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Buddhist Stele

Artist/Maker
Datemid-6th century
MediumBlack limestone
DimensionsOverall: 64 × 23 5/8 × 22 in. (162.6 × 60 × 55.9 cm)
Credit LineR. T. Miller Jr. Fund
Object number1946.39
Status
On view
More Information
Buddhism originated in India sometime around the sixth century BC and later spread to lands across Asia. It first reached China during the Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), but was initially slow to win converts from their native Confucian and Daoist belief systems. When the Han dynasty collapsed, the ensuing centuries of conflict, confusion, and general hardship made people more receptive to the Buddhist doctrines of peace and freedom from suffering. The new religion took root especially in northern China, where several dynasties embraced Buddhism as their official religion. This sculpture was made in one of those northern states, the Northern Qi, which existed for a brief period between 550 and 577.

The sculpture depicts Sakyamuni Buddha, the Indian prince turned holy man who gained enlightenment (the term Buddha means "enlightened one") and founded the Buddhist religion. He is portrayed here wearing a monk's robes and a beatific smile on his face. His hands are held palms outward, one pointing up and one down, in a gesture that signifies reassurance and compassion. He is surrounded by a kind of halo called a mandorla that represents the golden aura of spirituality that emanated from the Buddha's body. He stands on a lotus blossom base. Because the lotus grows from the mud to become a beautiful flower, it was often used in Buddhist art to symbolize transcendence from the human world of suffering and pain. The lotus is supported on either side by lionlike beasts and in the center by a tiny humanoid figure that may represent an earth spirit. The guardian beasts and earth spirit were borrowed from native Chinese folk beliefs and show how Buddhist artists appropriated existing imagery to help win new converts to the religion.

The stele is carved from a distinctive type of black limestone that is found in northern China and was used by many Buddhist sculptors during the fifth and sixth centuries. Although the stone has a pleasantly austere appearance that seems perfectly in keeping with Buddhist doctrine, in fact the sculpture would originally have been brightly painted. The square head, volumetric body, and fluid lines of the drapery are all characteristic of Northern Qi sculpture. With its aura of calm compassion and approachable familiarity, the sculpture reveals far better than any text how securely ensconced Buddhism was in China by the second half of the sixth century.

Because it is so well preserved and so iconographically rich, this stele is a remarkably effective teaching tool. The sculpture is regularly studied by classes from the Art History, History, and Religion Departments and has become one of the icons of the Allen Memorial Art Museum.
Exhibition History
Chinese Sculpture, Han (206 B.C.-A.D. 220) to Sung (A.D. 960-1279)
  • Springfield Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, MA ( 1944 - 1946 )
  • De Young Museum, San Francisco, CA (July 16, 1944 - August 15, 1944 )
  • Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA ( 1944-10 - 1944-11 )
  • Pasadena Art Museum, Pasadena, CA ( 1944-12 - 1945-01 )
  • Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, MN ( 1945 - 1945 )
  • Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA ( 1945 - 1945 )
  • Portland Museum of Art, Portland, ME (January 23, 1945 - February 28, 1945 )
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH ( 1945-11 - 1945-11 )
  • Joslyn Museum of Art, Omaha, NE ( 1946 - 1946 )
  • J. J. Herron Art Institute, Indianapolis, IN ( 1946 - 1946 )
  • Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT ( 1946 - 1946 )
  • Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, Columbus, OH (December 7, 1946 - January 20, 1947 )
When Words Meet Pictures: East Asian Painting and Sculpture
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (August 25, 1994 - November 15, 1994 )
An Eclectic Ensemble: The History of the Asian Art Collection at Oberlin
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (August 27, 1999 - August 30, 2000 )
Chinese Art: Culture and Context
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (January 2, 2002 - June 2, 2002 )
Chinese and Japanese Art from Antiquity to the Present
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (September 17, 2002 - June 9, 2003 )
Asian Art and the Allen: American Collectors in the Early 20th Century
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (August 19, 2014 - July 12, 2015 )
Collections
  • On View
  • Asian