Longxing Temple: Buddha Triad

CHINA, Shandong, Qingzhou; Northern Wei dynasty

Unearthed from the Longxing Temple site in 1996, the Buddha and flanking Bodhisattvas are united as a triad within a common mandorla in this carving. The Buddha wears a monastic robe that covers both shoulders but has a low collar, showing the inner robe beneath. The hands are in the conventional abhaya (fearlessness) and varada (wish-granting) mudras. The Bodhisattvas wear scrolled crowns with sidepieces and beaded neck ornaments that hang down to loop over the skirt beneath. Enough remains of the damaged mandorla to show that the figures have a lotus nimbus carved in low relief, about which are painted radiations and an aureole surrounding the Buddha. Among the lotus stems that sprout around the Bodhisattva’s feet, a pair of dragons frolic.