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https://piction.clevelandart.org/cma/ump.di?e=9941026DC8808B54D90AEFD358FC4E1648377D1CC241427471E5D600093284DA&s=24247294&se=1905443271&v=3&f=1993.108_o2.jpg

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Stele with Shakyamuni and Maitreya

c. 570s

China, Northern Qi dynasty

(550-577)

Marble with polychromy

Overall: 119 cm (46 7/8 in.)

Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1993.108

Location

241C Chinese Buddhist Sculptures

Did you know?

Shakyamuni, or the historical Buddha, was a prince who gave up his earthly possessions for spiritual transcendence.

Description

In this stele, Shakyamuni (the historical Buddha) bears a benign smile in the hand gestures of fearlessness and gift giving. He is flanked by two bodhisattvas and two disciples-all standing against a mandorla (almond-shaped halo) adorned with a stupa and flying heavenly beings. On the reverse side, the Buddha sits in a pensive pose with his head tilted, mediating under twin sala trees. This position is reserved for Shakyamuni’s first meditation or Maitreya’s meditation. The joint appearance of Shakyamuni and Maitreya (the future Buddha) on two sides of a stele was a favorite scheme of the Northern Qi period.

Provenance

?–1993

(J. E. Eskenazi, Ltd., London, England, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)

1993–

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Early Chinese Art from Tombs and Temples: [catalogue of exhibition held] 8 June-9 July 1993. London: Eskenazi, 1993. Reproduced: cover

Cleveland Museum of Art, “Cleveland Adds Two Significant Works of Art,” September 17, 1993, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org

"1993 Annual Report." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 81, no. 6 (1994): 143–218. Mentioned: p. 158; Reproduced: p. 159 www.jstor.org

Wilson, J. Keith, and Anne E. Wardwell. "New Objects/New Insights: Cleveland's Recent Chinese Acquisitions." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 81, no. 8 (1994): 270–347. Reproduced: front and back covers; Mentioned: pp. 313–320, 347 www.jstor.org

Cunningham, Michael R., Stanislaw J. Czuma, Anne E. Wardwell, and J. Keith Wilson. Masterworks of Asian Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1998. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 36–37

Wicks, Ann Elizabeth Barrott. Children in Chinese Art. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2002. Mentioned and Reproduced: Fig. 1.3, p. 7

Sun, Di 孙迪, editor. Zhongguo liu shi hai wai Fo jiao zao xiang zong he tu mu [中国流失海外佛教造像总合图目= Comprehensive Illustrated Catalogue of Chinese Buddhist Statues in Overseas Collections]. Beijing: Wai wen chu ban she, 2005. vol. 4, p. 672

Eskenazi, Giuseppe, and Hajni Elias. A Dealer's Hand: The Chinese Art World Through the Eyes of Giuseppe Eskenazi. London, England: Scala, 2012. Mentioned: pp. 110–111; Reproduced: p. 110

Chung, Anita. "Re-emergence: New Chinese Galleries and Art Acquisitions of The Cleveland Museum of Art." Orientations vol 44 no. 8 (November/December 2013): 64–75. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 64, fig. 1

Arts of Asia 48, no. 3 (May-June 2018). Reproduced: Cover

Exhibition history

Early Chinese Art from Tombs and Temples. Eskenazi, Ltd., London, England (June 8–July 9,1993).

Asian Autumn: New Objects/New Insights: Cleveland's Recent Chinese Acquisitions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 18-December 31, 1994).

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{{cite web|title=Stele with Shakyamuni and Maitreya|url=https://clevelandart.org/art/1993.108|year=c. 570s|access-date=26 September 2023|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

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Stele with Shakyamuni and Maitreya

Stele with Shakyamuni and Maitreya

China, Northern Qi dynasty

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