Buddhist stele

The front side of this stele is carved with a principal image of Shakyamuni Buddha seated in a niche, while the reverse features a principal image of the Future Buddha, Maitreya, sitting cross-legged. The Shakyamuni Buddha sits beneath a flame-ornamented canopy and is flanked by a pair of Bodhisattvas: those most human of beings in the vast pantheon of Buddhist deities who, having achieved Buddhahood, elect to remain on earth out of compassion. The figure of Maitreya sits beneath an ornately decorated canopy and is also flanked by a pair of small Bodhisattva images. Above both the principal images the stele is carved with miniature Buddhas. A dedicatory inscription on the upper right bears the now partially damaged reign date, which reads: 'chang yuan nian...'. The absence of the first character precludes a precise date, but indicates either 512, 525 or 532. Further inscriptions on all sides of the stele give the names of donors who contributed to its construction as an act of Buddhist devotion.

Art Gallery Handbook, 1999. pg.249.