Standing figure of Bodhisattva

Object Details

• Label

  Charles Lang Freer purchased this figure of a bodhisattva, or enlightened being, in 1917. It exemplifies some of the mistakes collectors made trying to date Buddhist sculpture in an era of little comparative material outside of China.

  In 1917 dealers dated the sculpture to the sixth century and claimed they knew from which temple it had been taken in the northern province of Shanxi. There has been no way to document this provenance. However, today the bodhisattva's pose with thrust hip is recognized as typical of the Tang dynasty (618-907).

  As recently as 1959, the eminent sculpture authority Osvald Siren still accepted a sixth-century date for the work, but in 1962 he proposed an early-tenth-century date. The heavy gold pigment may have misled him, since most Tang dynasty sculptures he studied in Western collections are devoid of pigment. Although it is unclear precisely when the gold was applied, almost all Tang sculptures were originally brightly colored.

  Another early-twentieth-century misconception about this sculpture was that it represents a female. In fact, the long-haired, bare-chested figure wearing an Indian-style skirt is decidedly male.

• Provenance

  To 1917

  Yamanaka & Company, New York to 1917 [1]

  From 1917 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company, New York in 1917 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] Undated folder sheet note. See Original Miscellaneous List,S.I. 1188, pg. 276, 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)

  Chinese Art—Stone Sculpture (September 1, 1979 to March 14, 1982)

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

  Centennial Exhibition, Gallery 17 (November 17, 1955 to January 1, 1963)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Buddhist Sculpture (June 2, 1944 to March 13, 1944)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Buddhist Sculpture, 1944 (March 13, 1944 to November 14, 1944)

  Stone Sculpture, Gallery 17, 1923 (May 2, 1923 to November 17, 1955)

  Ancient Chinese Paintings, Sculptures, and Jade Objects from the Collection formed by Charles Lang Freer (November 15 to December 08, 1917)

• 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

  800s, 700s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Yamanaka and Co.

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Chinese Art, Tang dynasty (618 - 907), Stone, Bodhisattva

• Culture

  Buddhists, Chinese

• Object Type

  Sculpture