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Acquired by the Museum in 1926, this nearly lifesize sculpture
of the Buddha Maitreya is the largest extant gilt bronze image
known from China. An inscription incised on the back of the base
indicates that the sculpture was made in 486 in honor of Wenming
(442–490), the dowager empress who controlled the Northern
Wei (386–534) empire for much of the late fifth century.
Additional inscriptions list the names of donors, mostly members
of prominent families, such as the Yan, Zui, or Wang. The rendering
of the Buddha's physique, and that of the folds of his drapery,
illustrates the astonishing range of prototypes used in Chinese
Buddhist art in the late fifth century. The broad shoulders and
flat physique of the Buddha derive from sculptures made in India
in the late fourth and first half of the fifth century. On the
other hand, the raised appliqué-like rendering of the folds
and the interconnection between the pleats above the chest stem
from artistic conventions found in Pakistan (known in the ancient
world as Gandhara) in the third and fourth centuries and at slightly
later dates throughout Central Asia.
Devotion to Maitreya, worshiped as a bodhisattva in this world
age and as a Buddha in the next, was widespread in the Northern
Wei. Maitreya maintains and governs two perfected words, the Tushita
Heaven, which he currently inhabits, and another known as Ketumati.
The latter, in which Maitreya will serve as the teaching Buddha
of the age, is an ideal realm conducive to the pursuit of enlightenment
A Closer Look
In keeping with their spiritual refinement, Buddhas
are depicted as physically perfect. Giving visual form to ideas
written in religious texts, South Asian craftsmen developed a
vocabulary of body markings to express the rarified qualities
of enlightened beings. Transmitted by sacred books, votive images,
and missionaries, this iconography spread along with Buddhist
teachings throughout Asia. While scriptures describe thirty-two
physical marks of spiritual perfection (called lakshana in Sanskrit),
most images only bear a few. This large statue of Maitreya has
a bump on top of his head as a sign of wisdom. His ears are elongated,
indicating princely nobility. However, this figure does not wear
jewelry, recalling the founder of Buddhism Shakyamuni's renunciation
of material wealth. The webbing in between the statue's fingers
is another sign of spiritual perfection, and he holds his hands
in a gesture (mudra in Sanskrit) that promises the granting of
wishes and reassurance from fear (his right hand).
This large structure was made during the Northern Wei period,
when northern China was controlled by a confederation of Xianbei
tribes. After establishing their new dynasty, the Northern Wei
rulers actively supported Buddhism, including the construction
of massive cave temples, numerous Buddhist places of worship, and myriad representations
of Buddhist figures, such as this large Maitreya and a large gilt
bronze Altarpiece
of Maitreya in the Met’s collection. The Northern Wei
court was not only motivated by its own religious belief, but
as a foreign faith, Buddhism offered the Xianbei a more promising
vehicle for buttressing their own political legitimacy among the
Chinese population than did the native belief systems of Confucianism
and Daoism.
Notice
• The large size of this figure
• The reassuring appearance of his face and his welcoming
hand gestures
• The way that the robe drapes over and envelopes the
body, revealing the form in some areas and falling into stylized
pleats in others
Consider
• The impact on a culture of the introduction
of a new religion with different beliefs and practices, as well
as a distinctive tradition of depicting spiritual leaders.
• The similarity between the earliest Buddhist
images made in China and their Indian prototypes. Compare for
example this statue of Maitreya with the contemporaneous red
sandstone Standing
Buddha made in northern India.
• On the back of the base of this statue is
an inscription identifying this figure as Maitreya and giving
the date of its production. This exemplifies the Chinese interest
in historical record keeping and willingness to inscribe information
directly on sacred or valuable objects, as done since the Shang
dynasty. Few such inscriptions are found on Indian Buddhist
icons.
Did You Know?
According to Chinese legend, Buddhism first came
to China after Emperor Ming of the Han dynasty (r. 58–75)
dreamed of a golden man flying in front of his palace. When
he awoke, the Emperor asked his ministers to explain the dream.
One said it referred to an Indian sage who could fly and had
golden skin. Impressed, Emperor Ming sent a mission to India
to search for this being. The expedition eventually returned
with religious texts, which were housed in China’s first
Buddhist temple, built by Emperor Ming to house the treasure.
Although this story is not historically accurate—Buddhism
arrived in China through commercial exchange routes–it
probably did make its first appearance in East Asia at about
this time and much of its success was due to royal support.
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