Frontal from the base of a funerary couch with Sogdian musicians and dancers and Buddhist divinities, Northern Qi dynasty, Period of Division, Northern Qi dynasty, 550–577, Grey marble with traces of pigment, China, Henan province, probably Ce xian, 60.3 high x 234 x 23.5 cm (Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC: Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1915.110)
This stone slab is the front of a funerary platform that supported a coffin in a tomb. It is carved from a single piece of stone.
Detail of the incense burner topped by a bird. Frontal from the base of a funerary couch with Sogdian musicians and dancers and Buddhist divinities (detail), Northern Qi dynasty, Period of Division, Northern Qi dynasty, 550–577, Grey marble with traces of pigment, China, Henan province, probably Ce xian, 60.3 high x 234 x 23.5 cm (Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC: Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1915.110)
An image of an elaborate incense burner topped by a bird is shown in the center. Four heavenly beings surround it, each standing on a lotus, a Buddhist emblem of purity. In the two oval openings, pairs of heavenly beings holding flaming jewels in their hands kneel on either side of a pillar. A guardian armed with a trident appears at each end of the relief. They stand on animals such as a lion and ram.
Round of medallions. Frontal from the base of a funerary couch with Sogdian musicians and dancers and Buddhist divinities (detail), Northern Qi dynasty, Period of Division, Northern Qi dynasty, 550–577, Grey marble with traces of pigment, China, Henan province, probably Ce xian, 60.3 high x 234 x 23.5 cm (Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC: Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1915.110)
Above the oval openings is a row of round medallions surrounded by a pearl-like circle of dots. Each medallion contains a musician or a dancer wearing non-Chinese clothing including boots, tight pants, and belted jackets. Double lotus petals form a continuous band across the top of the relief.
The designs on this base show an unusual combination of Buddhist and secular themes, as well as Chinese and Central Asian elements. The incense burner flanked by heavenly beings is a typical Chinese Buddhist image. The musicians and dancers represent secular Central Asian entertainers depicted in a Persian style (such as the round frames with “pearls” enclosed in squares, floral designs in the triangular corners, pointed-down toes of the figures, etc.). It thus provides an interesting model of cultural interactions between China and Central Asia during the Period of Division (220–589).
Figures in oval openings. Frontal from the base of a funerary couch with Sogdian musicians and dancers and Buddhist divinities (detail), Northern Qi dynasty, Period of Division, Northern Qi dynasty, 550–577, Grey marble with traces of pigment, China, Henan province, probably Ce xian, 60.3 high x 234 x 23.5 cm (Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC: Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1915.110)
Stone funerary couches represent a rare type of burial furniture for the deceased. They were popular for nobles in northern China in the fifth to seventh centuries. At least nine stone slabs with similar carvings would have formed the funerary couch that this frontal base belonged to. Three parts are at the Freer, five are in other museums, and one part is lost. The stone slab has two notches on the top. Short projections from the upper slabs would have fit into these notches. Together, the parts formed the bed on which the deceased was respectfully placed.
This resource was developed for Teaching China with the Smithsonian, made possible by the generous support of the Freeman Foundation
