Description
The six-tusked elephant holds the throne of Puxian (Samantabhadra), the Bodhisattva of Universal Virtue, who often appears with Wenshu (Manjusri), the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, on his lion-vehicle. This impressive gilt bronze statue is solidly cast, except for the hollow at the center of its belly. The richly ornate saddle cloth exhibits superb craftsmanship and vivid representations of dragons among clouds, echoing the worldly splendor of the Liao material culture.
Provenance
(J. E. Eskenazi, Ltd., London, England, sold to the Cleveland Musuem of Art) (1980); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1980–)
Accession Number
1980.24
Medium
gilt bronze
Dimensions
Overall: 18.5 cm (7 5/16 in.)
Classification
Sculpture
Credit Line
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund