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Seated Amitābha

late 1500s–early 1600s

Medium: hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Classification: Painting
Dimensions: Overall with knobs: 236.9 x 105.7 cm (93 1/4 x 41 5/8 in.); Painting only: 130.8 x 75 cm (51 1/2 x 29 1/2 in.)
Culture: Chinese, Ming dynasty (1368-1644)
Museum: Cleveland Museum of Art, Chinese Art
Credit line: Gift of David S. Utterberg and the Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
Rights: Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it: Teens profiles and older: its museum says too little about what it shows to place it for younger viewers. How works are placed

About this work

This magnificent Buddha, called Amitābha (literally, “infinite light”) is seated on a lotus pedestal with both palms facing up over crossed legs, suggesting that it is in deep meditation. In contrast to the richly ornamented throne on which the Buddha is seated, the figure itself is devoid of any jewelry or decorative attributes, emphasizing its enlightened status and detachment from worldly affairs. The lion head in the center of the pedestal is a motif from Central Asia, which can also be seen in the halo or nimbus of Chinese Buddhist stone steles.