Buddha and two bodhisattvas framed by arches and stupas

ca. 2nd-3rd century

This relief panel illustrates the iconographic difference between images of the Buddha and bodhisattvas. A bodhisattva is a compassionate and saintly figure who has postponed his own departure into Nirvana to help all other sentient beings attain enlightenment. Here, the Buddha is the central and largest of the three figures. Typical of images of the Buddha, he wears a simple robe draped over one shoulder with no adornments. Bodhisattvas, however, are princely figures who wear crowns and jewelry, reminders of their choice to remain in the earthly realm helping others. The Buddha, who has transcended this world, does not wear the trappings of a material existence. This panel illustrates the Gandharan style of the Kushan period which reveals a strong influence from the Greco-Roman world.

Schist

17 x 21 3/4 x 3 in. (43.18 x 55.25 x 7.62 cm)

Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection

44.58

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistoryLos Angeles, California, Los Angeles County Museum, "Art Of Greater India" (1950)

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "Indian Buddhist Sculpture", February 3 - August 20, 1990, (02/03/1990 - 08/20/1990)

Published References"Handbook, Seattle Art Museum: Selected Works from the Permanent Collections." Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1951, p. 26 (b&w)

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

Learn more about Equity at SAM