Stele
Sandstone
Stele
CHINA; Northern Wei dynasty
The stele depicts a central Buddha surrounded by numerous smaller Buddhas. The principal Buddha is seated with his hands hidden within his monastic robe that fans out decoratively over the crossed legs. There are thin stylized attendants on either side standing upon dragons. The attendants fulfill the function of supporting columns, with their flattened headdresses serving as capitals. Stylized Buddhas in arched niches surrounded the central niche. The flame-pointed top of the stele depicts two entwined dragons flanked by birds.
An inscription on the back dates the stele to 520 and identifies a devotee by the name of Wei Yu as the patron. The sculptural skills employed are unique to Luxian, Shaanxi.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture St-Z, page 1156.
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 St-Z},
pages = 1156,
title = {{Stele}},
volume = 13,
year = {2016}}