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Material: limestone   Subjects: bodhisattvas   Remove all  

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Bodhisattva Head
  • Title Translation: 菩萨头
  • Period: Northern Qi, 550-577 C.E.
  • Project: Xiangtangshan Caves
  • Work Description: Stone head of a bodhisattva made of light colored stone with traces of red and yellow pigment. This head would have originally been part of a colossal statue. The piece is a companion to C353 and very similar to it, the principal differences being that the hair is arranged in a number of plaits and the crown is more elaborate. It is believed to originally come from the North Cave of Northern Xiangtangshan.
550 - 577

Southern Xiangtangshan, seated bodhisattva
  • Title Translation: 南响堂山洞穴群 , 坐菩萨
  • Period: Northern Qi, 550-577 C.E.
  • Project: Xiangtangshan Caves
  • Work Description: The two main groups of caves are known as Northern and Southern Xiangtangshan. The Northern Group, Bei Xiangtang, is the earliest and largest in scale and has three caves begun with imperial sponsorship; the Southern Group, Nan Xiangtang, has smaller caves numbered from one to seven; and a third site at Shuiyusi, also known as Xiao Xiangtang or “Little Xiangtang,” has one Northern Qi cave with sculptures.
550 - 577

Standing Bodhisattva
  • Title Translation: 菩萨立像
  • Period: Northern Qi, 550-577 C.E.
  • Project: Xiangtangshan Caves
550 - 577

Bodhisattva Head
  • Title Translation: 菩萨头
  • Period: Northern Qi, 550-577 C.E.
  • Project: Xiangtangshan Caves
  • Work Description: Head of the Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta (Dashizhi)
550 - 577

Bodhisattva Standing
  • Title Translation: 菩萨立像
  • Period: Northern Qi, 550-577 C.E.
  • Project: Xiangtangshan Caves
550 - 577

Heavenly Buddhist Gathering
  • Title Translation: 天道会
  • Period: Northern Qi, 550-577 C.E.
  • Project: Xiangtangshan Caves
550 - 577

Bodhisattva Head
  • Title Translation: 菩萨头
  • Period: Northern Qi, 550-577 C.E.
  • Project: Xiangtangshan Caves
  • Work Description: Stone head of a bodhisattva made of light colored stone with traces of red and light green pigment. This head would have originally been part of a colossal statue. The urna, represented by a round socket, would have originally contained some kind of precious stone or crystal sphere. The hair is smooth and parted in the middle. The crown has three peaks with a fillet around the base of the ushnisha. C353 and C354 are a pair from the North Cave of Northern Xiangtangshan.
550 - 577

Bodhisattva Head
  • Title Translation: 菩萨头
  • Period: Northern Qi, 550-577 C.E.
  • Project: Xiangtangshan Caves
  • Work Description: This head once belonged to a towering bodhisattva who presided over the entrance to the Central Cave at Northern Xiangtangshan. This site, which consists of only three cave temples with colossal figural sculptures, was once strategically located on the route between the capital at Ye and Jinyang, in Shanxi province. At the beginning of the Northern Qi period, it may have been a place for meditation or other Buddhist activities.
550 - 577

Northern Xiangtangshan, Middle Cave, archway
  • Title Translation: 北响堂山中洞 , 拱道
  • Period: Northern Qi, Ming, 550-577 C.E.
  • Project: Xiangtangshan Caves
  • Work Description: The Middle Cave, the second largest of the caves in scale, still has its impressive entrance and large stone porch largely preserved. In recent times, a wooden porch-like structure was added to the front of the cave. Above the eaves of the porch and carved into the stone mountainside, there is a domed roof with a fenced harmika or platform at the top. The single-story stupa with domed roof is a distinctive feature of the design of the Xiangtangshan caves and appears on the walls of the North Cave and on many smaller stone carvings of the middle and late sixth century. Tall armored guardian figures stand under the stone eaves of the porch, and large lions support the columns flanking the door. Walking into the cave, visitors pass under the gaze of two tall bodhisattvas who face the entrance. The Middle Cave, like the great North Cave, has a large central pillar. However, it has only a single large niche deeply cut into the front of the pillar to form an altar on which a Buddha sits on a lotus throne accompanied by two tall standing disciple figures and two bodhisattvas. The base of the central pillar has relief figures of Spirit Kings, lions, and incense burners, much like the North Cave. The cave walls were originally left largely plain, but devotees of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) added a row of seated Buddhas contained in shallow niches that encircle cave's interior.
550 - 577

