Page 247 - Christies March 15 2017 Fujita Museum

Unless a stele presents only a single Buddha, the other essential deities to be represented are
bodhisattvas, who typically appear in pairs, as revealed by the 526 stele. “Bodhisattva” (pusa 菩薩)
means “Enlightened Being”. A bodhisattva is a benevolent being who has attained enlightenment
but who has postponed entry into nirvana in order to assist other sentient beings in gaining
enlightenment. Bodhisattvas are presented in the guise of an Indian prince of old, a reference to
the Buddha’s worldly status in his early life before he became the Buddha. Generally depicted with
a single head, two arms, and two legs, bodhisattvas are richly attired and shown with long hair
often arranged in a tall coifure, or bun, atop the head and with long strands cascading over the
shoulders. They wear ornamental scarves, dhotis of rich silk brocade, and a wealth of jewelry that
includes necklaces, armlets, bracelets, anklets, and often crowns, as in the 526 stele. Like Buddhas,
bodhisattvas are shown with elongated earlobes, but, unlike the Buddhas, they wear earrings. They
may be barefoot or wearing sandals. Though not positioned in prescribed mudras, bodhisattvas’ hands
often appear in the anjali-mudra.

Born into the Shakya clan, the Historical Buddha (c. 563–c. 483 BC) is traditionally called
Shakyamuni, or the “Sage of the Shakya Clan”. In like manner, he is often also called the “Lion of
the Shakya Clan”, which accounts for the presence of the lion that crouches at the foot of each
bodhisattva. The lions not only stand guard but symbolize Buddhist teachings and often the
Buddha himself.

THE LOWER PORTION OF THE BUDDHA’S DRAPERY
IN THE 526 STELE CASCADES DOWN TO THE PLINTH
IN PROFUSION OF FOLDS THAT CONCEALS THE
BUDDHA’S LEGS, THEIR PRESENCE SUGGESTED ONLY
BY THE BUDDHA’S UPTURNED FOOT THAT PROTRUDES
FROM HIS ROBES JUST BELOW HIS WAIST.

The style of the fgures in the 526 stele relates closely to that of the famous Seated Bodhisattva
from the White Horse Monastery, Luoyang (白馬寺, 洛陽, 河南省), which dates to circa 530 and is
now in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (13.2804). The fgures’ rectangular faces
are remarkably akin in style; in addition, the Boston bodhisattva’s drapery cascades downward in
a pattern of rounded folds that is strikingly similar to that of the central Buddha in the 526 stele.
Moreover, the scarves of the two standing bodhisattvas in the 526 stele descend from the shoulders
and elegantly cross at the waist in a manner identical to that of the Boston bodhisattva.

As witnessed by the 526 Fujita stele and the Boston Museum Seated Bodhisattva, Chinese Buddhist
fgures from the 520s and 530s typically appear in elaborate robes that take on a life of their own, the
robes so voluminous that they mask the anatomy, sometimes even the presence, of the bodies they
cloak. Thus, the lower portion of the Buddha’s drapery in the 526 stele cascades down to the plinth
in profusion of folds that conceals the Buddha’s legs, their presence suggested only by the Buddha’s
upturned foot that protrudes from his robes just below his waist.

Providing a backdrop for the group and unifying the composition, the mandorla, or aureole, that
rises behind the fgures symbolizes their divine status. In the form of a lotus petal, the intricately
embellished mandorla sports tongues of fame around its periphery and an open lotus blossom at
its heart, the lotus blossom serving as the Buddha’s halo. The mandorla is virtually identical in style
to that of the famous 536-dated, gilt-bronze image of Maitreya in the collection of the University of
Pennsylvania’s Penn Museum, Philadelphia (C355)5.

5 See: Dorothy C. Wong, “Maitreya Buddha Statues at the University of Pennsylvania Museum”, Orientations, vol. 32, no. 2,
2001, pp. 24-31, plate 29.

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