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A marble sculpture of a figure sitting cross-legged on a detailed pedestal and wearing a robe. There is a round, detailed form behind their head. There is faded red coloration throughout the sculpture.

The marble sculpture is of a figure sitting cross-legged on a pedestal detailed with red circles. The figure is wearing a robe that covers their legs and arms but is open at the chest. There is a round, detailed form that comes to a small point behind their head. Their left arm is down by their side with their left hand on their knee. Their right arm is bent up with the right palm pointing up and facing the front. There is faded red coloration throughout the sculpture.

Gallery Text

This finely detailed white marble sculpture — which, remarkably, retains most of its original polychromy — depicts the historical Buddha Shakyamuni, whose halo denotes his saintly status. The Buddha is dressed in monastic robes, which suggest his renunciation of the secular world to seek spiritual awakening. His right hand forms a mudra, or hand gesture, which signifies his pacification of fear and, in certain contexts, that he is in the midst of teaching. Comparatively rare in East Asia, white marble was often used for Buddhist sculptures produced in northern China under the Northern Qi and Sui dynasties. Almost all East Asian Buddhist sculpture, regardless of material, was gilded or polychromed; although the pigments obscured the sometimes precious materials, they imbued the image with a sense of lifelikeness, transforming the sculpture into a physical embodiment of the deity for use in ritual contexts.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.53.42
Title
Seated Buddha Shakyamuni, the Right Hand in Abhaya Mudra, the Left Hand Holding a Jewel
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
figure, sculpture
Date
late 6th century
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period
Northern Qi (550-577) to Sui (581-618) dynasty
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/204048

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 with polychromy. Probably from Dingzhou, Hebei province.
Dimensions
H. 61 x W. 34.7 x D. 30.3 cm (24 x 13 11/16 x 11 15/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[C. T. Loo & Co., Paris, April 29, 1932] sold; to Grenville L. Winthrop, New York (1932-1943), 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
1943.53.42
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

  • Osvald Sirén, "Chinese Marble Sculptures of the Transition Period", Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities (Stockholm, Sweden, 1940), no. 12, pp. 486-487, plate V b
  • Max Loehr, "Aesthetic Delight: An Anthology of Far Eastern Art", Apollo (New Series), Apollo Publications Inc. (London, England, May 1978), vol. CVII, no. 195, pp. 414-421, Cover (caption on p. 355)

Exhibition History

  • S426: Chinese Buddhist Cave 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

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