Vairochana Buddha

Object Details

• Label

  Images of the Buddha are usually gilded because one of the thirty-two characteristics that marked the Buddha at birth was skin that shone like gold. Chinese Buddists interpreted the golden color as an expression of the Buddha's sunlike spiritual radiance, his inner purity, and the inestimable worth of his teachings.

• Provenance

  ?

  S.H. Minkenhof Collection, Amsterdam and New York, NY [1]

  From at least 1967-?

  Mr. and Mrs. Ivan B. Hart, New York, NY [2]

  ?-1977

  Eskenazi Ltd., London, England [3]

  1977-?

  Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987), New York or the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, purchased from Eskenazi Ltd., London, England [4]

  ?-2006

  The Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, New York, NY [5]

  From 2006

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of The Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, New York, NY

  Notes:

  [1] See Lee, Sherman, E., and Wai-kam Ho. Chinese Art Under the Mongols: The Yuan Dynasty, 1279-1368. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1968.

  See Curatorial Remark 4 in the object record. See also object file, Collections Management Office.

  [2] The object the object was listed as belonging to the Hart Collection, New York in 1967. See Munsterberg, Hugo. Chinese Buddhist Bronzes. Rutland, Vermont and Tokyo, Japan: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1967. See also Lee, Sherman, E., and Wai-kam Ho. Chinese Art Under the Mongols: The Yuan Dynasty, 1279-1368. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1968.

  [3] See invoice from Eskenazi, copy in object file, Collections Management Office.

  [4] The invoice from Eskenazi 1977 is addressed to both Dr. Arthur M. Sackler and the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation. It is unclear whether the object was purchased directly by the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation or first by Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987). See invoice from Eskenazi, copy in object file, Collections Management Office.

  [5] See Acquisition Consideration Form, object file, Collections Management Office.

• Collection

  Arthur M. Sackler Collection

• Exhibition History

  Gold: The Asian Touch (September 10, 2005 to February 20, 2006)

  The Arts of China (November 18, 1990 to September 7, 2014)

  Chinese Art under the Mongols: The Yuan Dynasty (1279 -1368) (October 2, 1968 to March 2, 1969)

• Previous custodian or owner

  S. H. Minkenhof

  Mr. and Mrs. Ivan B. Hart

  Eskenazi Ltd. (Founded 1923)

  Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987)

  Arthur M. Sackler Foundation (founded 1965)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Gift of The Arthur M. Sackler Foundation

• Type

  Sculpture

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  900s, 1100s

• Name

  Sackler, Arthur M., Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, buddha, Eskenazi Ltd., Minkenhof, S. H., Hart, Ivan B.

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Gilding, Bronze, Vairocana Buddha, Art, Sculpture, Chinese Art, Vajra mudra, Liao dynasty (907 - 1125), Metal-work, Ushnisha

• Culture

  Buddhists, Chinese

• Object Type

  Sculpture