Chengdu: Maitreya Buddha and Attendants
Sandstone
Chengdu: Maitreya Buddha and Attendants (back)
Chengdu: Maitreya Buddha and Attendants
CHINA, Sichuan, Chengdu; Southern Qi dynasty
The sculpture was excavated in 1995. It depicts Maitreya Buddha sitting in half lotus position on a rectangular throne wearing a monastic robe that is opened at the front with folds draping over the throne. The Buddha’s nimbus is in the form of lotus petals. The mandorla is damaged but some Buddha figures and an apsara can be seen. The attendant Bodhisattvas, both holding objects, have peach-shaped nimbuses and stand on plain circular pedestals. A warrior with a mountain censer on his head is beneath the throne and lions are on either side of the base.
A relief of Maitreya Buddha and two attendant Bodhisattvas in a pavilion is engraved on the back of the mandorla. Inscriptions are on either side of the Buddhisattva images stating the monk Fahai and his mother dedicated the sculpture for his deceased father in 490.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture A-F, page 243.
Cite this article:
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Lovelock, Yann and Chou, Yuan and Huntington, Susan and Edson, Gary and Neather, Robert,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture A-F},
pages = 243,
title = {{Chengdu: Maitreya Buddha and Attendants}},
volume = 10,
year = {2016}}