北魏　鎏金青銅彌勒佛像|Buddha Maitreya (Mile) altarpiece

Unknown

undated，ca. 525–30 · Gilt bronze · Asian Art

Maitreya is the only divinity in Buddhism revered as both a bodhisattva and a Buddha. Slated as the next being to achieve enlightenment, he exists on the verge of Buddhahood, his bodhisattva’s vows completed and the promise of enlightenment assured. Devotion to Maitreya was widespread in China in the late fifth and sixth centuries. This complex assembly shows Maitreya emerging from a halo of flames as he descends to earth to rescue the devout.

Artist

Unknown

Date

undated，ca. 525–30

Medium

Gilt bronze

Culture

China

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1938