Art

  • Shyamatara, Green Tara
  • Buddha Shakyamuni with Scenes from his Life
  • Baisajyaguru, the Medicine Buddha
  • Yakshi, Nymph with Lotus Flowers, fragment of a baluster
  • Buddha Shakyamuni
  • Buddha Shakyamuni Invokes the Earth Goddess as his Witness
  • Plaque Showing the Buddha Teaching
  • Seated Bodhisattva
  • Shaka Nyorai, the Historical Buddha
  • Ushnishavijaya
  • Six Persimmons
  • Buddha Shakyamuni at the Moment of his Awakening
  • Bust of a Luohan
  • Green Tara (Shyama Tara)
  • Jizo Bosatsu, Bodhisattva in the Guise of a Monk
  • Stupa
  • Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion
  • Standing Buddha Amida
  • Hotei, One of the Gods of Good Fortune, with Child
  • Vijaya Stupa
  • Monastic Rules for Monks
  • Buddhist Votive Stela of the Yan Family
  • Buddhist Votive Tablet
  • Votive Stela with Buddha Shakyamuni
  • Buddha Shakyamuni
  • Buddhist Monk
  • Sitatara, White Tara
  • The Descent of Buddha Amida
  • Buddha Shakyamuni
  • Buddha Shakyamuni Tames the Wild Elephant Nalagiri
  • Stela Showing Scenes from the Life of the Buddha
  • The Ascetic Milarepa
  • Head of a Monk
  • Hotei
  • Guhyamanjuvajra
  • Kannon, the Bodhisattva of Compassion
  • Buddha Dipankara, the Buddha of the Past
  • Shyamatara, Green Tara
  • Buddhist Pocket-sized Prayer Altar
  • Dharmapala Yama
  • Gendün Gyatso, the 2nd Dalai Lama (1476–1542)
  • Praying Priest
  • Rectangular Coin
  • Standing Monk with Hands Folded
  • The Buddha Invokes the Earth Goddess as his Witness
  • Great Stupa at Sanchi
  • Votive Stela Depicting Buddha Shakyamuni
  • The Bodhisattva of Compassion as the Bringer of Sons
  • Mahasiddha Virupa
  • Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, as the Patron of fishermen
  • Stupa
  • The Buddha Begins Teaching
  • Vajradhara, the Primordial Buddha
  • Seated Bodhisattva
  • Portrait of the Abbot Ennin
  • Buddha Shakyamuni 
  • Padmasambhava
  • Head of a Bodhisattva
  • Buddha Maitreya
  • The 4th Dalai Lama Yonten Gyatso (1589–1617)
  • Padmasambhava with his 25 Tibetan Pupils From a series of 7 thangkas
  • Standing Tara
  • Sakya Pandita (1182–1252)
  • Excerpt from the Lotus Sutra
  • Buddhist Votive Tablet
  • Buddha Shakyamuni Sheltered by the Serpent-King
  • Budai
  • Travel Shrine
  • Taima Mandala, the Buddha Amida’s Paradise
  • Buddha Shakyamuni Meditating Under the Bodhi Tree
  • Vase with Lotus Vines and the Eight Auspicious Symbols of Buddhism
  • The Bodhisattva of Compassion Sitting in Meditation
  • Head of a Lokeshvara
  • Buddha Shakyamuni From a series of 7 thangkas with Buddha Shakyamuni and the 18 arhats
  • Relief of the Five Transcendent Buddhas
  • Pancha Raksha Manuscript
  • The Prophecy of the Wise Asita
  • Amida Nyorai, Buddha of the Western Paradise
  • Buddha Shakyamuni
  • The Arhats Panthaka, Gopaka, Nagasena, and Abheda From a series of 7 thangkas with Buddha Shakyamuni and the 18 arhats
  • Standing Buddha
  • Dakini Vasya-Vajravarahi
  • Monumental Head of a Bodhisattva
  • Machig Labdrön
  • Padmasambhava with his 25 Tibetan Pupils From a series of 7 thangkas
  • State Oracle Garment
  • The Prophecy of the Buddha Dipankara
  • Buddha Shakyamuni Attains Awakening Under the Bodhi Tree
  • Ceremonial Dagger Featuring the God of Death
  • Standing Bodhisattva
  • Dharani Sutra of the Heart of the Perfection of Insight
  • Portrait of the Zen Priest Gemmon Doyu
  • Shakyamuni Enters Nirvana
  • Thangka of the Twenty-One Taras
  • Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion
  • Leaving for Homelessness
  • Head of a Buddha
  • Mara’s Daughters Tempt the Buddha
  • Bodhidharma Crosses the Yangtze River on a Reed
  • Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara
  • The Arhats Bakula, Rahula, Cudapanthaka, and Pindola From a series of 7 thangkas with Buddha Shakyamuni and the 18 arhats
  • Gazelle
  • Head of the Buddha
  • Dharmatala and two lokapalas From a series of 7 thangkas with Buddha Shakyamuni and the 18 arhats
  • Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of Wisdom
  • Standing Buddha Shakyamuni
  • Zen Priest in a Golden Wrap
  • Buddha Shakyamuni and the Earth-Touching Gesture
  • Buddhist Monastic Rules from the Pali Canon
  • Buddha Shakyamuni
  • The Descent of Buddha Amida
  • Prince Siddhartha’s Wedding
  • Printing Block for a Prayer from the Text “Embodiment of the Three Jewels” by Jatson Nyingpo (1585–1656)
  • The Arhats Kanakavasta, Vajriputra, Kanaka Bharadvaja, and Bhadra From a series of 7 thangkas with Buddha Shakyamuni and the 18 arhats
  • The Buddha’s Parinirvana
  • The Death of the Buddha
  • The Three Buddhas Dipankara, Shakyamuni, and Maitreya
  • Buddha Shakyamuni
  • The Layman Huashang and Two Lokapalas From a series of 7 thangkas with Buddha Shakyamuni and the 18 arhats
  • Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion in the Posture of Royal Ease
  • Standing Buddha Shakyamuni
  • The Arhats Vanavasin, Angaja, Kalika, and Ajita From a series of 7 thangkas with Buddha Shakyamuni and the 18 arhats
  • Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion
  • Empress Jito, from the series “Parody of the Ogura Version of ‘One Hundred Poets, One Hundred Poems’ ”
  • The Four Excursions
  • Large Votive Stupa
  • The Transcendent Buddha Akshobhya
  • Head of the Buddha
  • Buddha Vairocana
  • Jambhala, the God of Wealth
  • Bodhidharma
  • The Four Pleasures of Nan Shenglu (detail)
  • Buddha Shakyamuni as a Newborn Infant
  • Half-length Portrait of the Zen Patriarch Bodhidharma
  • Female Monkey with Her Young
  • Standing Buddha Shakyamuni
Head of the Buddha

Head of the Buddha

This large, impressive head comes from the Buddhist cave temples at the “Mountain of Echoing Halls” in northern China. Around the year 550, seeking to perform meritorious deeds, Qi-dynasty rulers had a number of caves hewn out of limestone cliffs and then lavishly decorated with sculptures. The Southern Cave contained statues of three large Buddhas and their attendants. In their original location, the seated figures gazed down on devotees from a height of well over 3 metres.