The Buddha Maitreya (Mile)

The Buddha Maitreya (Mile); tip of halo and fingers of extended right hand missing.
Limestone; dark gray with lighter weathering and earth encrustations and traces of pigment.

Historical period(s)
Tang dynasty, 618-907
Medium
Stone
Dimensions
H x W x D: 85.3 x 39.8 x 22.3 cm (33 9/16 x 15 11/16 x 8 3/4 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1912.73
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Sculpture, Stone
Type

Buddhist sculpture

Keywords
Buddhism, China, forgery, halo, Maitreya Buddha, Tang dynasty (618 - 907)
Provenance

To 1912
Yamanaka & Company, New York to 1912 [1]

From 1912 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company, New York in 1912 [2]

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

Notes:

[1] Undated folder sheet note. See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 368, pg. 115, 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.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919
Yamanaka and Co. (C.L. Freer source) 1917 - 1965

Description

The Buddha Maitreya (Mile); tip of halo and fingers of extended right hand missing.
Limestone; dark gray with lighter weathering and earth encrustations and traces of pigment.

Published References
  • Osvald Siren. Chinese Sculpture from the Fifth to the Fourteenth Century: Over 900 Specimens in Stone, Bronze, Lacquer and Wood, Principally from Northern China. 4 vols., London. vol. 3: pl. 272.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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