Open Collections

Mahamayuri and Thousand Buddha motifs, No. 155, Beishan Rock Carvings (北山石刻)

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

This niche is located in Beishan Rock Carvings (北山石刻), Fowan (佛灣), Dazu (大足) District, Chongqing. Mahamayuri (Sanskrit: Mahāmāyūrī; Chinese: Kogque Mingwang 孔雀明王) and his vehicle, a peacock, are carved in the central pillar of the niche. The standing peacock serves as the base for the Mahamayuri statue, and its tail, decorated with a pattern of ocelli (eyespots), becomes a screen behind the statue. The four-armed Mahamayuri is seated crossed-leg on a three-layered lotus throne. He wears a large crown adorned with scroll grass patterns and a necklace of jade and pearls. The head halo is circular and trimmed with flame patterns. The upper left hand carries a volume of scriptures, while the right hand holds a pearl. The lower left hand has a round fan, and the right hand holds a lotus stem. The statue was previously covered by gold foil; however, most of it has flaked off. The central and two side walls are mainly decorated with small seated Buddha motifs. The left side of the central wall contains an empty shrine. Only a Sumeru throne remains. A smaller shrine in the upper part of the central wall with a Buddha flanked by two disciples is also depicted. The centre of each side wall also has a similar shrine. A set of inscriptions is found on the left edge of the rear screen, formed by the peacock’s tail. It indicates that the statue of Mahamayuri was finished in 1126 CE (北宋靖康元年) and donated by Fu Yuanjun (伏元俊). Source: Dazu shike yanjiuyuan 大足石刻研究院. Dazu shike quanji 大足石刻全集 [Dazu Rock Carvings] Edited by Li Fangyin 黎方銀. 10 vols. Vol. 2-1, Chongqing: Chongqing chubanshe, 2018, p. 341. Descriptions of the photos: Overview of the niche [1, 2] Signboard of the niche [3] Close-up of right side wall [4] Close-up of left side wall [5] Close-up of Mahamayuri [6,7] Close-up of the peacock [8] Metadata created by: Sau Ling Wendy Yu.

Chongqing (China)); Dazu Qu (Chongqing, China); 29.71282; 105.71016

chi; eng

Cluster 3.4: Typologies of Text-Image Relations

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0433173

Non UBC

Faculty

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