Buddha Mile (Maitreya)

Historical period(s)
Liu Song dynasty, Dated 451
Medium
Bronze and gilt
Dimensions
H x W x D (overall): 29.3 x 13.2 x 7.4 cm (11 9/16 x 5 3/16 x 2 15/16 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1911.121a-b
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Metalwork, Sculpture
Type

Figure: Maitreya

Keywords
Buddhism, China, dhyana mudra, Liu Song dynasty (420 - 479), Maitreya Buddha, mandorla
Provenance

To 1911
Ta Ge Shang, Shanghai, to 1911 [1]

From 1911 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Ta Ge Shang in 1911 [2]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

Notes:

[1] See Original Bronze List, S.I. 276, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

[2] See note 1.

[3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Ta Ge Shang (C.L. Freer source)
Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919

Published References
  • Chugoku bijutsu [Chinese Art in Western Collections]. 5 vols., Tokyo, 1972-1973. vol. 3: pl. 8.
  • Roger Fry, Laurence Binyon, Osvald Siren, A. F. Kendrick, Bernard Rackham, W. Perceval Yetts, William W. Winkworth. Chinese Art: An Introductory Review of Painting, Ceramics, Textiles, Bronzes, Sculpture, Jade, etc. Burlington magazine monographs London. pl. 4b.
  • Ludwig Bachhofer. Die Anfange der buddhistischen plastik in China. vol. 10, nos.1/2 Berlin, January - April 1934. pl. l, no. 9.
  • Osvald Siren. A History of Early Chinese Art. 4 vols., London, 1929-1930. vol. 3, pl. 47b.
  • Osvald Siren. Chinese Sculpture from the Fifth to the Fourteenth Century: Over 900 Specimens in Stone, Bronze, Lacquer and Wood, Principally from Northern China. 4 vols., London. vol. 2: pl. 16c.
  • Ludwig Bachhofer. A Short History of Chinese Art. New York. pl. 57.
  • Osvald Siren. Kinas Konst Under Tre Artusenden. 2 vols., Stockholm, 1942-1943. vol. 1: pl. 107.
  • Dr. John Alexander Pope, Thomas Lawton, Harold P. Stern. The Freer Gallery of Art. 2 vols., Washington and Tokyo, 1971-1972. cat. 73, vol. 1: p. 170.
  • Saburo Matsubara. Chinese Buddhist Sculpture [Chugoku Bukkyo chokokushi kenkyu]: A Study Based on Bronze and Stone Statues other than Works from Cave Temples. Tokyo, 1961-1971. p. 3.
  • Grace Dunham Guest, Archibald Gibson Wenley. Annotated Outlines of the History of Chinese Arts. Washington, 1949. p. 7.
  • Alexander Coburn Soper. Chinese, Korean and Japanese Bronzes: A Catalogue of the Auriti Collection Donated to IsMEO and Preserved in the Museo Nazionale d'arte Orientale in Rome. Serie orientale Roma, 35 Rome. p. 12.
  • Yashiro Yukio. Buddhistic Statues in Gilt Bronze of the Six Dynasties. no. 109 Tokyo, January 1941. p. 16, pl. 7.
  • Saburo Matsubara. Seated Buddha Dated 437 A.D. no. 1032 Tokyo. pp. 22-28.
  • Mizuno Seiichi. Bronze and Stone Sculpture of China: From the Yin to the Tang dynasty. Tokyo. p. 23, fig. 49.
  • Langdon Warner, Joseph Hackin, Osvald Siren, Paul Pelliot. Studies in Chinese Art and Some Indian Influences: Lectures Delivered in Connection with the International Exhibition of Chinese Art at the Royal Academy of Arts. Exh. cat. London. p. 24, pl. 6, fig. 27.
  • Masterpieces of Chinese and Japanese Art: Freer Gallery of Art handbook. Washington, 1976. p. 35.
  • Saburo Matsubara. Study of the Buddhist Sculptures during the Period of Southern Courts in China. vol. 130 Osaka, May 1980. pp. 64-76.
  • unknown title. no. 243 Tokyo, August 1986. p. 88.
  • Wai-Kam Ho. Three Selected Stone Buddhas. Cleveland, April 1966. p. 93, fig. 25b.
  • Thomas Lawton. China's Artistic Legacy. vol. 118, no. 258 London, August 1983. p. 131.
  • Saburo Matsubara. North and South in the Style of Chinese Buddhist Sculpture. no. 296 Tokyo, November 1974. pp. 134-153.
  • Gilded Metals: History, Technology and Conservation. London. p. 150, fig. 8.5.
  • Yang Hong. Shih lun nan-pei chao chien chi fu-hsiang fu shih ti chu yao pien hua. no. 6. p. 331.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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