Object Details
Label
According to the sacred text of the Lotus Sutra, when the historical Buddha delivered a sermon a vision of the entire cosmos often appeared before him, which is why he was sometimes called the Cosmological Buddha. The decoration on the front and back of this figure's monastic robe features scenes of the life of the historical Buddha and cosmic imagery.
On the front chest of the robe, Mount Sumeru, a sacred Buddhist mountain believed to connect heaven and earth, is depicted with two snakes, or naga, entwined around it. Scenes below illustrate the historical Buddha as a prince before his enlightenment. The tortures of hell appear above the hem.
Provenance
?-1923
Taku Shanfang, Beijing, method of acquisition unknown [1]
From 1923
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased by Carl Whiting Bishop (1881-1942) from Taku Shanfang, Beijing [2]
Notes:
[1] See Original Bishop List, Objects of Stone, No. S-9, copy in object file.
[2] Carl Whiting Bishop purchased this on behalf of the Freer Gallery of Art on December 24, 1923, in Beijing from the art dealer, Taku Shanfang. See note 1. In 1922, the Smithsonian Institution and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston jointly appointed Bishop, a trained archaeologist, as the leader of a four-year archaeological expedition to China. Around the same time, the Freer Gallery of Art appointed Bishop as a curator and charged him with purchasing works for the museum while abroad. This work was first accepted into the Freer Gallery of Art Study Collection in December 1923. In 1968, it was transferred to the Permanent Collection of the Freer Gallery of Art. See Bishop Collection, Collections Management Office.
Research updated April 18, 2023
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Exhibition History
Promise of Paradise (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)
Body of Devotion: The Cosmic Buddha in 3D (January 30, 2016 to July 9, 2017)
Promise of Paradise: Early Chinese Buddhist Sculpture (December 1, 2012 to January 3, 2016)
Buddhist Art (May 9, 1993 to August 9, 2011)
Chinese Art—Stone Sculpture (September 1, 1979 to March 14, 1982)
Chinese Art (January 1, 1963 to March 6, 1981)
Previous custodian or owner
Taku Shanfang
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Date
550-577
Period
Northern Qi dynasty
Accession Number
F1923.15
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Type
Sculpture
Medium
Limestone
Dimensions
H x W x D: 151.3 x 62.9 x 31.3 cm (59 9/16 x 24 3/4 x 12 5/16 in)
Weight (without concrete base): 818.5 pounds
Origin
Anyang, Henan province, China
On View
West Building (Freer Gallery of Art), Gallery 17: Promise of Paradise
Related Online Resources
Google Arts & Culture
See more items in
National Museum of Asian Art
Data Source
National Museum of Asian Art
Topic
stone
Buddhism
Buddha
Sui dynasty (581 - 618)
naga
hell
heaven
China
Vairocana Buddha
Mount Meru
Lotus Sutra
Chinese Art
Carl Whiting Bishop collection
Link to Original Record
Record ID
fsg_F1923.15
