A white marble sculpture of a muscled figure wearing a robe across their waist. The legs have been broken off at the knee and its right arm has been broken off at the elbow. The figure has a strong jaw and big, round eyes.
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

The white marble sculpture is of a muscled figure wearing a robe across their waist. Their hip leans to the left and their left arm is down at their side. Their legs have been broken off at the knee and their right arm has been broken off at the elbow. The figure has a strong jaw, big, round eyes, and large, furrowed brows. The figure is bald and white and yellow in color.

Gallery Text

Throughout Asia, Buddhist temples are protected from malevolent spirits by various guardian figures, some local, others universal. In fact, many Buddhist monks were renowned for their ability to convert local spirits into protectors of the Buddha’s teachings. This figure is one of a pair of universally protective deities known in Chinese as Renwang, or “benevolent kings.” Clad in loincloths and scarves, with the fierce demeanors and muscular bodies of Central Asian warriors, they were placed at the gates of East Asian temples to protect the sacred precincts. One member of this pair is depicted with an open mouth, as though pronouncing the Sanskrit syllable ah; the other (seen here), with mouth closed, seems to intone the syllable hum. Like the Greek letters alpha and omega in Christian doctrine, these syllables represent the beginning and end of the cosmos in Buddhist theology. This figure likely would have held a vajra, a scepter signifying omnipotence.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.53.39
Title
Buddhist Guardian Figure (Dvarapala)
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
sculpture, figure
Date
7th century
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China, Hebei province
Period
Tang dynasty, 618-907
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/204001

Location

Location
Level 1, Room 1610, Buddhist Sculpture, Buddhism and Early East Asian Buddhist Art
View this object's location on our interactive map

Physical Descriptions

Medium
White marble. Probably from Hebei province.
Dimensions
H. 69 x W. 35.5 x D. 19 cm (27 3/16 x 14 x 7 1/2 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[Yamanaka & Co., New York, January 4, 1915] sold; to Grenville L. Winthrop, New York (1915-1943), bequest; to Fogg Art Museum, 1943.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.53.39
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

THIS WORK MAY NOT BE LENT BY THE TERMS OF ITS ACQUISITION TO THE HARVARD ART MUSEUMS.

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Publication History

  • Dorothy W. Gillerman, ed., Grenville L. Winthrop: Retrospective for a Collector, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, 1969), no. 071, pp. 88-89

Exhibition History

  • S425: East Asian Buddhist Sculpture, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 10/20/1985 - 04/30/2008
  • 32Q: 1610 Buddhist Art I, Harvard Art Museums, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050

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