A grey limestone figure of Buddha, seated on a stone pedestal with both legs pendant in a position known as the pralamba-padasana. The left hand rests on his knee palm facing down. The body is clad in a diaphanous monk's robe (sanghati) with cascading crisp folds, covering both shoulders but partially exposing the chest. The concentric sharp pleats fall over his lap, the shape of the legs and knees clearly visible beneath the cloth. The neck has several folds of skin, which is similar to that of other sculptures from this period. He sits on a square plinth, with the robes hanging over the edge. The head, right hand and lower legs are now missing.
During the Northern Qi and Tang Dynasties there was much religious strife between Buddhism -which had gradually entered China from India – sometimes conflicting with the existing ancient Confucian and Daoist beliefs. This lead to several waves of dismantling and destruction of religious monasteries, temples and complexes. Buddhist sculptures would be removed or sometimes damaged and buried in pits nearby. This explains why this type of early religious sculpture is not always complete.
