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Lot 33
An pale-brown-ground silk brocade 'Thousand Buddha' fragment Liao to Yuan dynasty
4 – 25 June 2025, 12:00 AEST
Online, SydneySold for AU$615 inc. premium
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An pale-brown-ground silk brocade 'Thousand Buddha' fragment
Liao to Yuan dynasty
framed, the fragment 15.0 x 30.5cm, frame 44.0 x 59.0cm
framed, the fragment 15.0 x 30.5cm, frame 44.0 x 59.0cm
Footnotes
Provenance:
Soo Tze Oriental Antiques, Melbourne, 9 Jul 1991 (Receipt)
遼至元 香色地提花綢「千佛」錦殘片 鏡框
傳承:
墨爾本，Soo Tze Oriental Antiques，1991年7月9日（收據）
Woven along the threads of faith and commerce, this textile fragment is a poignant reminder of the ancient Silk Road's role in the transmission of Buddhism and luxury crafts across Eurasia. Along the caravan routes connecting China to Central Asia and beyond, silks bearing Buddhist iconography were prized not only as devotional offerings but also as diplomatic gifts and symbols of cultural prestige. This textile fragment, likely produced in a Liao dynasty workshop catering to elite religious patronage, echoes these centuries-old exchanges in both its technique and imagery.
Woven in brocade, this fragment preserves a section of a 'Thousand Buddha' design. The repeating pattern of seated Buddhas, each enclosed within a stylised parasol, is rendered in blue threads against a deep incense-ground. The primary structure is twill weave. Against it, satin weave of the same incense colour articulates the floral design and the lotus throne above and underneath each Buddha. The intertwined blue accentuates key visual details such as the parasols, the head and facial features of the Buddhas. Upon closer inspection, a paler blue shades the ruyi-cloud at the top of the fragment as well as the robe adorning each Buddha. This interplay of textures adds subtle dimensionality, animating the sacred imagery with shifting visual effects as the surface catches light. Such complexity in weave reflects the technical achievements of Liao dynasty looms, particularly those supplying Buddhist monasteries and aristocratic patrons.
The iconographic motif of the 'Thousand Buddhas' (qianfo) originates in Mahāyāna Buddhist cosmology, signifying the infinite manifestations of enlightenment across space and time. Textiles bearing this motif were used for ritual purposes, as altar cloths, votive banners, or high-ranking clergy's robes.
Fragments of this nature are exceedingly rare. Compare with another "Thousand Buddha" brocade, see Christie's, Hong Kong, 26 Nov 2014, lot 3103. A panel with repeated rolls of the Five Transcendent Buddhas from the Jin period, 12th to 13th century, can be found in the collection of Association pour l'étude et la documentation des textiles d'Asie (AEDTA), see acc.no.3724.
這件千佛錦片，生動見證了古絲綢之路在佛教傳播與奢華工藝交流中所扮演的關鍵角色。沿著貫通中國與中亞乃至更遠地區的商道，織有佛教圖像的錦緞不僅作為宗教供品，同時亦為外交贈禮與文化地位的象徵而備受珍視。本件斷片，極可能出自遼代為宗教貴族專屬的織坊，無論在技法或圖像語彙上，皆呼應了絲路交流所遺留下的深遠印記。
錦中佛陀結跏趺坐的形象平列，各自被寶蓋垂掩，以藍色絲線織於深沉的香色地之上。錦地以多重織法交疊而成，極具特色。主體以香色提花綢織佛陀上下寶相花及蓮花座。藍色絲線穿插其中，突顯視覺重點，例如寶蓋、佛陀的頭部與面部特徵。更細觀察下，可見殘片頂部如意雲紋及佛衣以一更淺淡藍色織就。不同織法之間的互動，賦予畫面微妙的立體感，使聖像在浮光掠影中隱隱閃耀。如此複雜的工藝反映出遼代在織機技術上的卓越成就，尤其是為寺院及貴族階層供應之物。
「千佛」圖像起源於大乘佛教宇宙觀，象徵覺悟於無盡時空中無數次的化現。此類紋樣的織物多用於宗教儀式之中，如供桌幔帳、祈福幡幟或高階僧侶所穿法衣。
此類織錦存世珍罕，可比較的一例，見佳士得香港，2014年11月26日拍賣，拍品編號3103，亦為「千佛」織錦。位於巴黎的亞洲織物研究與檔案協會（AEDTA）館藏中也有一金代約十二至十三世紀的五方千佛錦，見館藏3724號。