H x W x D: 95.1 x 60.6 x 35.4 cm (37 7/16 x 23 7/8 x 13 15/16 in)
Type:
Sculpture
Origin:
Quyang, Hebei province, China
Date:
565; rededicated 1516
Period:
Northern Qi dynasty
Label:
An inscription on the back of this stela, or large stone tablet, states that it was made for patrons from Quyang, in Hebei Province, and provides the date of 565. The white marble is typical of Buddhist images from the mid-sixth century in this area, but the unusual iconography has raised questions by some twentieth-century scholars as to the authenticity of the sculpture. A general consensus, however, holds that the work is genuine. A distinctive iconographic feature of Quyang works is paired images. In this case the main motif consists of pensive, seated bodhisattvas (enlightened beings).
These dual figures probably represent Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future, as a bodhisattva in a heavenly realm awaiting rebirth on earth. An openwork backdrop is formed by two trees supporting a pagoda (the Chinese version of the Indian stupa, or burial mound), which is occupied by two Buddha figures. Flanking dragons spew long garlands that are held aloft by flying celestials. Beneath the pagoda, a niche contains images of the Buddhas of the Past and the Present. The pagoda and niche are each upheld by muscular figures adopted from Indian images of yaksas (male nature deities).
The base is carved with an incense burner supported by a brawny figure framed by lions, meditative individuals, and guardians. On the back of the base, in addition to the inscription of 565, a Ming dynasty rededication of the image dated to 1516 appears beginning with the eleventh line from the right.
Provenance:
To 1913
Yamanaka & Company, New York to 1913 [1]
From 1913 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company, New York in 1913 [2]
From 1920
The Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
Notes:
[1] Undated folder sheet note. See S.I. 404, Original Miscellaneous List, pg. 127.
[2] See note 1.
[3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
Collection:
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Exhibition History:
Promise of Paradise (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)
Promise of Paradise: Early Chinese Buddhist Sculpture (December 1, 2012 to January 3, 2016)
Chinese Buddhist Sculpture in New Light (April 14, 2002 to September 8, 2003)
Studies in Connoisseurship 1923-1983 (September 23, 1983 to March 1, 1984)
Chinese Art (January 1, 1963 to March 6, 1981)
Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Buddhist Sculpture, 1944 (March 13, 1944 to November 14, 1944)
Stone Sculpture, Gallery 17, 1923 (May 2, 1923 to November 17, 1955)
Previous custodian or owner:
Yamanaka and Co. 山中商会 (1917-1965) (C.L. Freer source)
