Buddha
Artist/maker unknown, Korean
Geography:
Made in Korea, Asia
Date:
9th centuryMedium:
Gilded bronzeDimensions:
7 x 2 inches (17.8 x 5.1 cm)Curatorial Department:
East Asian ArtObject Location:
1963-181-210Credit Line:
The Louis E. Stern Collection, 1963
Made in Korea, Asia
Date:
9th centuryMedium:
Gilded bronzeDimensions:
7 x 2 inches (17.8 x 5.1 cm)Curatorial Department:
East Asian ArtObject Location:
Currently not on view
Accession Number:1963-181-210Credit Line:
The Louis E. Stern Collection, 1963
Label:
This figure of Amitabha Buddha (the Buddha of Infinite Light and ruler of the Western Paradise) has his right hand raised in the gesture of fearlessness and his left in the gesture of charity. His robes fall in stylized U-shaped folds, a symmetrical arrangement inspired by the style of earlier Indian representations of the Gupta dynasty (c. 4th to 6th century). Images of Amitabha Buddha were common in Korea during the Unified Silla dynasty as he was the main deity of Pure Land Buddhism, the predominant Mahayana Buddhist sect at that time. Worshipers who wished to be reborn in the Western Paradise would simply evoke his name.
This figure of Amitabha Buddha (the Buddha of Infinite Light and ruler of the Western Paradise) has his right hand raised in the gesture of fearlessness and his left in the gesture of charity. His robes fall in stylized U-shaped folds, a symmetrical arrangement inspired by the style of earlier Indian representations of the Gupta dynasty (c. 4th to 6th century). Images of Amitabha Buddha were common in Korea during the Unified Silla dynasty as he was the main deity of Pure Land Buddhism, the predominant Mahayana Buddhist sect at that time. Worshipers who wished to be reborn in the Western Paradise would simply evoke his name.
