At the time when this pedestal was dedicated the capital of the northern empire, known as Wei, was at Loh-yang, in northern Ho-nan, while at Nan-king, the southern capital, ruled the great Liang Wu-ti, founder of the short lived but brilliant dynasty of Liang (A.D. China at that time, as has so often been the case, was divided into a northern empire ruled by Tartar invaders, and a southern portion under the sway of native Chinese emperors, the dividing line being roughly the watershed between the Yangtse and the Yellow Rivers.

We read that this monument was dedicated by a certain Tsao WГЄnhsi, governor of Wei Hsien (the modern TвЂ™ai-ming Fu), in the sixth year of the period Cheng Kuan (A.D. 194), inasmuch as the date which it bears will enable us to fix the place of the monument in the history of Chinese art.

In studying the different faces it will perhaps be best to begin with the inscription (Fig. In the top is a deep socket which formerly supported a statue of MДЃitrД“ya, the вЂњBuddha who is to come.вЂќ Of the four faces of the square basal portion one bears a dated inscription, while the other three are decorated with very low and flat reliefs recalling somewhat in their technique the well-known grave sculptures of the Latter Han dynasty (A.D. inches by 23Вѕ inches, with a height of 10Вѕ inches, is surmounted by an inverted ten petaled lotus thalamus 24 inches in diameter, the total height being 20 inches. In many ways it is one of the most remarkable examples of early Chinese sculpture which have survived to our day. The earlier of the two pedestals under discussion was found in the province of Chihli, the same in which Peking stands, and early in the Kuang Hsu period (1875-1908) was included in the famous Ching collection. Dated inscription on reverse of sixth century Buddhist pedestal (No. We can infer from literary allusions that the frescoes of the time were of a high order of merit but unfortunately they have perished with the temples and palaces whose walls they adorned, and but for the few reliefs on stone which have come down to us we should be quite unable to form any adequate conception of a most important and interesting phase in the artistic development of the Far East. It is this fact that confers upon these two pedestals one of their chief claims to importance.

The practice which grew up in China during the early centuries of our era of carving scenes of various sorts upon slabs of stone was undoubtedly inspired by the mural painting of the day. Among European authorities who have thought them worthy of particular notice have been Bushell 1 and Chavannes, 2 while in China itself rubbings of the designs covering their sides are in the hands of every collector. Few examples of early Chinese sculpture are more widely known than are the two Buddhist pedestals recently acquired by the University Museum.

Empire of the petal throne ssu images