The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 22, 2025

Seated Buddha

600s

China, Tang dynasty

(618-907)
gilt bronze
Overall: 13.3 x 6.9 cm (5 1/4 x 2 11/16 in.); Figure: 9.9 cm (3 7/8 in.)
Gift of Mrs. John Lyon Collyer in memory of her mother, Mrs. G. M. G. Forman 1961.18
Location: 241C Chinese Buddhist Sculptures

Description

Portable Buddhist figures and objects like this gilt bronze had a variety of uses. They could have been carried in religious processions. Others could serve as donations, souvenirs, or votive items in the context of pilgrimages to religious sites. Their miniature size also made them appropriate for placement on private altars or shrines for personal devotion.
  • ?–1961
    Mrs. John Lyon [Georgia Forman Elliott] Collyer [1898–1994], given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1961–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Lee, Sherman E. “Year in Review 1961.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 48, no. 9 (1961): 219–251. Mentioned: no. 46, p. 249; Reproduced: no. 46, p. 242 www.jstor.org
    Sun, Di 孙迪, editor. Zhongguo liu shi hai wai Fo jiao zao xiang zong he tu mu [中国流失海外佛教造像总合图目= Comprehensive Illustrated Catalogue of Chinese Buddhist Statues in Overseas Collections]. Beijing: Wai wen chu ban she, 2005. vol. 4, p. 873
    von Spee, Clarissa. “China through the Magnifying Glass: Miniature and small objects in detail.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine vol. 62, no. 4 (December 2022): 14-16. Reproduced: P. 15; Mentioned: P. 14.
  • China through the Magnifying Glass: Masterpieces in Miniature and Detail. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 11, 2022-February 26, 2023).
    Korea: Bridge of Culture. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Department of Art History and Education, Cleveland, OH (June 10-August 10, 1980).
    Year in Review (1961). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 1-26, 1961).
  • {{cite web|title=Seated Buddha|url=false|author=|year=600s|access-date=22 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1961.18