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Lot Essay
The iconography of this stele was quite prevalent during the Northern Dynasties period and can be seen in a number of comparable stele including one in the Detroit Institute of Arts, illustrated in Chinese Art in Overseas Collections: Buddhist Sculpture, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1990, p. 67, no. 62, where it is dated Sui dynasty; and two others dated Eastern Wei, illustrated by S. Matsubara, Chugoku bukkyo chokokushi ron (The Path of Buddhist Sculpture), vol. 1, Early Six Dynasties, Tokyo, 1995, pl. 286 a and b. The sculptures discovered in a large cache at the Longxing Temple, Qingzhou, Shandong, in 1996, also included stele of Northern Wei to Northern Qi date that have the same iconography. See, Masterpieces of Buddhist Statuary from Qingzhou City, The National Museum of Chinese History, Qingzhou Municipal Museum, Beijing, 1999, pp. 56-73.
In all of these, as in the present example, Buddha Sakyamuni is shown standing on a small plinth flanked by two bodhisattvas, most likely Avalokitesvara and Samantabhadra, the two most closely associated with Sakyamuni. The bodhisattvas are supported by lotus plants issuing from the mouths of dragons, and there are apsaras carved on the nimbus above the figures.
The figures on the present stele show the more rounded faces, and simply defined, light, clinging robes of the Northern Qi style, which was influenced by Gupta sculpture.
The iconography of the dragon and the lotus in such a linear and dramatic form appears to be specific to the sculpture of the Shandong region, although the exact meaning is not clear. It may, however, point to the longstanding association of dragons in Chinese sculpture with life-giving rains and the harvest.
In all of these, as in the present example, Buddha Sakyamuni is shown standing on a small plinth flanked by two bodhisattvas, most likely Avalokitesvara and Samantabhadra, the two most closely associated with Sakyamuni. The bodhisattvas are supported by lotus plants issuing from the mouths of dragons, and there are apsaras carved on the nimbus above the figures.
The figures on the present stele show the more rounded faces, and simply defined, light, clinging robes of the Northern Qi style, which was influenced by Gupta sculpture.
The iconography of the dragon and the lotus in such a linear and dramatic form appears to be specific to the sculpture of the Shandong region, although the exact meaning is not clear. It may, however, point to the longstanding association of dragons in Chinese sculpture with life-giving rains and the harvest.