Sakyamuni Buddha Triad
Gilt bronze
Sakyamuni Buddha Triad
CHINA; Northern Wei dynasty
The work consists of a Buddha and two Bodhisattvas presented upon a double-tier, four-legged stand. The Buddha stands in the center on an inverted lotus pedestal and wears a monastic robe whose edges flare outward. The aureole behind him is decorated with a trellised vine that encloses a radiating circular nimbus. Surrounding the figure is a blazing mandorla with a pagoda at its apex and apsaras with trailing stoles flying inwards around the upper edges.
The attendant Bodhisattvas have radiating nimbuses with a sawed edge. They stand on lotus pedestals that grow from the mouth of dragons. An inscription on the stand identifies the figure as Sakyamuni Buddha and dates the statue to 522, and also names Wei Huaiyu of Gaoyang as the person who commissioned it.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture N-Sr, page 938.
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 N-Sr},
pages = 938,
title = {{Sakyamuni Buddha Triad}},
volume = 12,
year = {2016}}