The Northern Wei dynasty Buddha, Matriya, first led us into the grey and black world of Chinese sculpture. The amazing sense of calm and fluidity represented in harmony through the stability of the stone. The skillful handwork from these masters can still be felt and shared as one looks at the intricate and bold details that still hold form through thousands of years. A sense of time is at once amplified and at the same time bridged as one can clearly see the effects that aging and survival has had on these works, yet still clearly see the remaining mark of the artist's hand.
Buddha with figurative images Northern Qi (550-557 AD) Limestone
This standing Buddha is 80 cm in height and in a typical Qingzhou style. The most impressive part of this sculpture is the figurative images on the robe. On the robe of the Buddha, there are rectangular frames, in line and in row, containing carved reliefs of the Ten spiritual realms. Unlike most of the Buddha with figurative images, whose images are often painted on the robe, this sculpture has carved reliefs and is quite rare and precious.
