Maitreya Buddha (Tang dynasty (618–906), dated 705): Artwork and History

Maitreya Buddha (Tang dynasty (618–906), dated 705) is in the Art Institute of Chicago collection. The museum lists its creator attribution as Shaanxi or Henan provinces, China.

The work and its context

The Art Institute of Chicago describes the work:

The depiction of the enthroned Buddha incorporates several key elements of Buddhist iconography. The posture, with both legs down and the feet firmly planted on the ground—known in Sanskrit as the bhadrasana or “auspicious pose”—originated in Northwest India. This pose was widely used across the Indian subcontinent and beyond to depict Hindu and Buddhist deities associated with royalty and fertility. The Buddha is clearly identified here by a dated inscription as Mile, a transliterated name for Maitreya, the future Buddha who is destined to descend from Tushita Heaven to bring enlightenment to the world. His majestic seated posture may symbolize Maitreya’s future reign from Mount Meru, the cosmic axis, and his imminent descent to the earthly realm, ready to fulfill the hopes and prayers of the faithful.

Object facts

• Title: Maitreya Buddha
• Date: Tang dynasty (618–906), dated 705
• Artist attribution: Shaanxi or Henan provinces, China
• Place of origin: China
• Medium: Limestone
• Dimensions: 82.3 × 33 × 30.2 cm (32 7/16 × 12 15/16 × 11 15/16 in.)
• Type: Sculpture
• Department: Arts of Asia
• Reference number: 1924.115

Collection credit

Gift of Alice Getty

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The description above is credited to the Art Institute of Chicago and reused under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0; HTML formatting has been converted to plain text. Other catalogue metadata and the public-domain image are provided under CC0 1.0.