Buddhist altarpiece

Object Details

• Label

  This Sui dynasty altarpiece carries an incised inscription on the base with a date of 597. The text does not identify which Buddha in the Buddhist pantheon is represented, but it provides the names of sixteen donors who contributed funds to sponsor the image. Some of the donors seem to have been women active in the Sui court.

  The central Buddha holds his right hand in the "fear not gesture" and his left hand is pictured in the "giving gesture." The Buddha wears monastic dress and looks elegantly modest, while the flanking bodhisattvas (enlightened beings) wear flower-strewn headdresses, long floating ribbons, and jewelled chains. All of the figures have a "peach-shaped" halo, each of which is inclinded slightly forward contributing to a sense of personal interaction.

• Provenance

  To 1914

  Worch et Cie, Paris, to 1914 [1]

  From 1914 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Worch et Cie in 1914 [2]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Bronze List, S.I. 501, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

  [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

  Encountering the Buddha: Art and Practice Across Asia (October 14, 2017 to February 6, 2022)

  Buddhist Art (May 9, 1993 to August 9, 2011)

  Chinese Art (January 1, 1963 to March 6, 1981)

  Special Exhibit for King and Queen of Nepal (April 26, 1960 to January 1, 1963)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Buddhist Art (July 19, 1958 to April 26, 1960)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Art, West Corridor, 1947 (January 8, 1947 to February 10, 1947)

  Stone Sculpture, Buddhist Bronze, and Chinese Painting (May 2, 1923 to February 25, 1956)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Worch et Cie (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Sculpture

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  500s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, buddha, Worch et Cie

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Gilding, Bronze, Sui dynasty (581 - 618), Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Sculpture, Chinese Art, Varada mudra, Abhaya mudra, Lotus, Bodhisattva, Metal-work

• Culture

  Buddhists, Chinese

• Object Type

  Sculpture