Buddha with Two Disciples
Unknown Artist
ca. 6th–7th century
Medium
Pigments on mud plaster
Dimensions
9 1/8 x 10 1/2 in. (23.2 x 26.7 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Culture & Period
China (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region) · Kizil kingdom
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Fletcher Fund, 1951
Accession Number
51.94.7
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate fragment, *Buddha with Two Disciples is a rare surviving example of early Buddhist wall painting from theizil kingdom in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous, dating to around the 6th–7th. Created by an unknown artist using pigments on mud plaster, it measures just 9 1/8 x 10 1/2 inches, likely originating from the vibrant murals adorning the cave temples of Kizilkey Buddhist sites along the ancient Silk Road. The serene central figure of the Buddha, flanked by his devoted disciples, embodies the spiritual harmony central to Mahayana Buddhism as it flourished in Central Asia. The ...