Ngawa: Amitabha and Maitreya Buddhas

CHINA, Sichuan, Aba; Southern Qi dynasty

This was once part of a larger sculpture that was discovered by farmers on their land in 1921 and was later broken into smaller pieces for sale. The Buddha featured on the front of this fragment is Maitreya, while the one on the back is Amitabha. Both have smooth hair with high usnisas and wear monastic robes that open at the front. Maitreya’s robe falls over his crossed legs and the platform on which he sits. The position of his hands is stylized with the right raised in abhaya (fearlessness) mudra while the left is held palm downwards with the last two fingers folded. Amitabha is similar in appearance but appears to be sitting with legs pendent and feet showing beneath the skirt.
The work is among the earliest sculptures from the Southern Dynasties (420–589) that shows the style with loose gowns with wide girdles, and is rare in the region for its two-sided representation. An inscription found on the side states that the sculpture was commissioned in 483 by the monk Xi Xuansong, who dedicated the merit widely.