Southern Xiangtangshan, seated bodhisattva
  • Title Translation: 南响堂山洞穴群 , 坐菩萨
  • Period: Northern Qi, 550-577 C.E.
  • Project: Xiangtangshan Caves
  • Work Description: The two main groups of caves are known as Northern and Southern Xiangtangshan. The Northern Group, Bei Xiangtang, is the earliest and largest in scale and has three caves begun with imperial sponsorship; the Southern Group, Nan Xiangtang, has smaller caves numbered from one to seven; and a third site at Shuiyusi, also known as Xiao Xiangtang or “Little Xiangtang,” has one Northern Qi cave with sculptures.
550 - 577

Northern Xiangtangshan, South Cave, east wall, north side, bodhisattva
  • Title Translation: 北响堂山南洞 , 东壁,北侧,菩萨
  • Period: Northern Qi, 550-577 C.E.
  • Project: Xiangtangshan Caves
  • Work Description: The South Cave at Northern Xiangtangshan, like the Middle Cave, preserves its original stupa-form with domed roof and a porch in front. An additional small cave is carved into the dome. The main chamber is an open chamber space with images set around three walls. Each altar has a central Buddha surrounded by six standing figures including bodhisattvas, disciples and pratyekabuddhas. Smaller Buddhas appear in rows on the upper level of the cave. On the ceiling a large lotus blossom is carved in relief. The work on the cave appears to have been begun, then interrupted, and resumed later by different craftsmen. The main sculpted images show signs of having been created in two stages, with the later mode of carving evident in the group of images on the back wall. The stylistic difference is also evident in the appearance of the heads of figures taken from the cave and now located in museums and private collections outside China. In addition to its sculptural art, the South Cave is very important for its extensive engravings of Buddhist scriptures in stone. These are located inside the cave on the entrance wall, inside the porch, on the exterior wall of the porch, and extending onto the north wall of the courtyard. At the end of the sutra texts, the dedicatory stele of Tang Yong records that the engravings were carried out in the years from 568-572.
550 - 577

Longmen Binyang Central Cave, north wall disciple and bodhisattvas
  • Title Translation: 龙门宾阳中洞 , 北壁弟子菩萨
  • Period: Northern Wei, 386–534 C.E.
  • Project: Longmen Binyang Central Cave
  • Work Description: The Longmen Caves are located outside the city of Luoyang, China, about 500 miles southeast of the modern-day capital in Beijing. Established in the late fifth century, the site consists of 2,345 caves, and over 100,000 individual Buddhist statues, ranging in height from a few inches to over 56 feet. For more than 250 years, Chinese Buddhists from all walks of life sponsored the addition of Buddhist statues and inscriptions to the site, most significantly from the late Northern Wei (386-534) through the Tang dynasty (618-907). Binyang Central Cave is one of the earliest at Longmen and a major monument of Chinese Buddhism. Begun around the year 501, it was commissioned by the youthful Emperor Xuanwu (483-515) and dedicated to his father, Emperor Xiaowen, who died in 499 at age thirty-three. The cave is one of the major monuments of Chinese Buddhism. MEasuring roughly 30 feet in each dimension, its principal image is 28-foot-high seated Buddha largly filling the back of the cave and accompanied by smaller standing figures—disciples, Buddhas, and bodhisattva—on either side. The exit wall contained some of the finest stone relief carvings of the era, including depictions of two imperial processions, and a number of stories from Buddhist scriptures. After cave-making was discontinued for nearly a thousand years, the Longmen site was "discovered" by foreign scholars in the late 1800s. The publication of their studies with photos attracted international attention to the artistic quality of the sculptures. The publications ultimately led to the looting of much of the site in the early part of the twentieth century. In response to demand from art dealers, collectors, and museums around the globe, local stonecutters removed countless works from the caves, often breaking them into numerous fragments in the process. Pieces from the greater Longmen complex can now be found scattered throughout the world. In Binyang Central Cave, several heads and large portions of the relief carvings were cut or burned out of the walls. Fragments from Binyang Central Cave now reside in museums in the US and Japan, as well as in storage at the Longmen Research Institute in China. Many shattered pieces are identifiable today with the evidence of historical photographs and rubbings taken of the reliefs before their removal.
386 - 534

