Vadas József (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 12. (Budapest, 1992)

FAJCSÁK Györgyi: Kínai sztúpa díszítése az i. sz. 7. századból

GYÖRGYI FAJCSAK CHINESE STUPA DECORATION OF THE SEVENTH CENTURY A.D. Seated demon figure from die pagoda of the Xiuding Monastery, Henan Province

1 The sitting demon figure in die Ferenc Hopp Museum of Eastern Asiatic Arts once decorated the pagoda of die Xiuding Monastery near Anyang (Henan Province).

2 Pl.l. The square unglazed ceramic die is 42.5 cm high, 36 cm in width and 8.5-10.5 cms thick. Zoltán Felvinczy Takács, as die first director of the Museum, purchased diis tile in Peking in 1936 from Herbert Midler, who knew die provenance of dus object and told it to Z. Felvinczy Takácsa The square-shaped greyish clay tile with high relief demon figure applied on die stone wall was originally placed in die topmost horizontal layer row of the pagoda walls alternating with two odier tiles decorating a monster mask and a kneeling demon figure. The original decorative scheme can be seen in the picture of one of the restored pagoda walls. P1.2. Our sitting demon digure crouches with crossed ankles held tighdy against his body. He almost forces open the restricted space. The cross-anklcd posture is unique among the depictions of monster and demon figures still extant. It can be found ncidicr in the cave-temples, nor on stone reliefs, nor in tombs. The cross-anklcd posture of the demon figure, however, might have been influenced by the popular and widespread cross-anklcd images of the Boddhisattva Maitreya. The cross-anklcd posture with hands resting on the knees and raising in die abhaya mudra seems to be a rare one in the mid seventh century A.D. It is most common to the Nordicm Wei period (A.D.386-534). Evidence for diis is provided by two famous sculptures (Maitreya Boddhisattva) from die Longmen Cave-temples belonging to die Rictbcrg Museum, Zurich.

4 One of diem (RCh 107) is seated in cross-ankled posture on a bench. His left hand is resting on the head of one of the two guardian lions and the right is raised in die abhaya mudra. The image made of hard grey limestone is strictly frontal and dated to die beginning of the sixth century A.D. (it close to A.D. 520). The smaller one (RCh 166) is seated in a slighdy different posidon: cross-anklcd posture with raising and resting hands (abhaya mudra and varada mudra). The sculpture is dated to the fourth century A.D. The rendering of the body of our demon figure pays particular attendon to die muscle structure. Two strong muscled amis and the uncovered chest suggest his strcngdi and might by the expressive rendering of the muscles. Anatomically, it may be inaccurate, and highly exaggerated. Like contemporary Vajrapani and dvarapala figures it is executed in charactcrisdc Tang style depicdng the body in vigorous, expressive forms. PI.

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