Canopy with paper flowers found in Cave 17 of the Mogao Grottoes (Caves of the Thousand Buddhas) at Dunhuang, and dating from the Tang dynasty (600-800 AD). Plain weave in hemp, samite silk and paper. Dimensions of canopy: 17.5 (width) x 17.5 (height) cm. Diameter of largest flower is 8.5 cm
From British Museum website:
Stein describes these as ‘nine artificial flowers tied up in a linen square’. The square is a miniature or token canopy of plain woven hemp with a stitched down suspension of blue fabric fastened in the centre. There are remains of tufts and tassels of samite silk in each corner. It is not clear why the flowers ended up in the canopy.
The artificial flowers of various designs are made of coloured and inked paper, cut and pasted together. Some of the flowers have a square wooden disc fastened to the middle of the back by means of a central hole. This might have allowed a wooden peg to be inserted, maybe representing a stalk which was then pushed through a cloth. Artificial flowers may have been used as offerings at the many Buddhist festivals and could have been stuck to walls, ceilings or floors by devotees. Paper flowers have also been found in tombs.
The paper flowers above, found in the Mogao caves by Aurel Stein, are probably the earliest surviving examples of Buddhist votive flowers. Stein must have been electrified when he discovered these prosaic gems among the sacred art. It’s nothing less than a miracle that they even survived, having been in the caves for perhaps as long as 1500 years.
Glue found on the backs of the flowers suggests that they were offerings pasted by devotees onto the walls of the shrines or perhaps on to the Buddha statues themselves. Flowers, the lotus in particular, are a central motif in Buddhist iconography, so it is not surprising that the Dunhuang grottos would be full of floral rosettes; stylized flowers have been painted on ceilings, woven or embroidered in textiles, added to borders and patterns. In the harsh desert climate of the Takla Makan, it would make sense that delicately cut and painted paper would stand in ceremoniously for natural flowers.
Source: Victoria & Albert Museum
