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Anguo Temple: Vajrapani Bodhisattva
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Anguo Temple: Vajrapani Bodhisattva
CHINA, Shaanxi, Xi'an; Tang dynasty (618–907); Marble; H: 71 cm; Xi'an Beilin Museum, Shaanxi, China
The statue is one of many sculptures excavated from the site of Anguo Temple in 1959. The Bodhisattva has a wrathful expression with hair that fans out behind him in a wave. The eyes protrude from their sockets while fangs curve upward from his mouth. The figure's muscular body is adorned with a necklace and large earrings fall to the shoulders, while a flowing stole emphasizes the dynamic posture of the turning body. The left arm is broken while the right is lifted and probably once held the vajra that is this guardian figure's attribute. The figure sits in half lotus position on a layered rock over which the skirt tumbles. |
