Page 162 - Christies Asia Week 2015 Chinese Works of Art

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE NORTH
AMERICAN COLLECTION
2122
A STONE BUDDHIST STELE
TANG DYNASTY (AD 618-907)

The stele is carved with a tiled roof and
dragon-form fnials. The Maitreya is seated
at the center of an arched niche with both
feet resting on diminutive lotus blossoms.
His left hand is raised and his right is resting
on his knee holding a fruit or jewel. He is
fanked by a pair of bodhisattvas standing on
lotus blossoms, and the sides of the stele are
also carved with standing bodhisattvas.
18 in. (45.7 cm.) high

$20,000-30,000

PROVENANCE:

Lyman Allyn Museum, New London,
Connecticut, acquired in 1932.
Christie’s East, New York, 18 September
2000, lot 341.

Buddhist triad steles in stone were carved in
large numbers throughout the Six Dynasties, Sui,
and Tang periods, but those with a roof motif,
as found in the present stele, are less common.
Compare with another three-sided example
dated to AD 574 from the Arthur M. Sackler
Collections, sold at Christie’s New York, 14
September 2009, lot 86.

Stone steles of various forms and sizes carved
with images of Buddha were popular as a way
of venerating Buddha and gaining spiritual favor,
not only for those who commissioned them,
but also for their ancestors and rulers. These
steles depicted Buddha, sometimes in various
manifestations, such as Shakyamuni or Maitreya,
as well as bodhisattvas, monks, acolytes and
donors. They also sometimes depicted the
life of Buddha. The depictions chosen often
represented the particular deities revered by
those who had commissioned the stele.

唐 石雕一佛二菩薩造像碑

(another view)

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