Object Image

北齊 北響堂山中窟 彩繪石雕菩薩頭像(石灰岩)

This head once belonged to a towering bodhisattva who presided over the entrance to the Central Cave at Northern Xiangtangshan. This site, which consists of only three cave temples with colossal figural sculptures, was once strategically located on the route between the capital at Ye and Jinyang, in Shanxi province. At the beginning of the Northern Qi period, it may have been a place for meditation or other Buddhist activities.

Credit: Gift of C. T. Loo, 1951

c. 565-75
Limestone with pigment
81.3in
51.52
Image and text © Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2019

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Permanent collection