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Standing Buddha
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Standing Buddha
CHINA; Northern Wei dynasty (386–534), dated 526; Gilt bronze; Yurinkan Museum, Kyoto, Japan
The Buddha stands on a large inverted lotus pedestal that is supported on a stand, the legs of which curve to thicken at the base. The slender figure has a rounded usnisa and looks downward. The Buddha wears a monastic robe over both shoulders that descend in a series of dramatic flares.
The composition is framed within a petal-shaped mandorla filled with stylistic flames. An aureole with multiple rims sweeps up from the bottom of the mandorla to intersect with the three pronounced rims about the Buddha 's lotus-patterned nimbus. The presence of two rectangular holes in the mandorla indicates the statue might have been the center of a Buddha triad. An inscription on the stand dates the work to 526. |
