Standing Bodhisattva

CultureChinese

DateJin dynasty (1115-1234)

MediumWood with polychrome and gilding

DimensionsOverall: 75 inches (190.5 cm)

Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust

Object number51-42

On View

On view

Gallery Location

Collections

East Asian Art

Terms

Exhibition History

Man and His World, Expo '67 (at the Fine Arts Gallery in Montreal), National Gallery of Canada, April 28-October 27, 1967.

Gallery Label

This figure is among the best in quality and preservation to have survived from the Jin Dynasty. The image is full-bodied yet imbued with a sense of stately movement effected by the flowing garments and twisting scarves that eddy around the figure. The deep carving and high relief drapery produce a dramatic effect of shadow and highlight, which, combined with the rich polychrome palette, result in a figure that is magnificent yet gentle, humanized and immediately appealing.

A tightly folded manuscript found in a sealed cavity in the back records that this image was repaired and repainted in 1348. The names of the artisans and donors are listed, and the name of the temple given as Meditation (Hall) of the Great Cloud Monastery.

Provenance

Alvin Gregory;

Purchased from Alvin Gregory by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1951.

Published References

Archives of the Chinese Art Society of America, vol. VI (New York: China Institute in America, 1952), 70, fig. 21 (repro.).

Laurence Sickman, Alexander Soper, The Art and Architecture of China (Baltimore: Penguin Book, 1956, 1960, 1968, 1971), pl. 78: paperback ed., 194 (repro.).

Dietrich Seckel, Buddhistische Kunst Ostasiens (Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer, 1957), fig. 66 (repro.).

Ross E. Taggart, ed., Handbook of the Collections in the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 4th ed. (Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 1959), 190 (repro.).

Encyclopedia of World Art (Rome and New York, 1960), pl. 272 (repro.).

Capolavori nei secoli, no. 29 (Mailano: June 9, 1962), 78 (repro.).

Die Weltkunst, vol. 37, no. 13, (München: "Kunst u. Technik" Verlags-GmbH, January-June 1967), 631 (repro.).

“Terre des hommes : exposition internationale des beaux-arts, 28 avril-27 octobre 1967 = man and his world, international fine arts exhibition, Expo 67, Montreal, Canada, 28 April-27 October 1967,” In Montreal: Catalog of the Universal and International Exhibition of 1967, exh. cat. (Montréal, Québec: March 15- June 24, 1967), 362 (repro.).

Saturday Review (May 27, 1967), 46 (repro.).

Ross E. Taggart, George L. McKenna, and Marc F. Wilson, eds., Handbook of the Collections in The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, Kansas City, Missouri, vol. II, Art of the Orient. (Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 1973), 41 (repro.).

Apollo, special issue for the Asian art collection in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Vol. XCVII, no. 133 (March 1973), 39, pl. 12 (repro.).

William Watson, L'art de l'ancienne Chine (Paris : Éditions d'art Lucien Mazenod, 1979), 1979, 207, pl. 98 (repro.).

Ellen R. Goheen, The Collections of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1988), 170, no. 92 (repro.).

Roger Ward and Patricia J. Fidler, eds., The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collection (New York: Hudson Hills Press, in association with Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 1993), 311 (repro.).

Deborah Emont Scott, ed., The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collection, 7th ed. (Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2008), 346, pl. 195 (repro.).

Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.