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Chinese

Head of Buddha, 500-600 CE

Now On View

Description

Maker

Culture

Chinese

Title

Head of Buddha

Year

500-600 CE

Medium

Gray stone

Materials/Techniques

Materials

Dimensions

40.6 x 25.4 x 32.7 cm (16 x 10 x 12 7/8 inches)

Type

Credit

Gift of Mrs. Gustav Radeke and Mrs. Jesse H. Metcalf

Object Number

15.228

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Asian Art Galleries

The features of this head, such as the oblong facial contour and almond-shaped eyes help identify it to be of Chinese origin. The material, stone, was also prominently used in China to create Buddhist statuary of all sizes, including monumental sites where statues were carved directly into cliffs.

The cranial extension called the ushnisha, is one of the 32 physical attricutes of the Buddha and is a symbol of his infinite wisdom. The Buddha's hair stylized as snail-shell curls is an iconographical feature found in statues of the Buddha in China from this time and also in later works of Korea, Japan, Thailand, and other regions of Asia.

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Head of Buddha with the accession number of 15.228. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.