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Monk Sengqie, Limestone with pigment, China

北宋 彩繪石雕僧伽和尚像 (石灰石)
Monk Sengqie

Period:
Northern Song dynasty (960–1127)
Date:
late 11th–12th century
Culture:
China
Medium:
Limestone with pigment
Dimensions:
H. 35 in. (88.9 cm); W. 22 1/2 in. (57.2 cm); D. 20 1/2 in. (52.1 cm)
Classification:
Sculpture
Credit Line:
Gift of Evangeline Zalstem-Zalessky, 1943
Accession Number:
43.114
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 208
This sculpture is a rare representation of Sengqie (ca. 660–710), a monk from central Asia who founded a temple in Sizhou (modern Liuhuai, Anhui Province), on the south shore of the Huai River. Popularly known as the Monk of Sizhou, he was venerated after his death as an incarnation of Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. During the Song dynasty, he became a cult figure revered for his power to prevent floods.
Evangeline Zalstem-Zalessky , New Milford, CT (until 1943; donated to MMA)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Journeys: Mapping the Earth and Mind in Chinese Art," February 10, 2007–August 26, 2007.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Arts of the Ming Dynasty: China's Age of Brilliance," January 23, 2009–September 13, 2009.

Timelines
Central and North Asia, 1000-1400 A.D.
China, 1000-1400 A.D.

Wisdom Embodied: Chinese Buddhist and Daoist Sculpture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Asian Art (35,454)
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