March 2008 - October 2008
The historical Buddha was born a prince in an ancient Indian kingdom in the sixth century BCE. At the age of twenty-nine, Prince Siddhartha Gautama rejected his royal lifestyle to pursue an understanding of the true nature of life. After years of asceticism and meditation, he attained enlightenment and became known as the Buddha, the "Awakened One." The Buddha spent the remaining forty-five years of his life traveling throughout India as a spiritual teacher instructing adherents in the principles of the underlying order of nature and life.
Buddhist images are not created as mere decorative sculptures; nor are they purported to be historically accurate representations of t"he Buddha. The first depiction of the Buddha in human form did not appear until the first century BCE, nearly five hundred years after his death. Buddhist imagery is intended to serve as a reminder of the Buddha's teachings. The images reflect the different regions and periods in which they were created. Poses, gestures, facial and body features, and levels of ornamentation vary greatly. They all, however, depict the Buddhist doctrine in human form.
Buddhist imagery is created in four primary positions—sitting, standing, walking, and reclining. Specifically prescribed poses and hand gestures recall historic events in the life of the Buddha. The most common gesture depicts the Buddha calling the earth to witness. This episode illustrates one of the central tenets of Buddhism, achieving enlightenment through the renunciation of worldly desires.
Buddhism was introduced to Southeast Asia through the coastal cities and along trade routes beginning in the second century CE. Despite the intentions of artists to conform to canonical rules governing their creation, Buddhist imagery reflected each host culture. Powerful empires, such as the Khmer, whose rule extended throughout most of Southeast Asia from the tenth to the thirteenth centuries, and successive kingdoms in Thailand, Laos, and Burma, produced distinctive and influential styles that contributed to the diverse range of Buddhist imagery through the twentieth century. The Buddhist images on exhibition are from the collection of Karsten Tietz.
Photography is not permitted.
Technical assistance provided by
the Corporation of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
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