- Title
- Pensive Bodhisattva
- Date Made
- circa 200-300
- Medium
- Gray schist
- Dimensions
- 22 x 11 x 6 1/4 in. (55.88 x 27.94 x 15.88 cm)
- Accession Number
- AC1994.8.1
- Collecting Area
- South and Southeast Asian Art
- Curatorial Notes
Images of a pensive bodhisattva first appear in the 2nd-3rd century during the Kushan Dynasty (1st-3rd century) in ancient Gandhara (an important nexus of the Silk Routes and the transmission of Buddhism in present-day northwestern Pakistan and northeastern Afghanistan).
The bodhisattva is represented with his right hand raised to the temple of his head that is tilted to the side in deep contemplation. He is seated on a wicker stool with his left leg pendant and the right leg raised to a horizontal position so that his foot rests on the opposite knee. He holds a lotus bud in his left hand. His dhoti and shawl worn around his shoulders are depicted with heavy drapery folds derived from Greco-Roman clothing conventions. He is nimbate and wears a turban with an indeterminate crest. See also M.85.9.
Gandharan sculptures of a pensive bodhisattva portray Prince Siddhartha Gautama in his First Meditation on the causes of life’s suffering before he achieved enlightenment and became the historical Buddha Shakyamuni (traditionally dated to 563–483 BCE). Images of a pensive bodhisattva spread to China by the 5th century, and by the 6th century to Korea and Japan where they are typically identified as the future Buddha, Maitreya. For example, see a Korean pensive bodhisattva attributed to the late 6th-century in the National Museum of Korea, Seoul (Bongwan 2789).
