Yunxian: Buddhas in the Money Tree

CHINA, Hubei, Shiyan; Eastern Han dynasty

This relatively well-preserved burial object dating from the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220) was acquired in 1982 in the village of Wufeng in Yunxian county, Shiyan. It is 110 cm high and consists of a bronze-cast tree mounted on a ceramic mound-shaped base. The top of the base looks like a bear with a mortise on its shoulders. The bronze tree has five sets of branches, which radiate outwards in a regular manner. The leaves are in the form of openwork. A Buddha figure with a square aureole is cast to the trunk of the tree between the branches. The seated Buddha is depicted with a usnisa and mustache, with the right hand clasping the robe lightly, while the left hand is held in varada (wish-fulfilling) mudra before the chest. Below the Buddha on the lowest branches there is a cicada flanked by two rings, which have extended branches with leaves upon which phoenixes rest. There is a winged man adorned with a three-mountain crown standing on each ring. A similar figure can be seen standing on a ring at the apex of the tree.