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Yunxian: Buddhas in the Money Tree
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Yunxian: Buddhas in the Money Tree
CHINA, Hubei, Shiyan; Eastern Han dynasty (25–220); Bronze; H: 110 cm; Qichun County Museum, Huanggang, Hubei, China
This relatively well-preserved burial object dating from the Eastern Han dynasty (25-220) was acquired in 1982 in the village of Wufeng in Yunxian county, Shiyan. It is 110 cm high and consists of a bronze-cast tree mounted on a ceramic mound-shaped base. The top of the base looks like a bear with a mortise on its shoulders. The bronze tree has five sets of branches, which radiate outwards in a regular manner. The leaves are in the form of openwork. A Buddha figure with a square aureole is cast to the trunk of the tree between the branches. The seated Buddha is depicted with a usnisa and mustache, with the right hand clasping the robe lightly, while the left hand is held in varada (wish-granting) mudra before the chest. Below the Buddha on the lowest branches there is a cicada flanked by two rings, which have extended branches with leaves upon which phoenixes rest. There is a winged man adorned with a three-mountain crown standing on each ring. A similar figure can be seen standing on a ring at the apex of the tree. |
