Standing Boddhisattva
early 8th century, sandstone, China, Tang dynasty (618–907), Shanxi province, Tianlongshan, 34.64
Listen to visual artist Chitra Ganesh discuss this artwork.
Produced by Acoustiguide © Seattle Art Museum
Digital Reconstruction
The historical art market provided motivation to remove stone sculptures from their original environments, but scholars today are increasingly able to reconstruct the past within digital realms. For example, the Tianlongshan caves in China have been the focus of a 3D imaging project, which allowed a better understanding of the cave contexts of carvings now held in museum collections around the world. High-resolution imaging sometimes even enabled virtual “recapitations” of sculptures: the reuniting of separated heads and torsos of Buddhas and bodhisattavas.
Tianlongshan Caves Project, © University of Chicago.
Cave 18 at TIianlongshan
The exterior of cave 18, where the Seattle Art Museum sculpture was originally located.
Cave 18 exterior, Tianlongshan Caves Project, © University of Chicago.
Photos of the same cave taken in 1927 (left) and 2003 (right).
Reproduced from Li Yuqun 李裕群 and Li Gang 李钢, eds. Tianlongshan shiku 天龙山石窟 (The Tianlongshan Caves). Beijing: Kexue chubanshe, 2003. Color pl. 66.