Longmen Binyang Central Cave, bodhisattva feet, detail
  • Title Translation: 龙门宾阳中洞 , 菩萨足，细节
  • Period: Northern Wei, 386–534 C.E.
  • Project: Longmen Binyang Central Cave
  • Work Description: The Longmen Caves are located outside the city of Luoyang, China, about 500 miles southeast of the modern-day capital in Beijing. Established in the late fifth century, the site consists of 2,345 caves, and over 100,000 individual Buddhist statues, ranging in height from a few inches to over 56 feet. For more than 250 years, Chinese Buddhists from all walks of life sponsored the addition of Buddhist statues and inscriptions to the site, most significantly from the late Northern Wei (386-534) through the Tang dynasty (618-907). Binyang Central Cave is one of the earliest at Longmen and a major monument of Chinese Buddhism. Begun around the year 501, it was commissioned by the youthful Emperor Xuanwu (483-515) and dedicated to his father, Emperor Xiaowen, who died in 499 at age thirty-three. The cave is one of the major monuments of Chinese Buddhism. MEasuring roughly 30 feet in each dimension, its principal image is 28-foot-high seated Buddha largly filling the back of the cave and accompanied by smaller standing figures—disciples, Buddhas, and bodhisattva—on either side. The exit wall contained some of the finest stone relief carvings of the era, including depictions of two imperial processions, and a number of stories from Buddhist scriptures. After cave-making was discontinued for nearly a thousand years, the Longmen site was "discovered" by foreign scholars in the late 1800s. The publication of their studies with photos attracted international attention to the artistic quality of the sculptures. The publications ultimately led to the looting of much of the site in the early part of the twentieth century. In response to demand from art dealers, collectors, and museums around the globe, local stonecutters removed countless works from the caves, often breaking them into numerous fragments in the process. Pieces from the greater Longmen complex can now be found scattered throughout the world. In Binyang Central Cave, several heads and large portions of the relief carvings were cut or burned out of the walls. Fragments from Binyang Central Cave now reside in museums in the US and Japan, as well as in storage at the Longmen Research Institute in China. Many shattered pieces are identifiable today with the evidence of historical photographs and rubbings taken of the reliefs before their removal.
386 - 534

Longmen Binyang Central Cave, central Buddha and north wall
  • Title Translation: 龙门宾阳中洞 , 中央大佛及北壁
  • Period: Northern Wei, 386–534 C.E.
  • Project: Longmen Binyang Central Cave
  • Work Description: The Longmen Caves are located outside the city of Luoyang, China, about 500 miles southeast of the modern-day capital in Beijing. Established in the late fifth century, the site consists of 2,345 caves, and over 100,000 individual Buddhist statues, ranging in height from a few inches to over 56 feet. For more than 250 years, Chinese Buddhists from all walks of life sponsored the addition of Buddhist statues and inscriptions to the site, most significantly from the late Northern Wei (386-534) through the Tang dynasty (618-907). Binyang Central Cave is one of the earliest at Longmen and a major monument of Chinese Buddhism. Begun around the year 501, it was commissioned by the youthful Emperor Xuanwu (483-515) and dedicated to his father, Emperor Xiaowen, who died in 499 at age thirty-three. The cave is one of the major monuments of Chinese Buddhism. MEasuring roughly 30 feet in each dimension, its principal image is 28-foot-high seated Buddha largly filling the back of the cave and accompanied by smaller standing figures—disciples, Buddhas, and bodhisattva—on either side. The exit wall contained some of the finest stone relief carvings of the era, including depictions of two imperial processions, and a number of stories from Buddhist scriptures. After cave-making was discontinued for nearly a thousand years, the Longmen site was "discovered" by foreign scholars in the late 1800s. The publication of their studies with photos attracted international attention to the artistic quality of the sculptures. The publications ultimately led to the looting of much of the site in the early part of the twentieth century. In response to demand from art dealers, collectors, and museums around the globe, local stonecutters removed countless works from the caves, often breaking them into numerous fragments in the process. Pieces from the greater Longmen complex can now be found scattered throughout the world. In Binyang Central Cave, several heads and large portions of the relief carvings were cut or burned out of the walls. Fragments from Binyang Central Cave now reside in museums in the US and Japan, as well as in storage at the Longmen Research Institute in China. Many shattered pieces are identifiable today with the evidence of historical photographs and rubbings taken of the reliefs before their removal.
386 - 534

