Standing Buddha on a low four-legged platform

Object Details

• Label

  Based upon visual analysis alone, this devotional image appears to be a genuine work of the Northern Wei dynasty (386-535), but recent scientific examination raises serious doubt about its authenticity. The metal alloy is brass, a mixture of copper and zinc, which is currently believed to have had little use in China before the fifteenth century. Genuine Northern Wei dynasty metal images were made of bronze. Also, if the green corrosion were genuine, it would consist of malachite, a mineral that forms on the surface of copper alloys buried for a long period. Yet, malachite is not present here. Instead the surface seems to have been treated with acidic solutions containing chloride to make it green-a trick known to forgers.

  Scientific analysis cannot determine when this Buddha image was made; it can only determine that the image postdates the use of brass. However, since close replicas of Northern Wei gilt bronzes are not known from historical times, this Buddha was probably manufactured in the twentieth century to sell to foreigners. It exemplifies the remarkably high quality of some fakes.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

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

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

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

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

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Painting and Sculpture (November 15, 1944 to February 25, 1956)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Sculpture

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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  The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1900s, 1950s

• Name

  buddha

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Gilding, Bronze, Art, Mandorla, Sculpture, Chinese Art, Varada mudra, Forgery, Abhaya mudra, Flowers, Northern Wei dynasty (386 - 534), Metal-work

• Culture

  Buddhists, Chinese

• Object Type

  Sculpture