 12
Representation of: Buddha (Śākyamuni/Gotama/Shaka)	........ [VP]
	........ British Museum [online] (1999-)
佛本生故事：四苦之老、病	........ [VP]
	........ Agnew, Reed, Ball, Cave Temples of Dunhuang (2016)
Painting / Banner / 繪畫 / 幡	........ [VP]
	........ British Museum [online] (1999-)

Subject: ....... [VP]

....................... Agnew, Reed, Ball, Cave Temples of Dunhuang (2016) Cat 12

Note:
English	..... [VP]
	..... British Museum [online] (1999-)
	..... Agnew, Reed, Ball, Cave Temples of Dunhuang (2016) Cat 12