The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

The New-born Buddha

400s CE

China, Northern Wei dynasty

(386-534)
gilt bronze with inlays of blue glass and turquoise
Overall: 19.4 cm (7 5/8 in.); Diameter of base: 6.8 cm (2 11/16 in.); Base: 3.1 cm (1 1/4 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1955.46
Location: 241C Chinese Buddhist Sculptures

Did You Know?

The tang on the back of the Buddha's head shows that it originally had a halo.

Description

This image of the newborn Buddha is rare and unusual. The common type represents him taking seven steps while proclaiming "I am supreme in the Universe." Here, he is represented as being bathed by the nine Nagas, with both hands down.
  • ?–1955
    (Walter Hochstadter [1914–2007], New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1955–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Lee, Sherman E. “The Golden Image of the New-Born Buddha.” Artibus Asiae 18, no. 3/4 (1955): 225–237. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 225–237, figs. 1–3 doi.org
    Lee, Sherman. "The New-Born Buddha." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 43, no. 9 (November 1956): 202–204. Reproduced: p. 202; Mentioned: p. 203 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 814 archive.org
  • Asian Autumn: New Objects/New Insights: Cleveland's Recent Chinese Acquisitions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 18-December 31, 1994).
    Asia and the West. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA (organizer) (October 28-December 1, 1957).
    Asia and the West. San Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco, CA (October 28-December 1, 1957).
  • {{cite web|title=The New-born Buddha|url=false|author=|year=400s CE|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1955.46