The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 26, 2024
Supports with Addorsed Figures
1400s
Overall: 33.5 x 9.5 x 8 cm (13 3/16 x 3 3/4 x 3 1/8 in.)
Location: 237 Himalayan
Description
These small pillars were part of the multitiered bases of stupas—sacred Buddhist monuments. The figures that faced toward the viewer are four-armed bodhisattvas—beings on the path to perfect enlightenment. The Tibetan syllable carved at the top of the moldings denotes the position where this piece belongs in the series of other small double-sided pillars. The figures on the opposite sides, facing the stupa and unseen by visitors, are figures of four-armed goddesses who make offerings of music or gifts to the stupa. On these examples, one plays a drum; the other holds a lotus.The figures stand on the center of a lotus flower that emerges from an overflowoing pot of abundance. Such imagery indicates that the faithful veneration of this monument will bring productive and abundant good results.
- March 21, 2008(Christie's New York, NY, March 21, 2008, lot 617 and 618, sold to John and Maxeen Flower)2008-2011Dr. John and Maxeen Stone Flower [1928-2010], Shaker Heights, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art2011-The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- {{cite web|title=Supports with Addorsed Figures|url=false|author=|year=1400s|access-date=26 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2011.144