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Source Description
In Buddhist cosmology that originated in India, a mountain stands in the center of our world. On the middle slopes of this mountain dwell four heavenly kings, who guard the four directions. This stone head is a Chinese interpretation of one of these kings, although we cannot be certain which. He has been given a beard and mustache like those of the Central Asian traders that appear in art from China’s Tang dynasty (618–907), which helps to date the piece.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
5244
label
Head of a Buddhist Guardian King
core
obj
dtoType
sculpture
citationUrl
pageCount
2
Source metadata
id
5244
sourceUrl
contentType
sculpture
stage
normalized
title
Head of a Buddhist Guardian King
description
In Buddhist cosmology that originated in India, a mountain stands in the center of our world. On the middle slopes of this mountain dwell four heavenly kings, who guard the four directions. This stone head is a Chinese interpretation of one of these kings, although we cannot be certain which. He has been given a beard and mustache like those of the Central Asian traders that appear in art from China’s Tang dynasty (618–907), which helps to date the piece.
provenance
Yamanaka & Co., New York; Henry Walters, Baltimore [date of acquisition unknown], by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
7th century (Tang dynasty (618–907))
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Sculpture
sculpture (visual works)
imageCount
2
pageCount
2
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
47
height
26.5
depth
29.5
dimensionsRaw
H: 18 1/2 × W: 10 7/16 × D: 11 5/8 in. (47 × 26.5 × 29.5 cm)
Source extras
cul
Chinese
med
stone
creator_ids
6238
collection_ids
CHN
exhibition_ids
none
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
96a3e6d1921a085e
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
b3ebf43091650933
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no