Bust of a Bodhisattva Surrounded by a Monk and Devas (from the south wall of Mogao Cave 320, Dunhuang, Gansu province)

Gallery Text

This mural section is a companion to the Bust of an Attendant Bodhisattva (1924.43) at left. The scene is centered upon a bodhisattva who turns to face a Buddha (not seen here), whose halo is partially visible at the left edge. Standing between the unseen Buddha and this bodhisattva, an elderly monk — Mahakashyapa, one of the Buddha’s favored disciples — holds a sutra scroll, a reference to the Buddha’s teachings. Clad in military armor and displaying a fierce demeanor, one of the Eight Devas and Dragons appears in the upper-right corner of the composition. This mural section thus gives a sense of the radially hierarchical nature of mural compositions throughout much of the history of Chinese Buddhist art: a buddha at center is immediately flanked by his closest disciples and principal attendant bodhisattvas; they, in turn, are surrounded by protective deities of decreasing levels of spiritual advancement.

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 1924.44
Title: Bust of a Bodhisattva Surrounded by a Monk and Devas (from the south wall of Mogao Cave 320, Dunhuang, Gansu province)
Classification: Paintings
Work Type: mural painting
Date: early 8th century
Places: Creation Place: East Asia, China, Gansu province, Dunhuang
Period: Tang dynasty, 618-907
Culture: Chinese
Persistent Link: https://hvrd.art/o/209206

Location

Location: Level 2, Room 2740, Buddhist Art, The Efflorescence of East Asian and Buddhist Art

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Physical Descriptions

Medium: Section of a wall painting; polychromy on unfired clay
Dimensions: painting proper (irregular): H. 47 x W. 62.2 cm (18 1/2 x 24 1/2 in.)
framed: H. 73.7 x W. 94 x D. 3.5 cm (29 x 37 x 1 3/8 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History: From Mogao Cave 320, Dunhuang, Gansu province; acquired during the First Fogg Expedition to China (1923-24) led by Langdon Warner (1881-1955)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line: Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, First Fogg Expedition to China (1923-1924)
Accession Year: 1924
Object Number: 1924.44
Division: Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact: am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions: The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request.

Publication History

Sanchita Balachandran, "Research into the Collecting and Conservation History of Chinese Wall Paintings from Dunhuang in the Harvard University Art Museums" (thesis (certificate in conservation), Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, 2004), Unpublished, passim
Sanchita Balachandran, Object Lessons: The Politics of Preservation and Museum Building in Western China in the Early Twentieth Century, International Journal of Cultural Property (2007), Vol. 14, No. 1, 1-32

Exhibition History

S426a: Dunhuang Sculpture and Murals, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 10/20/1985 - 04/30/2008
Re-View: S228-230 Arts of Asia, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 05/31/2008 - 06/01/2013
32Q: 2740 Buddhist II, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 08/28/2023; Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/22/2024 - 01/01/2050
Objects of Addiction: Opium, Empire, and the Chinese Art Trade, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 09/15/2023 - 01/14/2024

Subjects and Contexts

Google Art Project

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

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1924.44: Bust of a Bodhisattva Surrounded by a Monk and Devas (from the south wall of Mogao Cave 320, Dunhuang, Gansu province)