Showing
3451 - 3475 of 3478 Records
Cave 3
- Title Translation: 第三窟
- Period: Eastern Wei, 534-550 C.E.
- Project: Tianlongshan Caves
- Work Description: Like Cave 2, Cave 3 has a square plan with Buddha and bodhisattva images with relief carvings on three walls.
Cave 2
- Title Translation: 第二窟
- Period: Eastern Wei, 534-550 C.E.
- Project: Tianlongshan Caves
- Work Description: Cave 2 and 3, the paired caves, are believed to be from the Eastern Wei period and are the earliest caves at Tianlongshan. They are located on the eastern side of the Tianlongshan caves site and below the upper level caves. Cave 2 is on the right. The caves are distinctive for the many relief carvings on the walls and ceiling, most of which have been removed.
Cave 3
- Title Translation: 第三窟
- Period: Eastern Wei, 534-550 C.E.
- Project: Tianlongshan Caves
- Work Description: Like Cave 2, Cave 3 has a square plan with Buddha and bodhisattva images with relief carvings on three walls.
Cave 3
- Title Translation: 第三窟
- Period: Eastern Wei, 534-550 C.E.
- Project: Tianlongshan Caves
- Work Description: Like Cave 2, Cave 3 has a square plan with Buddha and bodhisattva images with relief carvings on three walls.
Cave 6
- Title Translation: 第六窟
- Period: Tang, 618-907 C.E.
- Project: Tianlongshan Caves
- Work Description: Cave 6 is a small square cave of the Tang period that had nine sculpted images on the interior, with a central seated Buddha on the back and side walls accompanied by bodhisattvas and disciples. On the exterior the traces of two guardian figures appear at the sides of the entrance. The exterior still has a small porch in front.
Cave 6
- Title Translation: 第六窟
- Period: Tang, 618-907 C.E.
- Project: Tianlongshan Caves
- Work Description: Cave 6 is a small square cave of the Tang period that had nine sculpted images on the interior, with a central seated Buddha on the back and side walls accompanied by bodhisattvas and disciples. On the exterior the traces of two guardian figures appear at the sides of the entrance. The exterior still has a small porch in front.
Cave 8
- Title Translation: 第八窟
- Period: Sui, 581-618 C.E.
- Project: Tianlongshan Caves
- Work Description: Cave 8 is the largest of the caves at Tianlongshan with the exception of Cave 9, the colossal Buddha cave. It is the only central pillar cave at the site and the only cave known to be of the Sui dynasty (581-618). It has a porch three bays wide that is largely preserved. The traces of two guardian figures standing at the sides of the entrance can still be seen. At the right side of the porch there is a stele with a long inscription dated to the fourth year of the kaihuang reign period, or 584. It records the persecution of Buddhism in the preceding Northern Zhou period after the conquest of Northern Qi, and its restoration with the rise of the Sui dynasty. The cave is dedicated by a Sui official to the well-being of the Sui emperor Wen (r. 581-604) and his son Yang Guang, the prince of Jin. The main chamber of Cave 8 is square in plan with a large square central pillar. It has three niches around the back and side walls and four niches on the central pillar, each with a central seated Buddha and standing attendants.
Cave 9
- Title Translation: 第九窟
- Period: Tang, 618-907 C.E.
- Project: Tianlongshan Caves
- Work Description: Cave 9 was cut into the eastern edge of the western section at Tianlongshan in the Tang dynasty. It consists of a huge niche with two levels. The upper level is set back and has a massive colossal Maitreya Buddha image more than 7.5 meters high, seated with his back against the cliff and his head reaching nearly to the cliff top. The lower level has three large bodhisattvas carved in the round, a central standing eleven-headed Avalokitesvara (Guanyin) and two seated bodhisattvas at the sides, each riding on an animal. The Guanyin figure stands 5.5 meters high. Its head is a modern replacement for the original one. The bodhisattva on the east side, mounted on an elephant, is Samantabhadra (Puxian), and the one on the west side, sitting on a lion, is Manjusri (Wenshu). The large group of carvings is protected by a tall wooden structure that was reconstructed in recent times. The original building, believed to be from the Tang, was repaired in the tenth century, as recorded on the stele dated 975 preserved at the site.
Cave 12
- Title Translation: 天龙山第十二窟
- Period: Tang, 618-907 C.E.
