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15. Stupa China Ming dynasty (1368-1644) Lacquered wood and gold height: 71 cm. / 28 in. |
This impressive sculpture represents a stupa, a Buddhist reliquary and symbol of the enlightened mind of the Buddha. All stupas observe an essential structure: a hemispheric dome (anda) set on a platform, above which are disks (chhatraveli), surrounded by a railing (harmika). This wood example is likely to have been made in China, probably during the early Ming dynasty (1368-1644). The shape of the dome and its size relative to the chhatraveli recall late Yuan and early Ming examples. The relative simplicity of the dome and chhatraveli can be compared with the famous White Stupa constructed in Beijing in 1279 under the direction of the Nepalese artist Aniko. 39 The shape of the dome is closer to those in examples from the Yongle reign (1403-24). 40 This lacquered wood example certainly pre-dates Chinese stupas of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), in which the dome is considerably wider at the top, and typically covered with ornate decoration including wide streamers that connect the top of the chhatraveli with the top of the dome. 41 Provenance: American private collection 39. See Anning Jing, "The Portraits of Khubilai Khan and Chabi by Anige (1245-1306), A Nepali Artist at the Yuan Court", Artibus Asiae LIV, 1/2 (June 1994), figs. 3, 4a. 40. See Treasures from Snow Mountains: Gems of Tibetan Cultural Relics, (Shanghai, 2001), nos. 46 and 47. 41. See examples in A Special Exhibition of Buddhist Gilt Votive Objects (Taipei, National Palace Museum, 1995), esp. figs. 1-7. See also the considerably more ornate examples of the Qianlong period (1736-95), in Tibetan Buddhist Images and Ritual Objects from the Qing Dynasty Summer Palace at Chengde (Taiwan, 1999), figs. 77, 79. |