Buddha draped in robes portraying the Realms of Desire
date: label: Date
content: 550-577
label: Period
content: Northern Qi dynasty
notes: label: Label
content: According to the sacred text of the Lotus Sutra, when the historical Buddha delivered a sermon a vision of the entire cosmos often appeared before him, which is why he was sometimes called the Cosmological Buddha. The decoration on the front and back of this figure's monastic robe features scenes of the life of the historical Buddha and cosmic imagery.
label: Label
content: On the front chest of the robe, Mount Sumeru, a sacred Buddhist mountain believed to connect heaven and earth, is depicted with two snakes, or naga, entwined around it. Scenes below illustrate the historical Buddha as a prince before his enlightenment. The tortures of hell appear above the hem.
label: Provenance
content: ?-1923
label: Provenance
content: Taku Shanfang, Beijing, method of acquisition unknown [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1923
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, purchased by Carl Whiting Bishop (1881-1942) from Taku Shanfang, Beijing [2]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] See Original Bishop List, Objects of Stone, No. S-9, copy in object file.
label: Provenance
content: [2] Carl Whiting Bishop purchased this on behalf of the Freer Gallery of Art on December 24, 1923, in Beijing from the art dealer, Taku Shanfang. See note 1. In 1922, the Smithsonian Institution and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston jointly appointed Bishop, a trained archaeologist, as the leader of a four-year archaeological expedition to China. Around the same time, the Freer Gallery of Art appointed Bishop as a curator and charged him with purchasing works for the museum while abroad. This work was first accepted into the Freer Gallery of Art Study Collection in December 1923. In 1968, it was transferred to the Permanent Collection of the Freer Gallery of Art. See Bishop Collection, Collections Management Office.
label: Provenance
content: Research updated April 18, 2023
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: Promise of Paradise (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)
label: Exhibition History
content: Body of Devotion: The Cosmic Buddha in 3D (January 30, 2016 to July 9, 2017)
label: Exhibition History
content: Promise of Paradise: Early Chinese Buddhist Sculpture (December 1, 2012 to January 3, 2016)
label: Exhibition History
content: Buddhist Art (May 9, 1993 to August 9, 2011)
label: Exhibition History
content: Chinese Art—Stone Sculpture (September 1, 1979 to March 14, 1982)
label: Exhibition History
content: Chinese Art (January 1, 1963 to March 6, 1981)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Taku Shanfang
place: label: Origin
content: Anyang, Henan province, China
topic: label: Topic
content: stone
label: Topic
content: Buddhism
label: Topic
content: Buddha
label: Topic
content: Sui dynasty (581 - 618)
label: Topic
content: naga
label: Topic
content: hell
label: Topic
content: heaven
label: Topic
content: China
label: Topic
content: Vairocana Buddha
label: Topic
content: Mount Meru
label: Topic
content: Lotus Sutra
label: Topic
content: Chinese Art
label: Topic
content: Carl Whiting Bishop collection
setName: label: On View
content: West Building (Freer Gallery of Art), Gallery 17: Promise of Paradise
label: Related Online Resources
content: Google Arts & Culture
label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F1923.15
objectType: label: Type
content: Sculpture
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Limestone
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D: 151.3 x 62.9 x 31.3 cm (59 9/16 x 24 3/4 x 12 5/16 in)
label: Dimensions
content: Weight (without concrete base): 818.5 pounds