COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
mediaCollectionId
AMICO~1~1
The AMICA Library
Collection
true
AMICA ID:
ASIA.1979.083
amicoid
ASIA.1979.083
AMICA ID
false
AMICA Library Year:
1998
aly
1998
AMICA Library Year
false
Object Type:
Sculpture
oty
Sculpture
Object Type
false
Creator Nationality:
Asian; Southeast Asian; Indonesian
crc
Asian; Southeast Asian; Indonesian
Creator Nationality
false
Creator Name-CRT:
Indonesian
crt
Indonesian
Creator Name-CRT
false
Title:
Standing Figure, Probably a Bodhisattva
otn
Standing Figure, Probably a Bodhisattva
Title
false
View:
Full view
rid
Full view
View
false
Creation Date:
Shrivijayan style, 8th-9th century
oct
Shrivijayan style, 8th-9th century
Creation Date
false
Creation Start Date:
700
ocs
700
Creation Start Date
false
Creation End Date:
899
oce
899
Creation End Date
false
Materials and Techniques:
Copper alloy
omd
Copper alloy
Materials and Techniques
false
Creation Place:
Indonesia, possibly Sumatra
ocp
Indonesia, possibly Sumatra
Creation Place
false
Dimensions:
H. 18 in. (45.7 cm)
met
H. 18 in. (45.7 cm)
Dimensions
false
AMICA Contributor:
Asia Society
oon
Asia Society
AMICA Contributor
false
Owner Location:
New York, New York, USA
oop
New York, New York, USA
Owner Location
false
ID Number:
1979.083
ooa
1979.083
ID Number
false
Credit Line:
Asia Society: The Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection
ooc
Asia Society: The Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection
Credit Line
false
Rights:
orl
<a href="http://www.asiasociety.org"target="_new">http://www.asiasociety.org</a>
Rights
false
Context:
Shrivijaya was one of the greatest powers in Southeast Asia from the 7th through 9th centuries; inscriptions and other historical records suggest that it continued in some form until the 13th century. The city of Palembang on the island of Sumatra is generally accepted as the capital of Shrivijaya. The depiction of the locks of hair as a series of parallel ribbonlike lines suggests that this intriguing sculpture, tentatively identified as a standing bodhisattva, was made in Sumatra. In addition to the type of hair, this sculpture shares the large cylindrical bump at the top of the head that is seen in other sculptures believed to come from Sumatra. However, the thickness and rigidity of the legs, the lack of volume in the torso, the simplicity of the detailing, and the figure's strong features differentiate this piece from other Sumatran examples. A possible explanation for these differences may be a 9th- or 10th-century date for the piece. It is also possible that this sculpture was produced in an area of the Indonesian archipelago that is less well known than either Sumatra or Java; or it might be both provincial and later in date.
This sculpture has long been identified as an image of the Bodhisattva Maitreya, although the rationale for this identification is unclear. The headdress lacks a stupa, Maitreya's most frequently represented attribute. The identification might derive from the long hair that runs down the figure's back; this style of hair is often found on images of Maitreya and illustrates his origins as an ascetic figure in early Buddhist art. However, this feature alone does not provide enough evidence because long hair is also found on representations of other bodhisattvas, particularly works dating from the 7th through 9th centuries, when the bodhisattva-ascetic played an important role in Southeast Asian Buddhist imagery. The identification of this figure is further complicated by the disk that he holds in his back right hand, an attribute most commonly associated with the Hindu god Vishnu. However, similar wheel-shaped objects are also held by Buddhist attendant figures known as vajra deities. Because of the importance of Buddhism in Indonesia, it seems likely that this figure does represent a bodhisattva or some other Buddhist deity.
cxd
Shrivijaya was one of the greatest powers in Southeast Asia from the 7th through 9th centuries; inscriptions and other historical records suggest that it continued in some form until the 13th century. The city of Palembang on the island of Sumatra is generally accepted as the capital of Shrivijaya. The depiction of the locks of hair as a series of parallel ribbonlike lines suggests that this intriguing sculpture, tentatively identified as a standing bodhisattva, was made in Sumatra. In addition to the type of hair, this sculpture shares the large cylindrical bump at the top of the head that is seen in other sculptures believed to come from Sumatra. However, the thickness and rigidity of the legs, the lack of volume in the torso, the simplicity of the detailing, and the figure's strong features differentiate this piece from other Sumatran examples. A possible explanation for these differences may be a 9th- or 10th-century date for the piece. It is also possible that this sculpture was produced in an area of the Indonesian archipelago that is less well known than either Sumatra or Java; or it might be both provincial and later in date.<P>This sculpture has long been identified as an image of the Bodhisattva Maitreya, although the rationale for this identification is unclear. The headdress lacks a stupa, Maitreya's most frequently represented attribute. The identification might derive from the long hair that runs down the figure's back; this style of hair is often found on images of Maitreya and illustrates his origins as an ascetic figure in early Buddhist art. However, this feature alone does not provide enough evidence because long hair is also found on representations of other bodhisattvas, particularly works dating from the 7th through 9th centuries, when the bodhisattva-ascetic played an important role in Southeast Asian Buddhist imagery. The identification of this figure is further complicated by the disk that he holds in his back right hand, an attribute most commonly associated with the Hindu god Vishnu. However, similar wheel-shaped objects are also held by Buddhist attendant figures known as <I>vajra</I> deities. Because of the importance of Buddhism in Indonesia, it seems likely that this figure does represent a bodhisattva or some other Buddhist deity.</P>
Context
false
Related Document Description:
Asia Society. Handbook of the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection. New York: Asia Society, [1981], p. 40.
rdd
Asia Society. <I>Handbook of the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection</I>. New York: Asia Society, [1981], p. 40.
Related Document Description
false
Related Document Description:
Lee, Sherman E. Asian Art: Selections from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd. New York: Asia Society, 1970, pp. 42, 45.
rdd
Lee, Sherman E. <I>Asian Art: Selections from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd</I>. New York: Asia Society, 1970, pp. 42, 45.
Related Document Description
false
Related Document Description:
Lopez, Donald S., Jr., and Steven C. Rockefeller. Images of the Christ and the Bodhisattva. Middlebury, Vt.: Christian A. Johnson Memorial Gallery of Middlebury College, 1984, cat. no. 43.
rdd
Lopez, Donald S., Jr., and Steven C. Rockefeller. <I>Images of the Christ and the Bodhisattva.</I> Middlebury, Vt.: Christian A. Johnson Memorial Gallery of Middlebury College, 1984, cat. no. 43.
Related Document Description
false
Related Document Description:
Mowry, Robert D. 'An Image of Maitreya and Other Pre-Angkor Prakhonchai Bronzes.' Orientations (December 1985), p. 38.
rdd
Mowry, Robert D. 'An Image of Maitreya and Other Pre-Angkor Prakhonchai Bronzes.' <I>Orientations</I> (December 1985), p. 38.
Related Document Description
false
Related Image Identifier Link:
ASIA.1979.083.a.tif
ril
ASIA.1979.083.a.tif
Related Image Identifier Link
false