A LIMESTONE 'LONGMEN' PAINTED POLYCHROME RELIEF FRAGMENT OF A BODHISATTVA AND DONORS TANG DYNASTY

of rectangular section, the greyish stone with remains of red and pale green pigments, carved in high relief with a bodhisattva in the corner and three kneeling donors in low relief, the divinity standing elegantly on a lotus pedestal within a recessed alcove, his hips slightly thrust to the left in a gentle sway, dressed in long flowing robes draped from the shoulder and intersecting in knots at the waist before looping over the thighs, his right arm pendent grasping a yue axe, the left hand raised against his chest holding a lotus bud, his face detailed with bow-shaped eyes and bud lips set in a serene expression, framed by pendulous earlobes with earrings and a pointed halo, the first female donor with hair tied up in an elaborate chignon holding a long-handled censer, the two others wearing headdresses and each holding a lotus flower, all three kneeling and dressed in flowing red and pale green robes, all below a rectangular cartouche incised with a dedicatory inscription by five female upāsikā (Buddhist attendants) Wang Xiang, Zhao Jian, Chen Xiaohu, Wang Wenling and Wang Abu, wood stand

Acquired between the 1950s and 60s.

This is a wall fragment in its expected fragmentary condition with truncated rear and sides as visible on the photo. There is some overall wear and pitting to the surface in keeping with age. There is otherwise no apparent recent damages or restorations. The wood stand is in good condition.
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The inscription can be translated:
Dedicated by upāsikā [Buddhist attendants] Wang Xiang and handmaid [?] Zhao Jian; Dedicated by upāsikā Chen Xiaohu; Dedicated by upāsikā Wang Wenling and younger sister Abu.

Stone panels of this type were often part of the cave temple decoration, made to record the pious deeds of the donors who commissioned the Buddhist sculptures. Attributes such as the lotus flower held in the hand of one the women depicted here identifies her as an upāsikā or ‘laywomen’. Upāsikā were female attendants who recited the three refuges (trisarana) and accepted the five precepts (panca-sila), similar to their male counterpart, the upāsikā, in order to become lay Buddhists. The clothing, hairstyles and headdresses of the three upāsikā shown here reflect contemporary fashion and accurately portray the styles of the time as opposed to the idealized versions worn by the deities.

See a stone Buddhist benediction panel carved in a closely related style to the present example, in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, illustrated in Giuseppe Eskenazi and Hajni Elias, A Dealer’s Hand. The Chinese Art World through the Eyes of Giuseppe Eskenazi, London, 2012, pl. 124, together with two further stone panels depicting male and female musicians, similarly attributed to the Tang dynasty, pls. 117-8. Compare also a relief carving depicting a group of donors (gongyang ren) shown in situ from the southern walls of the Longmen cave temples illustrated in Longmen shiku[Longmen grottoes], Beijing, 1980, pl. 136; and another stone relief carving of donors depicted in situ from the Laolongtong at Longmen, published in Zhongguo meishu quanji, vol. 11, Shanghai, 1988, pl. 131.