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A Rare Yuan Dynasty Qingbai-glazed Seated Buddha

Rosemary Scott, International Academic Director Asian Art

This slender fgure sits in padmasana

(also known as the lotus position) with
each foot resting on the opposite knee,
sole upwards. The Buddha’s back is
straight, and his right hand is held in
front of his chest in the vitarka mudra,
which symbolises intellectual discussion,
while the ring formed by the forefnger
and thumb signifes the wheel of law. The
Buddha’s left hand rest gently in his lap in
the gyan mudra, which is sometimes called
the mudra of knowledge. In accordance
with the 32 lakshanas (special bodily
features of the Buddha), the fgure has
an urna in the centre of his forehead
(symbolising spiritual insight), and an
usnisha on the top of his head (symbolising
the attainment of enlightenment). He also
has elongated ear-lobes, which refect
the fact that the Buddha was formerly a
prince, who wore heavy jewellery.

While there are a number of Yuan dynasty
qingbai-glazed Bodhisattva fgures known,
usually depicting Guanyin, Buddha fgures
are much rarer. Yuan dynasty Buddhist
fgures made in porcelain and covered
with a qingbai glaze, developed from
the tradition of fnely-modelled religious
fgures made at the Jingdezhen kilns during
the Southern Song period (1127-1279).
There is a very small extant group of these
Song fgures in international collections.
Inscriptions and the date of tombs in
which these fgures have been found
suggest that they were made in the second
and third quarters of the 13th century - just
prior to the Mongol conquest. The majority
of the extant Song dynasty fgures of this
type have been discovered in the south of
China, within territory controlled by the
Southern Song, however at least one has
been found in the north, in Jin dynasty
(1115-1234) territory, and suggests that the
fgure was regarded as valuable enough
to warrant being taken hundreds of miles
into lands controlled by the Jurchen.

All the qingbai religious fgures surviving
from the Southern Song dynasty appear
to be only partly glazed, to allow for the
application of ‘cold-painted’ decoration,
but this was not usually the case in
the Yuan dynasty, when the fgures are
generally fully glazed, as in the case of
the current fgure. However, there is a
small number of Yuan dynasty partially-

64 ART D'ASIE · 14 DÉCEMBRE 2016