A gilt bronze sculpture of a man sitting cross-legged.
front Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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front Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

The gilt bronze sculpture is of a man sitting upright and cross-legged. His hands are placed in his lap. He is wearing a draped robe and his hair is wrapped in a bun at the top of his head. There are spikes on his shoulders and upper-arms.

Gallery Text

This gilt-bronze sculpture depicts the historical Buddha Shakyamuni seated on a rectangular throne flanked by a pair of small lions and two donor figures. The Buddha’s hands form the dhyana mudra, a gesture of meditation; the eight triangular points emanating from his shoulders represent flames—a visible manifestation of the body heat associated with meditative practice. Whereas the Buddha’s facial features, mustache, hair, and robes reflect the artistic influence of Gandhara—an ancient kingdom that included parts of present-day Pakistan, Afghanistan, and northwestern India—the lions and donor figures are Chinese in style. In fact, this sculpture ranks among the earliest-known iconic images of the Buddha produced in China, and unlike most of its Indian counterparts, it was cast using the piece-mold technique, the dominant mode of bronzecasting in pre-Buddhist China. The cavity at the top of its head may indicate that the figure once housed relics.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.53.80.A
Title
Seated Buddha Shakyamuni in Meditation with Hands in Dhyana-Mudra and with Flaming Shoulders
Other Titles
Alternate Title: Seated Buddha with Flaming Shoulders
Alternate Title: Sakyamuni
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
sculpture
Date
3rd-4th century
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period
Eastern Wei, 534-550
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/204074

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
Gilt bronze; Gandhara type
Dimensions
H. 32 x W. 24 x D. 13 cm (12 5/8 x 9 7/16 x 5 1/8 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[Yamanaka & Co., New York (by 1940)] sold; to Grenville L. Winthrop, New York (by 1940-1943), 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
1943.53.80.A
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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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. 063, pp. 72-73
  • W. Chie Ishibashi, "East Asian Buddhist Bronzes: A Comparative Analytical Study and a Preliminary Report" (thesis (certificate in conservation), Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, August 1977), Unpublished, passim
  • 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, p. 415, fig. 3
  • Kristin A. Mortimer and William G. Klingelhofer, Harvard University Art Museums: A Guide to the Collections, Harvard University Art Museums and Abbeville Press (Cambridge and New York, 1986), no. 17, p. 24
  • Stephan Wolohojian and Alvin L. Clark, Jr., Harvard Art Museum/ Handbook, ed. Stephan Wolohojian, Harvard Art Museum (Cambridge, 2008), p. 30
  • Christoph Baumer, The History of Central Asia: The Age of the Silk Roads, I. B. Tauris (London, 2014), p. 48, fig. 30
  • Leopold Swergold, Thoughts on Chinese Buddhist Gilt Bronzes (n.p., 2014), p. 16, ill. p. 17

Exhibition History

  • Re-View: S228-230 Arts of Asia, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 05/31/2008 - 06/01/2013
  • 32Q: 1610 Buddhist Art I, Harvard Art Museums, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050

Subjects and Contexts

  • Iconic Works
  • Collection Highlights
  • Google Art Project

Related Digital Tours

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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