Cleveland Museum of Art

Seated Amitābha

Date

late 1500s–early 1600s

Medium

hanging scroll; ink and color on silk

Culture

Chinese, Ming dynasty (1368-1644)

Department

Chinese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This magnificent Buddha, called Amitābha (literally, “infinite light”) is seated on a lotus pedestal with both palms facing up over crossed legs, suggesting that it is in deep meditation. In contrast to the richly ornamented throne on which the Buddha is seated, the figure itself is devoid of any jewelry or decorative attributes, emphasizing its enlightened status and detachment from worldly affairs. The lion head in the center of the pedestal is a motif from Central Asia, which can also be seen in the halo or nimbus of Chinese Buddhist stone steles. Originally, this scroll was acquired by the museum as a Korean work, but has now been tentatively reattributed as Ming period Chinese.

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