The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-03-05

care which Grolier could never have secured
| from the best of his binders. The outer
cover is about thirty inches by eleven inches;
| il ia OF hard close grained wood divided
into three panels each panel is carved
with minute and exquisite workmanship.
| In the centre of each panel is one, or perhaps
two Buddhas seated on the lotus throne,
cut in a auarter-inch relief. Round him,
with strong and free grace. the conventional
foliage Of the Bo-tree fills the entire field.
except Immediately overhead where the
2urudd bird, all beak and eyes, sits keeping
watch Above and below are rows OF
smaller images carved in exquisite detail. -"
| The three panels are said to refer to the
| three conceptions OF the Buddha. Again:
! The whole cover is heavily gilt, and one
! turns the leaf TO find a Rilk veil, probably
| OF olive green, carnation or rose madden,
protecting the first page of the manuscript
itself This first page Ia made Of fine.
stout paper, bearing in the middle what
looks exactly like the depressed plate
mark Of an etching; the whole is OF deep
rich glazed Pr,lssan blue, and in the inset
panel in the middle. the opening words OF
the book are written in large. raised. gold
the left a miniature. and then the book
begins. From one end TO the other the
text ia painted in large regular letters
OF gold. some OF the ohoicer volumes having
alternate lines Of gold and silver. Although
they are no longer used the holes through
which the binding strap originally ran
through the leaves themselves in two places
are still left clear and indicated by thin
~ tbaga
books are. but the care which is bestowed
upon them would have delighted the heart
OF william Morris
II is evident from our authors account
that art In Tibet is still in a conventional
state The technique Of miniature paint
ing upon an enormous scale. however, has
been thoroughly mastered by the Tibetans
Mr. Landon thinks that the only parallel to
the microscopic work displayed IN the walls
If such buildings as the NachunG Choskyong
temple outside Lhasa is exhibited by the
seventh and eighth century illumnator-
OF the Irish school. The general effect of a
painted wall in Tibet Ia pronounced not
dissmilar to that Of italian tapestries Ct
| the hest period. and our author is inclined
to think that the designers object in both
cases ia the same. In spite Of the enormous
amount OF labor expended on the smalest
! details OF dress. and the dehcacy with which
the flower work II done. Mr.. Landon doubts
| whether the authors intention in either
! case ia to produce figures to he examined
| by themselves. II Is not disputed that the
! general arrangement and composition OF
| Tibetnn fresco is masterful The ground
| is well covered but never crowded. the
! differentiation Of the less important 20 the
more important ia never mistaken, and in
| the greatest as well as the smallest matters
the symbolism IL unerring and full If Gig
nifcance. In word. although convention
reigns supreme 1T does not take long for
| the most prejudced European to realize
! that the golden and blue and red faced fig
ures are essential to the artistic balance OF
| the picture, as we'll IA TO the meaning Of the
| legend before his eyes or the color there
/ is less to szy. II is intensely strong, and,
though one rapidly realizes that 1t is justi-
fed in the mass not only is it a. open 10
criticism in the detail az ia n holiday crowd
! Of natives in India, but the seoret Of the ex-
| traordinary harmonies so successfully pro-
duced remains az completely beyond the
power Of European reproduction We
learn from Mr. Landon that a change has
recently come over Tibetan draughts-
manship, There lie, 1t eeenis. a falling away
from the ausiere standard of other days
and distinct tendency toward merely
pretty piuk and white designs of Chinese
! tyne This deterioration is visible not only
in the coloring but in the choice Of sub
jeots The coors. by the way which are
used in Tibetan painting are curious; they
are water colors ground UP with large
amount Of body color and stiffened wit h
glue or some such material. They last
I indefinitely and 40 far as or author could
ascertain. the tinte do not fade 1t appears
| TINT in Tibet the names Of no artists are
preserved
We are told that the jewelry Of Tibet is
exqusitely finished and in slight degree
! suggestive of Byzantine work. Mr.. Lam
/ don has in his possession a GROWN that came
originally from the head OF a Buddha in
Nenyeng Monastery. Nothing can ex-
coed he says, the delicacy with which the
/ figure Of Buddha in carved turquoise is
inset into the central leaf. The foliation
throughout is strong clean cut and decided,
and the general balance OF the diedem will,
l think. he universally admitted, 1t is a
good specimen Of the hest Tibetan work,
and the sparing use Of turquoise in its COM
I
il is clear that neither time nor money was
spared in its manufacture. Our author
bought in Lhasa two gold earrings set with
large pieces Of turquoise, and a square
charm box of typical design, the stones
and general workmanship Of which are
pronounced undoubtedly a hove the average.
He also obtained two beautiful charm boxes
of gold and turquoise, both the workman
! ship and stones OF which are OF the finest
! class
The brass work OF the Tihetans is said to
exhibit their art in its highest form. THE
little gods which sit in WIS along the altar
shelves of Tibet are models OF good and
restrained convention. The finish is deli
cate, and the sheer technical skill with which
the artist manipulates his material is I'M
deniabe. The same delicate workman
ship is carried into other objects Of their
religion or daily life Mr.. Landon adds
that the Tibetans are capable of producing
pottery OF fair quality, but it is quite
beyond their powers TO water mark a de-
al gn into the material. On the other hand,
their woven stuffs are extremely inter-
esting and the patterns are indi genous.
1T may fairly be said that nothing manu-
featured in Tibet is positively ugly. and
though the hierocIano tendencies which