Medieval · Cleveland Museum of Art · 1942.1082
Amitabha
Unknown maker, mid-1000s
Cleveland Museum of Art · Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund · Public domain
- Artist
- Unknown maker
- Date
- mid-1000s
- Medium
- gilt bronze
- Dimensions
- Overall: 23 cm (9 1/16 in.)
- Era
- Medieval
Why it matters
This delicately crafted statue of Amitabha, the Buddha of Infinite Light, bears testimony to the flowering of Buddhist art under the Liao Empire established by the Khitans, a nomadic Mongolian people, after the Tang persecution of Buddhists in 845. The Liao rulers were devout Buddhists who commissioned substantial religious projects. Liao Buddhist artifacts reflecting close ties to the Tang traditions were likely executed by displaced or enslaved artisans as a result of the Khitan conquest of northern China.