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Unknown Artist
- Title
- Standing Shakyamuni Buddha flanked by two Bodhisattvas
- Other titles:
- Buddhist stele
- Place of origin
-
China
- Period
- Eastern Wei 534 - 550 → Northern dynasties 386 - 581 → China
- Year
- circa 0545
- Media category
- Sculpture
- Materials used
- carved limestone
- Dimensions
-
61.0cm height
- Signature & date
- Not signed. Not dated.
- Credit
- Purchased 1988
- Accession number
- 128.1988
- Location
- Upper Asian gallery
- Further information
‘With his right hand raised in the ‘abhaya mudra’ and the left in the ‘varada mudra’, Shakyamuni Buddha stands flanked by the two bodhisattvas, probably Avalokiteshvara and Mahasthamaprapta. Carved in high relief on the halo are celestial musicians and a pair of ‘apsaras’ (celestial beings) that support an image of the seated Buddha, possibly Prabhutaratna, the Buddha of the past, who vowed to be present whenever the Lotus Sutra was invoked. The stele is carved from an exceptionally fine-grained limestone similar to that used in a large group of recently discovered 6th-century Buddhist sculptures from the Qingzhou region of Shangdong province. The quality of the stone allowed for a high degree of refinement and meticulous detail in the carving, making this an especially fine and beautiful example of early Chinese Buddhist art.’
‘The Asian Collections: Art Gallery of New South Wales’. pg.92
© 2003 Trustees, Art Gallery of New South Wales- Bibliography (7)
-
'Introduction' by Jackie Menzies, pg. 9-17., Asian Collection Handbook, Art Gallery of New South Wales 1990, 1990, 12 (colour illus.).
Ewen McDonald (Australia) (Editor), The Art Gallery of New South Wales collections, Sydney, 1994, 191 (colour illus.).
'Standing Buddha' by Edmund Capon, pg. 9., Look Oct 1998, Oct 1998, 9 (colour illus.).
Jackie Menzies (Australia) (Editor), Buddha: Radiant awakening, Sydney, 2001, 159 (colour illus.), 188. cat.no. 117
'The Discovery of Mass: A Footnote to the Stylistic and Iconographic Innovation in Chinese Buddhist Sculpture' by LIU Yang, pg. 88-95., Orientations Sep 2000, Sep 2000, 89 (colour illus.). fig.2
China 'Buddhist Art', The Asian Collections Art Gallery of New South Wales 2003, 2003, 92, 93 (colour illus.).
'Object of desire' by Steve Meacham, pg. 24., The Sydney Morning Herald 08 Jan 2007, 08 Jan 2007, 24 (colour illus.).
- Exhibition history (2)
-
Buddhist Art from the Collection of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 06 May 1995–10 Sep 1995.
Buddha: Radiant awakening, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 10 Nov 2001–24 Feb 2002.