- Project: Tianlongshan Caves
- Work Description: The entrance to Cave 12 is flanked by two relief carved stupas with single story and domed roof. Beside it to the left is Cave 13, a rather shallow niche. Both are of the Tang dynasty.
Cave 21
- Title Translation: 第二十一窟
- Period: Tang, 618-907 C.E.
- Project: Tianlongshan Caves
- Work Description: Cave 21 is the largest Tang dynasty cave with the exception of Cave 9. It now has traces of only a single larger than life-sized seated Buddha on the north (back) wall and five standing attendants (Photograph. Li 2003, color pl. 21). The cave is damaged by a large fissure in the stone that cuts across the east and west walls, thus the stone may not have been suitable for sculpting. It is possible that some of the figures formerly made for the cave were not attached to the walls, but carved separately and placed into the cave.
Cave 21
- Title Translation: 第二十一窟
- Period: Tang, 618-907 C.E.
- Project: Tianlongshan Caves
- Work Description: Cave 21 is the largest Tang dynasty cave with the exception of Cave 9. It now has traces of only a single larger than life-sized seated Buddha on the north (back) wall and five standing attendants (Photograph. Li 2003, color pl. 21). The cave is damaged by a large fissure in the stone that cuts across the east and west walls, thus the stone may not have been suitable for sculpting. It is possible that some of the figures formerly made for the cave were not attached to the walls, but carved separately and placed into the cave.
Cave 21
- Title Translation: 第二十一窟
- Period: Tang, 618-907 C.E.
- Project: Tianlongshan Caves
- Work Description: Cave 21 is the largest Tang dynasty cave with the exception of Cave 9. It now has traces of only a single larger than life-sized seated Buddha on the north (back) wall and five standing attendants (Photograph. Li 2003, color pl. 21). The cave is damaged by a large fissure in the stone that cuts across the east and west walls, thus the stone may not have been suitable for sculpting. It is possible that some of the figures formerly made for the cave were not attached to the walls, but carved separately and placed into the cave.
Cave 1
- Title Translation: 第一窟
- Period: Northern Qi, 550-577 C.E.
- Project: Tianlongshan Caves
- Work Description: Cave 1 is located at the far eastern end of the Tianlongshan caves site more than thirty meters from the the next cave, Cave 2. It is one of the larger caves, believed to be of the Northern Qi period. The facade still has part of the eave over the entrance porch showing architectural elements of posts and brackets and tiled roof carved in stone. The porch is about 3.5 meters wide and has an old stele carved on the right side. There was a dedicatory inscription carved on it, but only a few characters are now legible. The interior is a square chamber with niches on the back and side walls, each formerly containing a seated Buddha and two bodhisattvas.
Cave 2
- Title Translation: 第二窟
- Period: Eastern Wei, 534-550 C.E.
- Project: Tianlongshan Caves
- Work Description: Cave 2 and 3, the paired caves, are believed to be from the Eastern Wei period and are the earliest caves at Tianlongshan. They are located on the eastern side of the Tianlongshan caves site and below the upper level caves. Cave 2 is on the right. The caves are distinctive for the many relief carvings on the walls and ceiling, most of which have been removed.
Cave 2
- Title Translation: 第二窟
- Period: Eastern Wei, 534-550 C.E.
- Project: Tianlongshan Caves
- Work Description: Cave 2 and 3, the paired caves, are believed to be from the Eastern Wei period and are the earliest caves at Tianlongshan. They are located on the eastern side of the Tianlongshan caves site and below the upper level caves. Cave 2 is on the right. The caves are distinctive for the many relief carvings on the walls and ceiling, most of which have been removed.
Cave 2
- Title Translation: 第二窟
- Period: Eastern Wei, 534-550 C.E.
- Project: Tianlongshan Caves
- Work Description: Cave 2 and 3, the paired caves, are believed to be from the Eastern Wei period and are the earliest caves at Tianlongshan. They are located on the eastern side of the Tianlongshan caves site and below the upper level caves. Cave 2 is on the right. The caves are distinctive for the many relief carvings on the walls and ceiling, most of which have been removed.
Cave 3
- Title Translation: 第三窟
- Period: Eastern Wei, 534-550 C.E.
- Project: Tianlongshan Caves
- Work Description: Like Cave 2, Cave 3 has a square plan with Buddha and bodhisattva images with relief carvings on three walls.
