A very rare grey limestone stele of Buddha China, Northern Wei Dynasty, first half 6th century

with a large central Buddha standing upon a rounded plinth of pendent double-lobed lotus lappets above a raised filet issuing from flower-heads, the figure with fragmentary hands originally held in abhaya and varada mudras emerging from loose robes falling in stepped flattened folds before flaring widely at the hems in stylised agitated curls, the robes slightly open at the chest to reveal a diagonal under-garment secured at the sternum with a knot and unusually flattened looped ribbons, the small rounded head with elongated neck and wide almond eyes above a thin mouth drawn in an 'archaic' smile, framed by the hair carved in even rows of studs below fragments of a crowned ushnisha, all against a slightly tapering columnar mandorla and a circular aureole of further double-lobed lappets, rectangular lappets and stepped radiating rings before a border of finely carved scrolling flowers, the narrow sides set with four minor Buddhas, two on each side, each seated in dhyanasana with the hands clasped at the waist above an incised lotus blossom and a leaf-shaped mandorla, above lightly incised attending disciples, each bald figure dressed in long robes and shoes with projecting flared caps, with elegant fingers sprinkling water or incense into a footed bowl and the other hand holding a cylindrical censer, the back of the mandorla predominantly plain but for the large incised figure of a further Buddha seated in dhyanasana upon a cushion and against a leaf-shaped mandorla, dressed in long robes with cascading flared hems and with one end draped over the left elbow as the hand is drawn towards the chest

Formerly in a private Asian collection

The Splendour of Buddhist Statuaries: Buddhist Stone Carvings in the Northern Dynasties, National Museum of History, Taipei, 1997, cat.no.018.

Although the main standing Buddha might reasonably be identified as Sakyamuni, the historical Buddha, the presence of the four minor Buddhas at the narrow sides might indicate another interpretation. If the fragmentary aureole originally bore another three minor figures of Buddha, then they would cumulatively represent the Seven Buddhas of the Past, and the central standing Buddha may then have been Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future, whose cult became popular from the fifth century.

A shallow ledge under the front of the base of the stele suggests it may originally have slotted into a larger socle, which may have borne an incised dedication and assisted in definitive identification. Nevertheless the quality of both the incised decoration and the relief carving, particularly visible in the floral scroll of the aureole, coupled with the unusual feature of projecting minor figures, would suggest the present stele was an important commission.

Compare two important Buddhist triad steles, one dated to AD 534 in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, illustrated by Siren, Chinese Sculpture from the Fifth to Fourteenth Centuries, New York, 1925, pls.143 and 144, and another with slightly more squared faces, dated to the same year, in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., illustrated ibid., pl.145. It appears that the relative sizes of the heads to the bodies of the main figures varied according to regional styles. Compare a related triad stele with fragmentary bodhisattvas, dated to AD 527, formerly in the collection of C.T. Loo, Paris, illustrated ibid., pls.152-153. The particular attenuation of the fingertips on the incised figures on the present stele as well as the detail of the flared capped shoes assist in dating since such details of Northern Wei fashion were only translated to stone sculpture from the early sixth century.

The shallow, linear relief carving and stylization of the garment folds are similarly seen on sculptures from the Longxing Temple in Qingzhou, Shandong province, see, for example, the Northern Wei Buddha figure included in the exhibition Masterpieces of Buddhist Statuary from Qingzhou City, National Museum of Chinese History, Beijing, 1999, pp.48-49, the central figure of a triad, ibid., p.61, and compare also a Buddha head from the same site, ibid., p.90.