Seated figure of Bodhisattva with Sino-Tibetan style: double lotus pedestal on rectangular base

Object Details

• Label

  Several dates have been proposed for this sculpture since its acquisition in 1913 by Charles Lang Freer, who unrealistically believed it dated to the Song dynasty (960-1279). The work mixes Chinese and Tibetan features, such as the Tibetan-style pointed crown with upswept ribbons. Because of this stylistic blend of features, the eminent sinologist Osvald Siren redated the sculpture in 1962 to the eighteenth century, when a number of imperial temples in China were dedicated to the practice of Tibetan Buddhism.

  In fact, the sculpture's combination of Tibetan and Chinese Buddhist imagery marks an earlier period of interaction, in the fourteenth century, between these two cultures. Several securely dated comparisons for this image exist, including Yuan dynasty (1279-1368) stone sculptures carved into a cliff at Feilaifeng, in the southern Chinese city of Hangzhou. The full face, headdress, and jewelry of the Freer's sculpture also compare closely with Yuan dynasty portable images, some of which were excavated in Inner Mongolia. The distinctive body-shaped halo seen here has holes drilled into it that once held a metal framework, which probably created an impression of flaming light.

• 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. 403, Original Miscellaneous List, p. 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

  Chinese Buddhist Sculpture in New Light (April 14, 2002 to September 8, 2003)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Yamanaka and Co. 山中商会 (1917-1965) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Sculpture

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1200s, 1300s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Yamanaka and Co.

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Chinese Art, Mudra, Yuan dynasty (1279 - 1368), Stone, Bodhisattva

• Culture

  Buddhists, Chinese

• Object Type

  Sculpture