Male Vajra

Tang Tiles

These tiles came from the facade of the Golden Pagoda at Xiuding temple, located twenty-five miles from Anyang in Henan province. This Buddhist temple was originally built in the early sixth century. It was destroyed during the anti-Buddhist persecution of 576, but was reestablished during the Sui dynasty (581–618) to promote belief in Maitreya, the buddha of the future. More than 3,775 square and diamond-shaped tiles were assembled to decorate the facade of the stupa with Buddhist icons and Indian motifs, with some tiles bearing braided-cord patterns that clearly allude to textiles. The stupa today has the appearance of a Central Asian tent that was propped up by four poles and embellished with exotic textiles.