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Seated Buddha Maitreya
Seated Buddha Maitreya

Seated Buddha Maitreya

Place of OriginChina
Date675
DynastyTang dynasty (618-907)
MaterialsLimestone
DimensionsH. 27 1/2 in x W. 9 in x D. 8 in, H. 69.9 cm x W. 22.9 cm x D. 20.3 cm
Credit LineThe Avery Brundage Collection
Object numberB61S38+
DepartmentChinese Art
ClassificationsSculpture
On View
On view
LocationGallery 16
InscribedAn eighty four character inscription occupying the front and left side below the throne has been greatly damaged, but possibly reads in partial translation: Whereas Jin . . . dreamt. . . image(s) on the Orchid Terrace (?) setting out and illuminating nine ... candles, three.... We consequently use compassion and mercy to lift the barriers in order to save universally (?) sentient beings and reverently had made (?) a Milo (Triad) of one Buddha and two Bodhisattvas.... And thus, we have set out ... to placate separately the hungry ghosts; we descend to select the Eight-fold Path, and ascend to follow the Celestial Highway. In the Great Tang, the second year of shangyuan, the cyclical combination being yihai, the second month, beginning with the yihai day of the fifteenth of the same; Buddhist Disciple Gao Zhouni and daughter Huiming.
More Information
This statue of Maitreya (buddha of the future) was made in the Tang capital, Chang’an (now Xi’an). Like many Maitreya images, the buddha sits on a throne with legs down. The throne and the foot supports are in the shape of lotus buds. The lotus, which grows from the mud or from impurities in a pond yet has a pure white flower, is a popular symbol in Buddhist art. The remaining inscription indicates that two Buddhist disciples, Gao Zhouni and his daughter Huiming, commissioned this statue in part to placate the hungry ghosts of the Buddhist hells.
Subject
  • Buddha
  • Maitreya