Buddhist Votive Plaque with Three Seated Bodhisattvas
perhaps 18th-19th century
Description
This small votive plaque has a flat bottom, nearly vertical sides, and a scalloped top in the form of an ogival arch. This Buddhist plaque features three bodhisattvas, each molded in low relief and each seated on a lotus base and before a mandorla. Two bodhisattvas appear side-by-side in the lower half of the plaque; a single bodhisattva sits in the narrower, upper half of the plaque. Scrolling clouds (or possibly scrolling foliage) fill the interstices of the design. The back and sides of the plaque are undecorated. It is possible that the plaque--or at least its front face--originally might have been painted; if so, all traces of pigment have vanished. The surfaces of this plaque are a bit indistinct, either through wear or, more likely, through its creation with an old, well-used, and much-worn mold.
Dimensions
H. 7.1 x W. 6.2 x D. 1.2 cm (2 13/16 x 2 7/16 x 1/2 in.)
Provenance
Edmund Lin (1928-2006; Professor, Harvard Medical School), Boston; by bequest to the Harvard Art Museum
Related Artworks
View MoreClay, unfired
Central AsianClay, unfired
Central AsianElectrotyped metal
20th centuryGermanMetal
16th-17th centuryEuropeanWhite jasperware with lavender glaze on front; figures in white relief
18th centuryBritishRepoussé gold. Purportedly found in Jincun, near Loyang, Henan province.
5th-3rd century BCEChineseLuna marble
1st century CERomanLeaded bronze
5th-2nd century BCECentral Asian?Marble
3rd century CERomanMolded buff earthenware
18th-19th centuryTibetanLustred and glazed earthenware
19th centuryBritishElectrotyped metal
20th centuryGerman