Open Collections

Complex of six niches, Qianfo zhai (千佛寨)

From the Ground Up: Buddhism & East Asian Religions (FROGBEAR Project)

Complex of six niches located in Qianfo zhai 千佛寨, Anyue xian 安岳縣, Sichuan sheng 四川省. Niche A depicts a Buddha-like figure sitting in the middle along with four relatively small figures endowed with halos. Two guardian-like figure can also be seen on each side of the niche. Above the four side figures, are some smaller figures, most likley the Eight Legions (Ch. Babuzhong 八部眾). Niche B diplays a similar scene to niche A. Niche C, given its low position close to the ground, has been subjected to severe weathering and it is now difficult to determine how many figures were originally carved there, aside from a Buddha-like relief in the middle and a guardian-like relief to the right. In Niche D a standing figure can be seen in the middle with a Keyura-like decoration (Ch. Yingluo 璎珞) on its chest. Its head has been removed, hence its identity is unknown. Niches C, D, E and F are in a position close to the ground, so they are not as well preserved as those on the upper layer, like niche A or B. Niche E also has been severely damaged. The three standing figures there are of unknown identity, given the absences of their heads. Niche F depicts a similar scene to niche A and B. There is a seated figure in the center (most likely the Buddha) and two figures with halos to its left. Although this niche is heavily weathered, a seated figure can be seen in the center (most likely the Buddha) along with two figures with halos to its left. A group of smaller figures, most likely the Eight Legions (Ch. Babuzhong 八部眾) surround them in the background. The photographs show: An overview of the six niches. Two niches are at the top and four are at the bottom [1] [2].Upper layer (from the left to the right): Niche A, B. Lower layer (from the left to the right): Niche C, D, E, F. An overview of the niche B [3]. An overview of the niche E and side-view of niche D [4]. A close-up of the niche E [5]. An overview of a rectangular relief with three figures in the wall separating the niche D and niche E. close-up of the niche E [6] [7]. An overview of the niche F [8]. An overview of a niche at the back of the niche B, which is not included in the group of six niches (A, B, C, D, E, F) [9]. Metadata created by: Xixi Jia.

Sichuans Sheng (China); Anyue Xian (China); Qianfo zhai (China); 30.10410438; 105.3119316

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Cluster 3.4: Typologies of Text-Image Relations

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0428624

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