Buddha Triad

CHINA; Northern Wei dynasty

The Buddha stands with feet slightly apart on a circular pedestal with right hand raised in the abhaya (fearlessness) mudra, while the left hand is in the varada (wish-granting) mudra. The Buddha wears a loose monastic robe with vividly rendered folds. The two attending Bodhisattvas hold attributes and wear tasseled crowns that are ornately decorated. All three figures have petal-shaped nimbuses.
The group is positioned within a petal-shaped mandorla that has a dragon floating in the center, flanked by apsaras with fluttering stoles. A pair of apsaras supports a large vase near the top of the mandorla. The lotus pedestals on which the Bodhisattvas stand are from the mouths of dragons. This is similar to a scene from an earlier illustration, which was adapted from the Sutra on Maitreya Attaining Buddhahood. The Bodhisattva is described in the sutra as sitting under the tree of enlightenment among dragons that resemble branches who spew out flowers from their mouths. An inscription dates the work to 534.