Buddha

Art Historical Context

This serene depiction of the Buddha, to around the 6th–7th century, hails from the Kizil kingdom in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous. Created by an unknown artist using pigments on mud plaster—a typical of ancient cave temple murals—this small panel (12 3/4 x 9 3/8 in.) captures the enlightened figure in a meditative pose, embodying the spiritual essence of Buddhism along the Silk Road trade routes. Acquired by The Metropolitan Museum of Art through Fletcher Fund in 195, it offers a rare glimpse into early Central Asian devotional art. The Kizil Caves, from which such fragments often origin...