Standing Bodhisattva,Xiangtangshan Caves (Translation)
響堂山石窟菩薩立像 北齊 (Primary Title)
sculpture (Object Name)

Unknown (Artist)

Educational
ca. 565–577
Chinese
Limestone
China,Fengfeng Mining District 峰峰礦區,Hebei,Handan 邯鄲市,
Overall: 67 × 16 1/2 × 11 in. (170.18 × 41.91 × 27.94 cm)
56.9.2
Carved out of one piece of stone, this bodhisattva stands barefooted on a base and wears a long gown, ornate jewelry, and a large rosette-shaped crown. The rounded, solid form and the solemn facial expression convey the deity's grace and compassion, and mark an artistic departure from the foreign influence of India and Central Asia toward a new, distinguished Chinese style.

This statue comes from Xiangtangshan (Mountains of Resounding Halls), a Buddhist cave complex built on a hillside near Handan in Hebei province, and is one of the earliest Buddhist statues built in this complex. Its construction was funded by Emperor Gao Yang of the Northern Qi dynasty.
Northern Qi dynasty (550–577)
None
None
Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund
Musee De L’Orangerie in Paris, 1934
London International Exhibition of Chinese Arts, at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1935-1936
William Hayes Fogg Museum of Harvard College, Boston, MA, 1939
Saint Paul Art Gallery, Saint Paul, MN, 1940
Chinese Stone Sculpture, C. T. Loo & Company, New York, 1940
Albany Institute of History and Art, Albany, NY, 1943
Akron Institute, Akron, Ohio, 1948
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA, 1955
"Echoes of the Past: The Buddhist Cave Temples at Xiangtangshan," Smart Museum at the University of Chicago, September 30, 2010 - January 16, 2011; (not on display due to space limit at Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC); Meadows Museum, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, September 10, 2011 - January 1, 2012; and San Diego Museum of Art; January 28 - April 8, 2012.
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC

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