Colonna Venus, 138 - 161 AD, Roman, copy of Praxiteles' Aphrodite of Knidos, Collection of the Vatican Museums.
Buddha, Tang dynasty (A.D. 618–907), China, Collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Eternity—Aphrodite of Knidos, Tang Dynasty Sitting Buddha, 2021
Bronze
139 3/4 x 35 7/8 x 35 7/8 in
355 x 91 x 91 cm
355 x 91 x 91 cm
Edition of 3
$ 300,000.00
Further images
The Eternity sculptures fuse facsimiles of Hellenistic and Buddhist statuary into three-dimensional exquisite corpses, which become hybrids of transcontinental histories. The result is a deftly composed work that carries the...
The Eternity sculptures fuse facsimiles of Hellenistic and Buddhist statuary into three-dimensional exquisite corpses, which become hybrids of transcontinental histories. The result is a deftly composed work that carries the archaeological weight of history, and yet is a sly statement about global similarities and differences. Eternity allows the sacred and the profane to exist in the same space.
Eternity - Aphrodite of Knidos, Tang Dynasty Sitting Buddha combines one of the most famous statues of Western antiquity with a Buddhist devotional sculpture, creating a visually arresting composite.
The work references Aphrodite of Knidos (350 BC), the most famous of Praxiteles’ works, and perhaps one of the most famous sculptures of Classical Greece. The sculpture is the first monumental female nude in classical sculpture. Though the work is no longer extant, numerous Roman copies exist today in important historical collections, including the Vatican's Colonna Venus, which is regarded as the most faithful to Praxiteles.
The seated Buddha (618-907 AD) was created as a devotion to the celestial Buddha Amitabha (amituo fo) stresses the impossibility of achieving enlightenment during a life lived under less-than-ideal circumstances and promotes the desire for rebirth in Sukhavati, a pure land or way station in which conditions are conducive to the quest for advanced understanding. This Buddha was identified by the position of the arms, which suggests that the missing hands were in a gesture of meditation.
Eternity - Aphrodite of Knidos, Tang Dynasty Sitting Buddha combines one of the most famous statues of Western antiquity with a Buddhist devotional sculpture, creating a visually arresting composite.
The work references Aphrodite of Knidos (350 BC), the most famous of Praxiteles’ works, and perhaps one of the most famous sculptures of Classical Greece. The sculpture is the first monumental female nude in classical sculpture. Though the work is no longer extant, numerous Roman copies exist today in important historical collections, including the Vatican's Colonna Venus, which is regarded as the most faithful to Praxiteles.
The seated Buddha (618-907 AD) was created as a devotion to the celestial Buddha Amitabha (amituo fo) stresses the impossibility of achieving enlightenment during a life lived under less-than-ideal circumstances and promotes the desire for rebirth in Sukhavati, a pure land or way station in which conditions are conducive to the quest for advanced understanding. This Buddha was identified by the position of the arms, which suggests that the missing hands were in a gesture of meditation.