All Exhibitions

Secrets of the Lacquer Buddha

Dry lacquer figure depicting the Sakyamuni Buddha sitting dressed in a robe with hands missing and long earlobes broken off.

Dates

December 9, 2017–June 10, 2018
Location

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery | Gallery 26c, 26e
Collection Area

Chinese Art

Secrets of the Lacquer Buddha unites the only sixth- and seventh-century, life-size Chinese lacquer buddha sculptures known: one from the Walters Art Museum, one from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and one from the Freer Gallery of Art. They have never been exhibited together before.

The exhibition explores how the sculptures were made, giving new insights into these deceptively simple objects. It also highlights how science can contribute to understanding art. The National Museum of Asian Art Department of Conservation and Scientific Research’s experts used specialized equipment and new methods to analyze the sculptures, exposing microscopic details. Find out what tree species the lacquer came from, what type of burnt bone was mixed in, and other unexpected discoveries.

Learn more about Objects Conservation Projects »

Practice and Production: Four Life-Size Chinese Buddhist Sculptures

Introduction

By Donna Strahan and Denise Patry Leidy

The National Museum of Asian Art has united for the first time the most important early Chinese lacquer buddha sculptures known to exist. In this online publication, we explore these sculptures in tandem with the exhibition Secrets of the Lacquer Buddha, on view from December 9, 2017, through June 10, 2018. Working from both art historical and scientific perspectives, Secrets of the Lacquer Buddha has given us an opportunity to determine how and of what these unique images were made. Together, they offer a holistic view of early Buddhist lacquer sculptures, demonstrating the complexity and sophistication of these works.

Unlike those crafted in stone, metal, or clay, Chinese Buddhist sculptures in lacquer are extremely rare. The three earliest-known examples, dating from the late sixth to the early seventh century, are all life-size and all in the United States. One is in the collection of the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore; a second is in the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, DC; and the third is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The Walters buddha is the earliest preserved example of a sculpture made using the wood-core lacquer technique. The Freer and Metropolitan buddhas are the earliest extant sculptures produced with the hollow-core lacquer technique.

In addition to these three late sixth- and seventh-century sculptures, we were able to study an eighth-century bodhisattva head from a private collection. This allowed us to compare the lacquer sculpture technique across three centuries. Together, the four sculptures also offer insights into the relationship between the use of lacquer as a sculptural medium and religious practice during this formative period in East Asian Buddhism.

Scientific Analysis

The sculptures in Secrets of the Lacquer Buddha are more than fifteen hundred years old. NMAA researchers used multiple analytical techniques—involving both specialized equipment and the unaided eye—to determine how and with what the sculptures were made. Learn about these techniques in this image gallery.

The sculptures had been restored a number of times before they arrived at the NMAA. Much of our research was devoted to distinguishing which elements were original and which were later additions. Occasionally, we took minute samples of the objects to help identify their materials.

Scientific analysis alone cannot answer all of our questions. The results of a test must be carefully considered with other information before reaching conclusions. The most potent tools remain the human eye and an informed mind.

—Donna Strahan, head of conservation and scientific research, National Museum of Asian Art