Altar Frontal
C693
Location: On Display in the Asia Galleries
From: China | Hebei | Xiangtangshan
Curatorial Section: Asian
| Object Number | C693 |
| Current Location | Asia Galleries - On Display |
| Culture | Chinese | Buddhist |
| Provenience | China | Hebei | Xiangtangshan |
| Period | Northern Qi Dynasty |
| Date Made | Northern Qi Dynasty |
| Section | Asian |
| Materials | Stone |
| Technique | Relief |
| Iconography | Buddha | Sakyamuni Buddha | Prabhutaratna Buddha | Lion | Guardian | Lotus Sutra |
| Description | Among the niches in this altar frontal that contain images of the Buddha, the scene at the top right is from the Lotus Sutra, a fundemental Mahayana Buddhist text. When this doctorine was preached by Sakyamuni, the Buddha of the present era, to a great assembly of celestial and earthly beings, the relics of Prabhutaratna, the Buddha of the past, arose and Prabhutaratna materialized. The relief carving also includes an incense burner between two seated lions. The lion as a Buddhist guardian figure has been a common motif in Chinese art since the introduction of Buddhism in China. |
| Height | 76.2 cm |
| Width | 121.92 cm |
| Credit Line | Gift of C. T. Loo, 1928 |
Report problems and issues to digitalmedia@pennmuseum.org.