  
  About the Artwork
  
  
  This twice-life-size head was probably part of a colossal seated Buddha enshrined in a temple. Even as a fragment, this head projects an aura of great psychological and spiritual power. The angular face with deeply incised horizontal eyes and crescent-shaped brows are distinguishing Korean stylistic features within the international style of Buddhist art. These features combine with the soft naturalistic rendering of the nose and mouth to create a sense of transcendent yet approachable authority.
  
  
  Title
  Head of a Buddha
  
  
  Artwork Date
  mid 9th - 10th century
  
  Artist
  ----------
  
  
  
  Life Dates
  ----------
  
  
  
  
  Nationality
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events.
  Some definitions include:
  Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation.
  
  
  
  Korean
  
  
  
  Culture
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group.
  
  
  
  
  ----------
  
  
  Medium
  Cast iron
  
  
  Dimensions
  Overall: 22 1/2 &Atilde;&#151; 16 1/2 &Atilde;&#151; 15 1/2 inches (57.2 &Atilde;&#151; 41.9 &Atilde;&#151; 39.4 cm)
  
  
  Classification
  Sculpture
  
  
  Department
  Asian Art
  
  
  Credit
  Founders Society Purchase with funds from anonymous bequest, the Joseph H. Boyer Memorial Fund, Macauley Fund, K. T. Keller Fund, G. Albert Lyon Foundation Fund, L. A. Young Fund, funds from anonymous donor, Michigan Bell an Ameritech Company, Dr. and Mrs. Chan Kee Park, Simeon H. Stoddard, Mrs. Charles M. Endicott, anonymous donor, Lee and Tina Hills, Dr. and Mrs. Kyung Soo Kim, Dr. and Mrs. Byung Soon Lee, Detroit Edison Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Souris, Mr. and Mrs. Karel Bass, the Mr. and Mrs. Walter Buhl Ford II Fund, Dr. and Mrs. John Balian, Mr. and Mrs. Phillip L. Bittker, Gerald W. Chamberlin Foundation, Inc., Hilda R. Ettenheimer, Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Feldman, Thomas G. Jordan, Mr. and Mrs. Alan M. Kiriluk, Larson Family Foundation, Dr. and Mrs. Kyung Woong Moon, Mr. and Mrs. Morton L. Scholnick, Alan and Marianne Schwartz, The Stroh Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Robert S. Taubman, Mrs. Charles C. Andrews, Mrs. George M. Endicott, Howard and Marion Gifford, Dr. and Mrs. Reginald Harnett, Dr. and Mrs. Kim K. Lie, Hon. and Mrs. Joseph M. Impastato, Mr. and Mrs. Peter W. Stroh, and other contributors
  
  
  
  Accession Number
  
  
  
  This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection.
  Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum&acirc;&#128;&#153;s holdings.
  For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems&acirc;&#128;&#148;no longer assigned&acirc;&#128;&#148;that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  1988.1
  
  
  Copyright
  Public Domain
  
  
  
