A GILT-BRONZE BUDDHIST VOTIVE STELE

Details

A GILT-BRONZE BUDDHIST VOTIVE STELE
Comprised of a stepped openwork platform fitted with a faceted socle cast in relief with seven different figures below the half figure of a tortoise from which rises an arched plaque surmounted by a double-headed dragon border and incised with a lengthy inscription, which includes a date corresponding to 577, below a figure of Amitabha Buddha seated in dhayanasana between two standing bodhisattva, all below the Seven Buddhas of the Past seated in the open framework of branches of two intertwined trees rising from the top of the platform
11 5/8 in. (29. 5cm.) high

Lot Essay

Compare the late 6th century earthenware plaque molded with a scene of the Buddha seated under two intertwined trees similar to those on the present stele, in the British Museum, illustrated by W. Zwalf, ed., Buddhism: Art and Faith, British Museum, London, 1985, p. 201, no. 288. See, also, the Northern Qi stone stele dated to the year 556 from Licheng with a central image of Buddha seated under similar intertwined trees, illustrated by Li Jingji, Shifo xuancui (Essence of Buddhistic Statues), Beijing, 1995, p. 45, no. 25.

More from Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art

View All