Four-sided miniature stele

Object Details

• Description

  Four-sided miniature stele.

  Color of the stone: originally white (?), darkened and discolored. Traces of applied red and black pigment. Marble with traces of red and black pigments.

• Label

  This small shrine was probably made for private use. Although its authenticity has never been questioned, it is being exhibited here for the first time, partly because its modest scale and lack of inscribed date have led scholars to overlook it. Its darkened condition is also a factor, for to fully appreciate the carving, a viewer must look closely. If the work were to be cleaned, pigment might be lost. The front and rear niches contain a seated Buddha in monastic robes on one side and a crowned bodhisattva (enlightened being) on the other.

  These images suggest the popular pairing of Shakyamuni (566-486 B.C.E.), the historical Buddha, and Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future, who waits as a bodhisattva in a heavenly realm until he descends to earth as the next Buddha. It is unusual, however, to find Maitreya as a bodhisattva seated with pendant legs, a posture common for depictions of Maitreya as a Buddha. The side niches feature a Buddha and a bodhisattva. Stylistically the work seems Western Wei, circa 550, although the gently domed roof is unusual in a miniature shrine of this date.

• Provenance

  To 1914

  Yamanaka & Company, New York to 1914 [1]

  From 1914 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company, New York in 1914 [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.

  494, Original Miscellaneous List, p. 140, 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

  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

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  500s, 400s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Yamanaka and Co.

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Western Wei dynasty (535 - 556), Shrine, Art, Maitreya Buddha, Chinese Art, Shakyamuni Buddha, Abhaya mudra, Stone

• Culture

  Buddhists, Chinese

• Object Type

  Sculpture