Portable Buddhist Temple
Unknown Artist
900s
Medium
Kaolin with traces of pigment
Dimensions
28 × 9 × 9 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
1971.167
About this artwork
The large niches on each side contain scenes from the life of the Buddha. The first features his mother Maya after his miraculous birth. The second and fourth depict his triumph over the forces of evil that attempted to frighten and seduce him away from the path to enlightenment. The third scene takes place after he has established a monastic following and depicts his wife bringing their son to meet him. Kaolinite is a compacted mineral that approximates ivory in its ability to be carved with fi...