Medieval · Cleveland Museum of Art · 1988.34
Standing Amitabha
Unknown maker, 800s
Cleveland Museum of Art · Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund · Public domain
- Artist
- Unknown maker
- Date
- 800s
- Medium
- gilt bronze
- Dimensions
- Overall: 25.4 cm (10 in.); with tang: 26 cm (10 1/4 in.)
- Era
- Medieval
Why it matters
Buddhist teachings emphasize the pursuit of spirituality, rather than physicality, to achieve enlightenment. This statue’s artist, however, made genuine efforts to represent the divine’s beautiful voluminous body. Inspired by Indian Gupta period art (300s–500s CE), this particular artistic style emphasizing soft modeling and naturalism was further developed in China and flourished across East Asia.