Head of Standing Bodhisattva
  • Title Translation: 菩萨立像头部
  • Period: Northern Wei, 386–534 C.E.
  • Project: Longmen Binyang Central Cave
  • Work Description: The Binyangzhongdong Cave commissioned by emperor Xuanwu is a massive cave measuring 9 meters high, 11 meters wide, and 10 meters in depth. The head of the image is almost one meter tall, and is thought originally to have been the head for one of the standing attendant figures on the triad carved into the cave’s south wall. The clearly depicted eyes and nose combine with the gentle expression of its mouth to create a typical example of bodhisattva imagery from the late Northern Wei dynasty.
386 - 534

Eleven-headed Guanyin, Bodhisattva of Compassion
  • Title Translation: 十一面观世音菩萨
  • Period: Tang, 703 C.E.
  • Project: Guangzhai Temple Qibaotai Pagoda
703

The Eleven-Headed Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara in a Niche
  • Title Translation: 十一面观音龛
  • Period: Tang, 703 C.E.
  • Project: Guangzhai Temple Qibaotai Pagoda
703

Seated Buddha and Bodhisattvas
  • Title Translation: 三佛龛
  • Period: Tang, 703 C.E.
  • Project: Guangzhai Temple Qibaotai Pagoda
  • Work Description: This work is one of the thirty-two existing examples from the statue group in Baoqingsi Temple, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China. It was distinctively expressed in early Tang style which absorbed the Indian influence. The middle statue was presented with hands and fingers in the position of Sokuchi’in mudra. This pose is related to the statue of Śākyamuni in Budh Gaya in India where he had completed self-discipline and enlightened to the truth.
703

Bodhisattva Head
  • Title Translation: 菩萨头
  • Period: Northern Qi, 550-577 C.E.
  • Project: Xiangtangshan Caves
550 - 577

Bodhisattva Lotus Pedestal
  • Title Translation: 菩萨莲花台
  • Period: Northern Qi, 550-577 C.E.
  • Project: Xiangtangshan Caves
550 - 577

Guardian King
  • Title Translation: 菩萨立像
  • Period: Northern Qi, 550-577 C.E.
  • Project: Xiangtangshan Caves
  • Work Description: Standing Bodhisattva, robed, holding flywhisk and unidentified object.
550 - 577

Bodhisattva Head
  • Title Translation: 菩萨头
  • Period: Northern Qi, 550-577 C.E.
  • Project: Xiangtangshan Caves
550 - 577

Bodhisattva Head
  • Title Translation: 菩萨头
  • Period: Northern Qi, 550-577 C.E.
  • Project: Xiangtangshan Caves
  • Work Description: Stone head of bodhisattva. Hard dark stone. Life size. Narrow oval face with half-closed eyes and tiny mouth; no urna; long ears with pierced lobes and earrings; three peaked headdress with tassels partly missing.
550 - 577

Bodhisattva Head
  • Title Translation: 菩萨头
  • Period: Northern Qi, 550-577 C.E.
  • Project: Xiangtangshan Caves
  • Work Description: Although the Northern Qi was a shortlived state in northeastern China, it once served as a major center for the development of Buddhism. Its rulers were fervent followers of Buddhism and patrons of innumerable temple building projects. A major focus of their efforts was the great rock-cut cave complex at Xiangtangshan on the border between Hebei and Henan. This head once belonged to a colossal statue at this site. Its rounded, rather youthful face and smooth contours are typical of the stylistic development of the time.
550 - 577

Bodhisattvas Standing
  • Title Translation: 菩萨立像
  • Period: Northern Qi, 550-577 C.E.
  • Project: Xiangtangshan Caves
  • Work Description: This figure sculpted from stone represents the Bodhissatva Guanyin, an important Buddhist deity, also known as the Bodhissatva of Compassion and Avalokitesvara in Sanskrit and who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. Depictions of Guanyin feature very widely in Chinese material culture from the earliest times of Buddhist worship in China in the late 2nd century AD. Guanyin can be identified by the small figure of the Amitaba Buddha that sits in his crown. Bodhisattvas (with Museum No.A7-1913) are spiritually enlightened beings who help others attain enlightnment. Here they each hold a lotus bud as a symbol of purity and goodness. The lotus also represents the potential for attaining enlightenment.
550 - 577