ID: 700009020 Page link: http://vocab.getty.edu/page/cona/700009020	Record Type: Movable Work

Sketches of Vajra Deities (scroll (information artifact); unknown Chinese; ca. 10th century; British Library (London, Greater London, England, United Kin...; IOL Tib J 1363 (Ch.73.X.))

Note: From Mogao Grottoes Cave 17, Dunhuang, Gansu Province. The thick paper used for this sketch, made of hemp rags and ramie, is very similar to that used for a pounce, or pin-pricked stencil, that also survives from the Library Cave. Given its durability, this type of paper may have been a preferred ground for materials, such as sketches and pounces, used to transfer motifs. Subjects are dharma-protecting vajra deities standing on rocky plateaus, their anchored poses, flying scarves, and exposed, flexing muscles characteristically fearsome and commanding. Their dynamic style and mirrored positions connect them closely with the illustrated rosters of vajra deities that open tenth-century booklet-format copies of the Diamond Sutra that survive from the Library Cave. Architectural and figure studies appear on the reverse.

Titles:

Sketches of Vajra Deities (preferred,C,U,DE,English-P,U,U)

金剛護法畫稿 (C,U,Chinese,U,U)

Catalog Level: item

Work Types:

scroll (information artifact) [300028629] (preferred)

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

drawings (visual works) [300033973]

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

sketches [300015617]

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

Classifications:

manuscripts (preferred)

Creation Date: ca. 10th century

Creator Display:

unknown Chinese [preferred]

unknown Chinese (Chinese cultural designation) [500125222]

Locations:

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

Current: British Library (London, Greater London, England, United Kingdom) [500301700] Corporate Bodies (Corp. Body)

Repository Numbers: IOL Tib J 1363 (Ch.73.X.)

Display Materials: Ink on thick 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>)

	drawing (image-making) [300054196]
	.......(Activities Facet, Processes and Techniques (hierarchy name), <processes and techniques by specific type>, <image-making processes and techniques>, <drawing and drawing techniques>)

Dimensions: 29.5 × 42 cm (11 5⁄8 × 16 9⁄16 in.)

Cultures:

Chinese (preferred)

General Subject:

religion and mythology (preferred)

Specific Subjects:

	Vajra Deities [901001401]
	.....((Buddhist characters, Buddhist iconography, Legend, Religion, Mythology)) (ICON)

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:
Sketches of Vajra Deities	........ [VP]
	........ Agnew, Reed, Ball, Cave Temples of Dunhuang (2016) Cat 41
金剛護法畫稿	........ [VP]
	........ Agnew, Reed, Ball, Cave Temples of Dunhuang (2016)

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

....................... Agnew, Reed, Ball, Cave Temples of Dunhuang (2016) Cat 41

Note:
English	..... [VP]
	..... Agnew, Reed, Ball, Cave Temples of Dunhuang (2016) Cat 41