Artwork Page for Ascetic Holding a Skull

Details / Information for Ascetic Holding a Skull

Ascetic Holding a Skull

c. 500 CE

China, Northern Wei dynasty

(386-534)
Medium
gilt bronze
Measurements
Overall: 19.4 cm (7 5/8 in.); Figure: 18.1 cm (7 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 1980.25
Public Domain
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Location
241C Chinese Buddhist Sculptures
Print
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Did You Know?

This grimacing figure has a potbelly protruding between the hem of his short jacket and fringed skirt (dhoti).

Description

The figure holding the skull has been identified as Mrgasirsa, who sought Buddha’s teaching on how to determine the karma and transmigration of the arhats. Mrgasirsa appears with Vasistha in some of the wall paintings of the Mogao grottoes in Dunhuang.
A gilt bronze sculpture depicts a standing figure with pointed ears and dark hair gathered in a bun leaning to one side. He holds his raised left hand open to reveal a small skull, while resting his right hand near his chest. He wears a short, fringed skirt below a rounded belly. Flakes of the gilding have worn away to reveal the dark bronze underneath, particularly across his torso and limbs.

Ascetic Holding a Skull

c. 500 CE

China, Northern Wei dynasty (386-534)

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