Fig. 3. - Chevaliers "tochariens" (after Grünwedel; Kyzil, 7th century). |
(Translated from the French:)
Certain paintings of Chinese Turkestan add significantly to our knowledge of this strange garment.
In the tableaus in the "cave of the sixteen sword-bearers" at Kyzil (1), probably painted in the first half of the seventh century, the chevaliers are "tokharians" wearing high cut leggings which open on the back of the leg, the fabric lets out puffy trousers in bright colours (fig. 3): the suspension is hidden, as at Palmyra, under the tunic.
Certain frescoes at Bezeklik (2), a century later than those of Kyzil, include merchants of the same nation, legs covered with either leggings or boots, the stem goes up to the knee: an eye drilled near the top edge transitions to a cord by which the stem was suspended from a belt under the tunic (pl. II, 2) (3).
(1) GRÜNWEDEL, Altbuddhistische Kultstätten in Chinesisch-Türkistan, p. 58, fig. 116; Alt Kutscha, p. 27 s. (hence our figure).
(2) LE COQ, Auf Hellas Spuren in Ost-Türkistan, p. 75 ; Von Land und Leuten in Ost-Türkistan, p. 154: Waldschmidt, Gandhara, Kulscha, Turfan, pl. XVIII c. - We owe to the kindness of the Museum für Völkerkunde in Berlin, for the photograph published here.
(3) Photograph courtesy of the Museum für Völkerkunde in Berlin.
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