J.J. Lally & Co., Oriental Art / New York City, New York
MenuPast Exhibition
Two Thousand Years of Chinese Sculpture
March 17-29, 2008
24.
A SANDSTONE HEAD OF A BUDDHIST DISCIPLE
Song Dynasty (960 - 1279)
probably intended as Ananda, the pious monk depicted as a young man with serene countenance, his eyes half-closed under heavy eyelids, his eyebrows gently arched and simply painted in black, his mouth faintly smiling in a contented expression, his full cheeks and short chin smoothly rounded, showing no lines of stress or age, his small stylized ears with long lobes, his wide egg-shaped cranium smooth-shaved, and with the collar of his plain monastic robes rising high on his neck, the softly polished surface of the purplish-tan sandstone showing traces of black and red pigment.
Height 8 1/2 inches (21.7 cm)
Ananda was one of the principal disciples of the Buddha Sakyamuni, generally referred to as the youngest disciple. He was a handsome young man known for his meekness and piety who became Buddha’s personal attendant and was praised by Buddha as compassionate, unselfish and kind. Ananda had a prodigious memory and because of his ability to memorize and repeat Buddha’s sermons and teachings he became known as “Guardian of the Dharma,” but Ananda did not achieve enlightenment through study and diligent practice, he did it through his love and support of others.
Ananda is often shown with Kasyapa, Buddha’s oldest disciple, as an iconographic pair in Buddhist sculpture and painting, representing all of Buddha’s disciples and the possibility of individual salvation.
宋 青石佛僧頭像 高 21.7 厘米
24.
A SANDSTONE HEAD OF A BUDDHIST DISCIPLE
Song Dynasty (960 - 1279)
Height 8 1/2 inches (21.7 cm)