Bodhisattva (700s): Art, History and Details

Bodhisattva (700s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

The bodhisattva, an enlightened being dedicated to the spiritual awakening of all beings, is shown sitting in a relaxed pose, the eyes half-closed in an expression of profound meditation. The statue is modeled in a sensuous manner. It is made using the dry lacquer technique whereby a clay core is first constructed and then overlaid with fabrics saturated with lacquer. Once the lacquer layers are set, the core is removed. This kind of hollow dry lacquer statue is lightweight and easy to carry. The piece once suffered from severe surface retouching that distorted its original beauty. The museum's conservation work has removed coats of overpainting and over-restoration, revealing the true appearance of the glossy black lacquered surface with traces of cut-gold decoration and pigments.

Object facts

• Title: Bodhisattva
• Date: 700s
• Culture: China, Tang dynasty (618-907)
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: dry lacquer
• Dimensions: Overall: 44 x 37 cm (17 5/16 x 14 9/16 in.)
• Collection: China - Tang Dynasty
• Department: Chinese Art
• Accession number: 1983.86

A detail from the museum

While lacquer is tough and impervious to insects, it is less durable than wooden or stone sculptures, so this is a rare surviving Tang example.

Collection credit

Given in memory of Howard Parmelee Eells Jr. by his wife, Adele Chisholm Eells

Further reading listed by the museum

• Fischer, Otto. "Chinesische Lacksculptur." Ostasiatische Zeitschrift, IX (1933), 75–77.
• Gray, Basil. Catalogue of an Exhibition of the Arts of the Sung Dynasty. London: Arts Council of Great Britain and the Oriental Ceramic Society, 1960.
• Ayers, John G. The Mount Trust Collection of Chinese Art. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1970.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.