Yulin Cave 3: Fifty-One-Headed, Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara - Iron Forging and Wine Making

CHINA, Gansu, Guazhou; Western Xia period

This scene is on the upper left corner within the illustration of the Fifty-One-Headed, Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara on the right side of the back (east) wall. The upper portion of this image is the scene iron forging and depicts blacksmiths who stand on either side of an anvil. One figure holds a piece of wrought iron with tongs and raises a hammer, while the other swings a hammer high in the air with both arms. On the right of the figures, there are large bellows. Historical records indicate this structure was advanced technology at the time. A man sits in front of the bellows and pushes the handle to stir up the air. His robes are draped over one shoulder.
The illustration below the blacksmiths depicts a scene from a family brewery during the Western Xia period (1032–1227). In the image, a woman holds a blow tube and kneels in front of a stove to add firewood. Thick smoke billows out from the chimney. Another woman, who stands beside the stove, holds a bowl in one hand and a leans against the stove. She looks over at the kneeling woman as though in conversation. On the floor, there is a wooden bucket, a stem bowl, and a flagon. Between the two illustrations there is a wooden frame to hang bronze bells.