Work Record
Class [controlled]:
• sculpture • Asian art
*Work
Type [link]:
• statue
*Title:
Head of a Buddha
*Creator
Display: Chinese
*Role
[link]: sculptor [link]: Chinese
*Creation
Date: Tang dynasty, ca. 700 [controlled]:
• Earliest:
0690 • Latest: 0710
*Subject
[links]: • religion and mythology •
Buddha (Buddhist deity) • human figure
• male • head
Style [link]:
Tang
Culture [link]:
Chinese
*Current
Location [link]: Sackler
Gallery, Smithsonian Institution (Washington, District
of Columbia, United States) • ID:
S1977.26
Discovery Location:
Longmen (Henan, China)
*Measurements:
unavailable
*Materials
and Techniques: dark gray limestone
Material [links]:
• limestone
Description: Probably
from Longmen caves. Carved of dark gray limestone,
this imposing Buddha head is characterized by a
serene yet remote expression that is typical of
early Tang dynasty religious images. Imperial patronage
of Buddhism during the Tang dynasty, approximately
seven hundred years after knowledge of Buddhism
first reached China, resulted in the creation of
some of the most impressive sculptures in Chinese
history. For this Buddha head, all traces of Indian
and Central Asian influence have been replaced by
a native Chinese aesthetic. Sculptures of this style
are found in the Longmen cave temples in Henan Province.
Description Source
[link]: Sackler Gallery online. www.asia.si.edu
Page: accessed
22 December 2006
Required and recommended elements are marked with an asterisk. |
