Statue of Sakyamuni

Stone
Northern Qi Dynasty
Height: 161cm

In China, Buddhism achieved great developments in both the Northern and Southern Dynasties. Carved in white stone, this Sakyamuni Buddha statue was made in the Northern Qi Dynasty, a regime founded by northern nomadic tribes. The Buddha's eyes are gently closed, corners of the mouth turning up slightly. A faint smile appears on Sakyamuni's plump face. Wearing an open-neck cassock, he sits with his legs tightly interlocked on a two-layered lotus-base. His missing hands suggest he is giving a script lesson. Five small seated figures are carved in the flickering and gorgeous background of mandorla, which is decorated with lotus at the center and aquatic plants on its edge. The entire image, particularly that of the Buddha and mandorla, displays gracefulness and heavenliness in great harmony