Beschreibung:

A RARE FOUR-SIDED STONE BUDDHIST STELE TANG DYNASTY (AD 618-907) One side is carved with Buddha Shakyamuni seated on a lotus throne within a niche, with his right hand raised in abhaya mudra and his head backed by a nimbus. He is flanked by his two disciples, Ananda and Kashyapa, as well as a pair of bodhisattvas and dvarapalas. Below the Buddha crouches a dwarf and a pair of lions, and below that there is a band of seated Buddhas. Set above the lintel of the niche is a stupa with a reliquary vase at center flanked by a pair of apsaras flying with streaming ribbons. The reverse is carved with Maitreya Buddha at the center, his feet resting on diminutive lotus blossoms, flanked by devotees and bodhisattvas, with lions below, all set within a niche below the canopy of a large Bodhi Tree. The narrow sides are carved with seated Buddhas within niches. All four sides are carved with inscriptions, including parts of the Heart Sutra, names of donors and a portion of a date possibly corresponding to the Xianheng reign (AD 670-674) of the Gaozong Emperor of the Tang dynasty. 26 1⁄4 in. (66.8 cm.) high, wood stand, Japanese wood box