Shakyamuni as an Ascetic (early 1300s): Art, History and Details

Shakyamuni as an Ascetic (early 1300s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

This statue is of monumental scale and exceptionally fine workmanship. A work of this size and quality was likely to have been made in the official workshops under imperial auspices. The image of the ascetic Shakyamuni (the historical Buddha) is both powerful and immediate. Shakyamuni is portrayed in a state of contemplative meditation with closed eyes and an inward smile. He leans forward, head and hands resting on an upraised knee. The representation speaks eloquently of his withdrawal from the world to attain self-realization. It recalls another famous iconic image in the Cleveland collection depicting Shakyamuni descending from the mountains after enlightenment, CMA 1970.2.

Object facts

• Title: Shakyamuni as an Ascetic
• Date: early 1300s
• Culture: China, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368)
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: gilt bronze with polychromy
• Dimensions: Overall: 44.2 x 31.8 cm (17 3/8 x 12 1/2 in.)
• Collection: China - Yuan Dynasty
• Department: Chinese Art
• Accession number: 1966.116

A detail from the museum

Although the historical Buddha is here portrayed during a time of spiritual discipline and abstention from earthly pleasures, his robe has a sumptuous, elaborately decorated border.

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• “Art of Asia Recently Acquired by American Museums, 1966.” Archives of Asian Art 21 (1967): 75–103.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
• Lee, Sherman E. “Golden Anniversary Acquisitions: September 10 through October 16.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 53, no. 7 (September 1966): 181–285.

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.