Seated Bodhisattva

CHINA; Tang dynasty

The Bodhisattva is seated in the relaxation posture with the right leg overhanging the throne and resting on a lotus flower. The lotus footstool is an outgrowth of a more detailed plant that was once part of a water element depicted at the foot of a separately created throne. The body is inclined to one side with the head turned the other way. A braid is wrapped around the forehead and the hair is built into a jeweled topknot, while stray locks of hair scatter over the shoulders. Necklaces fall over the bare torso and a much longer beaded ornament runs from the right shoulder to the knee and divides to return behind the back. A number of stoles also cross the body, a loop from one of which is lifted in the Bodhisattva’s right hand. A long skirt is tied at the waist and ripples over the throne where the folds follow and define the shape of the figure’s legs.