AN UNUSUAL PAIR OF GRAY STONE FIGURES OF ANANDA AND KASYAPA

TANG DYNASTY

Details

AN UNUSUAL PAIR OF GRAY STONE FIGURES OF ANANDA AND KASYAPA
Tang Dynasty
Each shown standing on a waisted lotus-carved pedestal with head slightly inclined forward, Ananda wearing priest's robes gathered at his left shoulder and falling to the tops of his shoes, his right hand resting at his waist atop the left hand hidden within its sleeve, Kasyapa shown with his hands held together in a gesture of adoration, wearing layered robes exposing his bony chest, his feet bare and his face carved with creases denoting age
15 and 15in. (39.4 and 38.7cm.) high (2)

Lot Essay

Ananda and Kasyapa were followers of Buddha. Ananda is usually depicted as a young man and Kasyapa as an old man, as they are here. Ananda was supposedly Buddha's youngest disciple, born on the night Buddha attained enlightenment and Kasyapa was supposedly the oldest

Compare the larger, sandstone figures of Ananda and Kasyapa, dated to the Tang dynasty and included in the exhibition, The Beauty of Ancient Chinese Sculptures, Giter and Li Yin, Taipei, December 1995, Catalogue, no. 11