Standing Bodhisattva

This sculpture of a bodhisattva, an enlightened being who delays entry into nirvana to guide others toward salvation, was likely part of a triad flanking a central Buddha. The figure stands on a base that originally supported sculptures of the historical Buddha, known as Shakyamuni. During the Northern Zhou dynasty’s suppression of Buddhism in 574, many religious images were damaged, which may explain the altered state of the base. At a later date, this bodhisattva was installed on it. By the early 1900s, the sculpture entered the museum’s collection as an important early example of Chinese Buddhist art.