Merit-clay tablet with Maitreya Buddha and two bodhisattvas
Date7th century
Maker
Chinese
Label TextMaitreya Buddha holds the meditation gesture, with hands resting in the lap. Words on the tablet’s other side describe the Buddha’s transcendent nature being manifest in his physical form: “For good karma during the Great Tang dynasty, this clay is impressed with the Buddha’s marvelous form body that captures his true thusness.” This tablet was impressed using a mold, and some red pigment remains from its ritual consecration. By donating the means to have it made, a person accumulated karmic merit for themselves or for others.
Object number63.145
Photo CreditPhoto: Elizabeth Mann
Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Discovering Buddhist Art - Seeking the Sublime", July 9, 2003 - June 3, 2005Credit LineEugene Fuller Memorial Collection
Dimensions4 7/8 x 4 1/2 x 15/16 in. (12.38 x 11.43 x 2.38 cm)
MediumEarthenware, with trace of colors
18th-19th century
Object number: 57.124
Votive tablet: standing Sahasrabhuja (eleven-headed, thousand-armed Avalokiteshvara) with attendants
18th-19th century
Object number: 62.18
Nepalese
late 11th century
Object number: 59.61.1
Nepalese
late 11th century
Object number: 59.61.2
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