ID: 700009003 Page link: http://vocab.getty.edu/page/cona/700009003	Record Type: Movable Work
Images: 1

Mudra Drawings (undetermined (information indicator); unknown Tang; ca. 851/900; British Museum (London, Greater London, England, United King...)

Note: Mogao Grottoes Cave 17, Dunhuang, Gansu Province. Sketches of hand mudras arranged in rows shown either as hands only or showing full figures executing the prescribed positions. This drawing seems to have been designed as a guide to the performance of a rite for the popular Eleven-Faced manifestation of Avalokiteśvara. Forty-nine separate mudras are depicted in progression from right to left, some of which involve implements, such as a rosary, flower, or water bottle, and standing or seated postures. The hands are finished with a decorative petal-like band around the wrist. They are drawn from a vantage point that approximates that of the practitioner looking down at his or her own body, with each finger meticulously described.

Titles:

Mudra Drawings (preferred,C,U,DE,English-P,U,U)

Painting / 繪畫 (C,U,RP,undetermined,U,U)

手印畫稿 (C,U,Chinese-P,U,U)

Catalog Level: item

Work Types:

undetermined (information indicator) [300379012] (preferred)

..... (Associated Concepts Facet, Associated Concepts (hierarchy name), multidisciplinary concepts)

Classifications:

not applicable (preferred)

Creation Date: ca. 851/900

Creator Display:

unknown Tang [preferred]

artist unknown Tang (Tang cultural designation) [500204343]

Locations:

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

Repository Numbers: 1919,0101,0.83.+ (Ch.00143)

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

Display Materials: Ink on paper

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

	paper (fiber product) [300014109]
	.......(Materials Facet, Materials (hierarchy name), materials (substances), <materials by form>, <materials by physical form>, <fiber and fiber by product>, <fiber by product>)

Dimensions: 16.5 × 144 cm (6 1⁄2 × 56 11⁄16 in.); Diameter: 3.3 cm (when rolled)

Cultures:

Chinese (preferred)

Style/Period/Group/Movement:

	Tang (Chinese culture, style, period) [300018420] (preferred,dynasty)
	.....(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:

	mudras [300386143]
	.....(Associated Concepts Facet, Associated Concepts (hierarchy name), multidisciplinary concepts, body position, gesture) (AAT)

	hands (animal components) [300310193]
	.....(Objects Facet, Components (hierarchy name), components (objects parts), <components by specific context>, biological components, animal components) (AAT)

Copyright: © The Trustees of the British Museum

Provenance: Collected by: Sir Marc Aurel Stein biography; Acquisition date 1919 Exhibited: 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

Related Works:

	former location was .... Mogao Cave 17 [700008877]
	..........rock-cut temple; N/A; begun 9th century

List/Hierarchical Position:

..... Movable Works

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

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

Sources and Contributors:
Mudra Drawings	........ [VP]
	........ Agnew, Reed, Ball, Cave Temples of Dunhuang (2016) Cat 25
Painting / 繪畫	........ [VP]
	........ British Museum [online] (1999-)
手印畫稿	........ [VP]
	........ Agnew, Reed, Ball, Cave Temples of Dunhuang (2016)

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

....................... Agnew, Reed, Ball, Cave Temples of Dunhuang (2016) Cat 25

Note:
English	..... [VP]
	..... Agnew, Reed, Ball, Cave Temples of Dunhuang (2016) Cat 25
	..... British Museum [online] (1999-)