Cave 3
- Title Translation: 第三窟
- Period: Eastern Wei, 534-550 C.E.
- Project: Tianlongshan Caves
- Work Description: Like Cave 2, Cave 3 has a square plan with Buddha and bodhisattva images with relief carvings on three walls.
Cave 3
- Title Translation: 第三窟
- Period: Eastern Wei, 534-550 C.E.
- Project: Tianlongshan Caves
- Work Description: Like Cave 2, Cave 3 has a square plan with Buddha and bodhisattva images with relief carvings on three walls.
Six Steeds of Zhao Mausoleum ("Zhaoling Liujun"), stone relief
- Title Translation: 昭陵六骏 , 浮雕石
- Period: Tang, 636 C.E.
- Project: Six Horses of Tang Taizong
- Work Description: The Six Horses reliefs were engraved in the 10th year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty (636 AD). In order to commemorate the six war horses he rode in the founding war of the emperial China, King Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty ordered the painter Yan Liben to draw the figures of the six horses, and then the engraver Yan Lide copied and carved them on the stone. The great calligrapher Ouyang Xun of the time made the Tang The hymn book written by Taizong himself is on the upper corner of the original stone. After they were carved, they were placed in the altar at the northern foot of Zhaoling. In order, they are "Teqinqiao", "Qingzhui", "Shivachi", "Saluzi", "Quanmaojun" and "Baitiwu". Among them, two horses, "Sa Lu Zi" and "Fist Mao Jun", were dispersed overseas in 1914 and are now in the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn Museum) in the United States. Each piece of Zhaoling Six Horses is 2.5 meters high and 3 meters wide. The six horses are vividly reproduced on the stone slab in the form of high relief. Three of them are standing and three are galloping. They have handsome postures, valiant charm, vivid shapes, and expressive eyebrows. It can be said that "the king of Qin conquered the world with his cavalry, and the six horses were outstanding in painting but also worried." Mr. Lu Xun praised Six Horses as an "unprecedented" masterpiece.
Arhat (Luohan)
- Title Translation: 罗汉
- Period: Liao, 907-1125 C.E.
- Project: Yixian Arhat
- Work Description: Enamelled 'sancai'. In fact of 'sancai,' the polychromy is only that of a brown and a green; the disciple sits in meditation on a rocky base. Perfect hieraticism of the pose and symmetry of the hands placed on the legs, holding a rosary. Expression of intense concentration on the face, slightly lowered gaze. The kashaya covers both shoulders
Hand Holding a Lotus Bud
- Title Translation: 手捧莲花花蕾
- Period: Northern Wei, 386–534 C.E.
- Project: Longmen Other Caves
- Work Description: The Longmen Caves are located outside the city of Luoyang, China, about 500 miles southeast of the modern-day capital in Beijing. Established in the late fifth century, the site consists of 2,345 caves, and over 100,000 individual Buddhist statues, ranging in height from a few inches to over 56 feet. For more than 250 years, Chinese Buddhists from all walks of life sponsored the addition of Buddhist statues and inscriptions to the site, most significantly from the late Northern Wei (386-534) through the Tang dynasty (618-907). Binyang Central Cave is one of the earliest at Longmen and a major monument of Chinese Buddhism. Begun around the year 501, it was commissioned by the youthful Emperor Xuanwu (483-515) and dedicated to his father, Emperor Xiaowen, who died in 499 at age thirty-three. The cave is one of the major monuments of Chinese Buddhism. MEasuring roughly 30 feet in each dimension, its principal image is 28-foot-high seated Buddha largly filling the back of the cave and accompanied by smaller standing figures—disciples, Buddhas, and bodhisattva—on either side. The exit wall contained some of the finest stone relief carvings of the era, including depictions of two imperial processions, and a number of stories from Buddhist scriptures. After cave-making was discontinued for nearly a thousand years, the Longmen site was "discovered" by foreign scholars in the late 1800s. The publication of their studies with photos attracted international attention to the artistic quality of the sculptures. The publications ultimately led to the looting of much of the site in the early part of the twentieth century. In response to demand from art dealers, collectors, and museums around the globe, local stonecutters removed countless works from the caves, often breaking them into numerous fragments in the process. Pieces from the greater Longmen complex can now be found scattered throughout the world. In Binyang Central Cave, several heads and large portions of the relief carvings were cut or burned out of the walls. Fragments from Binyang Central Cave now reside in museums in the US and Japan, as well as in storage at the Longmen Research Institute in China. Many shattered pieces are identifiable today with the evidence of historical photographs and rubbings taken of the reliefs before their removal.
