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Xi 'an: Amitabha Buddha and Attendants
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Xi 'an: Amitabha Buddha and Attendants
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Xi 'an: Amitabha Buddha and Attendants
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Xi 'an: Amitabha Buddha and Attendants
CHINA, Shaanxi, Xi 'an; Sui dynasty (581–618), dated 584; Commissioned by Dong Qin; Gilt bronze; H: 41 cm; Xi 'an Institute of Cultural Heritage Conservation and Archaeology, Shaanxi, China
This group of figures was discovered in 1974 in the village of Bali in Xi 'an. Amitabha Buddha sits cross-legged at the center on a lotus throne. The Buddha wears a monastic robe that leaves the right shoulder bare. The hands are held in the abhaya (fearlessness) and varada (wish-granting) mudras. Affixed to the head by a tenon is a petal-shaped nimbus with a foliated center surrounded by flames. The figure 's facial features bare characteristic from Northern Qi (550–577) statues but the body, with its robustness, shows Tang (618–907) influence. The Bodhisattvas Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta on either side of the Buddha, standing on lotus pedestals. Stoles hang down their bodies from their crowns. The mountain censer placed before the Buddha is supported by dwarves, and guarded by two warriors.
The group is supported on a balustraded, four-legged stand to the front of which are two lions. An inscription on the back dates the work to 584 and identifies General Dong Qin, an official of Wuqiang county, as the person who commissioned the piece. The sculpture is a fine combination of casting, brazing, and the mortise and tenon techniques. |
