Three Honored Buddhas Stele,

525 (stone); late 19th to first half of 20th century (rubbing)

Three Honored Buddhas Stele

525 (stone); late 19th to first half of 20th century (rubbing)

Jia Zhiyuan 賈智淵 , donor, carving agent
Zhang Baozhu 張寶珠 , donor, carving agent

Hanging scroll; ink rubbing on paper

225 x 140.5 cm. (88 9/16 x 55 5/16 in.)

Gift of George Rowley

y1957-199

Asia, China

[many characters are unclear on the rubbing and have been reconstructed below following: Anon., 贾智渊妻张宝珠造像记 on the website 佛教导航 (2009年07月03日) http://www.fjdh.cn/wumin/2009/07/06385185649.html ]. 大魏正光六年歲次 乙巳四月乙亥朔十九日 癸巳清信士佛弟子賈 智淵妻張寶珠等並 為七世父母歷劫諸師兄 弟姊妹所親眷属香火 同邑常興佛會願令一 切衆生普同斯福願弟 子等生生世世值佛聞法 永離衆苦乃至成佛 心无退轉 Draft translation: The guisi 19th day, 4th month the first day of which was yihai, in the 6th year [525] of the Great Wei dynasty Zhengguang reign when Jupiter was positioned in the yisi station. Devotees and disciples of the Buddha, Jia Zhiyuan, his wife Zhang Baozhu and others made this for the seven generations of their parents [i.e., ancestors], which in the course of a kalpa included numerous brothers and sisters of family relatives to be included in the ancestral sacrifices. . .

Stele with relief carvings of the Three Honored Buddhas (Sanzun fo 三尊佛) that is sometimes called “Jia Zhiyuan and Wife Zhang Baozhu’s Buddha Image” (Jia Zhiyuan qi Zhang Baozhu zaoxiang賈智淵妻張寶珠造像). Carved in high relief standing on a lotus base is a central buddha flanked by two bodhisattvas with halos around their heads. In between, in low relief, are two donor figures each turned to face the center. Each donor holds a closed lotus blossom. Behind the central buddha is a large leaf- or boat-shaped nimbus with nine small buddhas. At the apex is a descending dragon. Outside the nimbus are eleven flying apsaras with musical instruments. There are calligraphic cartouches above each donor figure, and the donors’ 525 inscription dedicated to their parents and ancestors is engraved on the base. This is a composite or collage rubbing (quanxing ta 全形拓) of a back-screen style (beiping shi 背屏式) stele with a triangular top. The stone was unearthed in 1918 at Yidu 益都 in Shandong province and entered the collection of the Shandong Provincial Museum in 1953. The back and sides (PUAM y1957-190 a-b) of the stele are carved with rows of small buddhas.

Chinese

Six Dynasties

rubbings

figures (representations), religious art, Buddhism