"The bodhisattva motif is a popular one in East Asian art and represents an enlightened being who has deferred their entrance into nirvana to instead guide others toward redemption and deliverance. The bodhisattva form is often identifiable through its opulent adornment and serene and contemplative posture, frequently shown with a hand touching their temple as a sign of meditation."
"Rather than restore the work in a traditional manner, Wang and Ten X approached the project as an opportunity for radical reimagining. Wang commissioned two marble sculptures based on the AIC Bodhisattva, with each displaying a different possibility for the missing arm and hand."
"It remains one of my favorite works of Chinese art. Not only because of its extraordinary rarity (it is the only surviving limestone example of a meditating Bodhisattva in this particular pose, with the upper tors"
The Art Institute of Chicago houses a significant Tang dynasty Bodhisattva sculpture dated to 725-750 C.E., representing an enlightened being who defers nirvana to guide others toward redemption. Bodhisattvas are typically identifiable by opulent adornment and contemplative postures, often with a hand touching the temple in meditation. The AIC's Bodhisattva has a missing left arm below the elbow, creating interpretive ambiguity. Curator Wang commissioned Ten X, a Tuscan sculpting studio, to create two marble sculptures based on the original, each depicting a different possibility for the missing arm. Rather than traditional restoration, this collaborative project represents radical reimagining of the artwork's incomplete form.
Read at Artnet News
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