Analysis of The Meeting of Bodhisattvas
Tianna Ferroni!
Art 102!
Amiko Matsuo!
Museum Paper!
Meeting of the Bodhisattvas Manjusri and Samantabhadra!
!
Bodhisattvas in Buddhist culture are deemed enlightened and are worshiped as deities.
Therefore it is logical for one of the biggest Buddhist cultures to have constructed a sculpture in their honor. Created during the Tang Dynasty in 742 by an unknown artist in
China, the sculpture “Meeting of the Bodhisattvas Manjusri and Samantabhadra” pays homage to the bodhisattvas Wenshu and Puxian. This sculpture made of limestone is roughly a foot and a half tall, nearly two feet long, and ten inches in depth. Used for spiritual practice, this piece was meant to offer viewers a means of being closer to their bodhisattvas. !
!
This piece allows viewers to clearly see their bodhisattvas in a relief style
sculpture. The cold stone is smooth on the face that houses the deities and rough on the remaining five sides. The figures of Wenshu and Puxian are centered and carved out of the living stone, making them appear to be coming out of the stone. On, what resembles a frame to the deities, are thirty-four characters in traditional Chinese. There is no known translation of the characters but it can be assumed that it references
Wenshu and Puxian. The stone that houses these characters is marbled and darker than the stone where the figures are inlaid, which further accentuates the bodhisattvas. !
!
Inside the frame we can see both Wenshu and Puxian dressed in draped robes.
There are gatherings of drapery at both the chest and the lap. The deity on the left is also wearing a beaded necklace. Each deity has the same positioning of their arms.
This arm positioning is that of abhaya mudra, which is the fearlessness mudra. Each bodhisattva is also sitting cross-legged upon an elephant. At the feet of these elephants are small human figures, one to each elephant. In Buddhist cultures, the elephant is a symbol of mental strength and earthiness. !
!
It makes sense for the
Art 102!
Amiko Matsuo!
Museum Paper!
Meeting of the Bodhisattvas Manjusri and Samantabhadra!
!
Bodhisattvas in Buddhist culture are deemed enlightened and are worshiped as deities.
Therefore it is logical for one of the biggest Buddhist cultures to have constructed a sculpture in their honor. Created during the Tang Dynasty in 742 by an unknown artist in
China, the sculpture “Meeting of the Bodhisattvas Manjusri and Samantabhadra” pays homage to the bodhisattvas Wenshu and Puxian. This sculpture made of limestone is roughly a foot and a half tall, nearly two feet long, and ten inches in depth. Used for spiritual practice, this piece was meant to offer viewers a means of being closer to their bodhisattvas. !
!
This piece allows viewers to clearly see their bodhisattvas in a relief style
sculpture. The cold stone is smooth on the face that houses the deities and rough on the remaining five sides. The figures of Wenshu and Puxian are centered and carved out of the living stone, making them appear to be coming out of the stone. On, what resembles a frame to the deities, are thirty-four characters in traditional Chinese. There is no known translation of the characters but it can be assumed that it references
Wenshu and Puxian. The stone that houses these characters is marbled and darker than the stone where the figures are inlaid, which further accentuates the bodhisattvas. !
!
Inside the frame we can see both Wenshu and Puxian dressed in draped robes.
There are gatherings of drapery at both the chest and the lap. The deity on the left is also wearing a beaded necklace. Each deity has the same positioning of their arms.
This arm positioning is that of abhaya mudra, which is the fearlessness mudra. Each bodhisattva is also sitting cross-legged upon an elephant. At the feet of these elephants are small human figures, one to each elephant. In Buddhist cultures, the elephant is a symbol of mental strength and earthiness. !
!
It makes sense for the