Fengxian Temple (Fengxiansi)
- Title Translation: 奉先寺
- Period: Tang, 618–907 C.E.
- Project: Longmen Other Caves
- Work Description: This imposing group of nine monumental images carved into the hard, gray limestone of Fengxian Temple at Longmen is a spectacular display of innovative style and iconography. Sponsored by the Emperor Gaozong and his wife, the future Empress Wu, the high relief sculptures are widely spaced in a semi-circle. The central Vairocana Buddha (more than 55 feet high including its pedestal) is flanked on either side by a bodhisattva, a heavenly king, and a thunderbolt holder (vajrapani). Vairocana represents the primordial Buddha who generates and presides over all the Buddhas of the infinite universes that form Buddhist cosmology. This idea—of the power of one supreme deity over all the others—resonated in the vast Tang Empire which was dominated by the Emperor at its summit and supported by his subordinate officials. These monumental sculptures intentionally mirrored the political situation. The dignity and imposing presence of Buddha and the sumptuous appearance of his attendant bodhisattvas is significant in this context. The Buddha, monks and bodhisattvas (above) display new softer and rounder modeling and serene facial expressions. In contrast, the heavenly guardians and the vajrapani are more engaging and animated. Notice the realistic musculature of the heavenly guardians and the forceful poses of the vajrapani.
Fengxian Temple (Fengxiansi), Vairocana Buddha
- Title Translation: 奉先寺 , 毗卢遮那佛
- Period: Tang, 618–907 C.E.
- Project: Longmen Other Caves
- Work Description: This imposing group of nine monumental images carved into the hard, gray limestone of Fengxian Temple at Longmen is a spectacular display of innovative style and iconography. Sponsored by the Emperor Gaozong and his wife, the future Empress Wu, the high relief sculptures are widely spaced in a semi-circle. The central Vairocana Buddha (more than 55 feet high including its pedestal) is flanked on either side by a bodhisattva, a heavenly king, and a thunderbolt holder (vajrapani). Vairocana represents the primordial Buddha who generates and presides over all the Buddhas of the infinite universes that form Buddhist cosmology. This idea—of the power of one supreme deity over all the others—resonated in the vast Tang Empire which was dominated by the Emperor at its summit and supported by his subordinate officials. These monumental sculptures intentionally mirrored the political situation. The dignity and imposing presence of Buddha and the sumptuous appearance of his attendant bodhisattvas is significant in this context. The Buddha, monks and bodhisattvas (above) display new softer and rounder modeling and serene facial expressions. In contrast, the heavenly guardians and the vajrapani are more engaging and animated. Notice the realistic musculature of the heavenly guardians and the forceful poses of the vajrapani.
Fengxian Temple (Fengxiansi)
- Title Translation: 奉先寺
- Period: Tang, 618–907 C.E.
- Project: Longmen Other Caves
- Work Description: This imposing group of nine monumental images carved into the hard, gray limestone of Fengxian Temple at Longmen is a spectacular display of innovative style and iconography. Sponsored by the Emperor Gaozong and his wife, the future Empress Wu, the high relief sculptures are widely spaced in a semi-circle. The central Vairocana Buddha (more than 55 feet high including its pedestal) is flanked on either side by a bodhisattva, a heavenly king, and a thunderbolt holder (vajrapani). Vairocana represents the primordial Buddha who generates and presides over all the Buddhas of the infinite universes that form Buddhist cosmology. This idea—of the power of one supreme deity over all the others—resonated in the vast Tang Empire which was dominated by the Emperor at its summit and supported by his subordinate officials. These monumental sculptures intentionally mirrored the political situation. The dignity and imposing presence of Buddha and the sumptuous appearance of his attendant bodhisattvas is significant in this context. The Buddha, monks and bodhisattvas (above) display new softer and rounder modeling and serene facial expressions. In contrast, the heavenly guardians and the vajrapani are more engaging and animated. Notice the realistic musculature of the heavenly guardians and the forceful poses of the vajrapani.