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Gain access to this incredible resource through either a monthly or a yearly subscription and search the entire collection from your desktop, compare multiple images side by side and zoom into the minute details of the images. Visit www.davidrumsey.com/amica for more information on the collection, click on the link below the revolving thumbnail to the right, or email us at amica@luna-img.com . Creator Nationality: Asian; Indian Sub-Continent; Pakistani; Kashmiri Creator Name-CRT: Kashmiri or Pakistani Title: Buddha Shakyamuni View: Full View Creation Start Date: 700 Creation End Date: 899 Creation Date: 8th-9th century Creation Place: Kashmir or northern Pakistan Object Type: Sculpture Materials and Techniques: ivory Dimensions: H. 3 7/8 in. (9.8 cm); W. 2 7/8 in. (7.3 cm) AMICA Contributor: Asia Society Owner Location: New York, New York, USA ID Number: 1979.042 Credit Line: Asia Society: The Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection Rights: http://www.asiasociety.org Context: This small ivory relief exhibits the pronounced facial features that some scholars suggest indicate a provenance of northern Pakistan--specifically the Swat Valley region--rather than Kashmir. However, several sculptures of this type are known, believed to have been used to decorate wooden shrines or stupas, and most are considered to be from 8th- or 9th-century Kashmir. The attenuated torso and the stylized, nearly vertical drapery folds here suggest a 9th-century date. The posture and gesture of the central figure of the Buddha on this deeply carved relief indicate he is in meditation. Two snarling lions stand beneath the Buddha, while numerous small figures are seated to each side. The two figures at the top have the emaciated bodies of ascetics. All of the subsidiary figures sit in relaxed postures, and most of them have a beltlike meditation strap (yogapatta) tied around the waist and one knee. Most reliefs from Kashmir illustrate scenes from the life of the Historical Buddha. Two interpretations may be suggested for the iconography of this one. It has been identified as an image of Shakyamuni meditating prior to his preaching of the Lotus Sutra (Saddharmapundarika Sutra), but it might represent the visit of the Hindu god Indra to Shakyamuni while he was meditating in a cave because similar ivories with accompanying images of Indra are also known. While it is not possible to identify the precise scene represented in this sculpture, the emphasis on certain moments in the life of the Buddha found in such ivory sculptures exemplifies the way in which earlier themes were preserved in the art of Kashmir. Related Document Description: Asia Society. Handbook of the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection. New York: Asia Society, [1981], p. 22. Related Document Description: Lee, Sherman E. Asian Art: Selections from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd--Part II. New York: Asia Society, 1975, pp. 10, 11, 20. Related Document Description: Lerner, Martin. The Flame and the Lotus: Indian and Southeast Asian Art from the Kronos Collection. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art and Harry N. Abrams, 1984, p. 77, note 2. AMICA ID: ASIA.1979.042 AMICA Library Year: 1998 Media Metadata Rights: Copyright, Asia Society AMICA PUBLIC RIGHTS: a) Access to the materials is granted for personal and non-commercial use. b) A full educational license for non-commercial use is available from Cartography Associates at www.davidrumsey.com/amica/institution_subscribe.html c) Licensed users may continue their examination of additional materials provided by Cartography Associates, and d) commercial rights are available from the rights holder. Home
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