Chinese Marble Buddhist Stele

A house for the Buddha, built of marble, with every roof tile accounted for.

This Buddhist stele is marble, from China. Steles like it were commissioned as acts of devotion and set up at temples and shrines, so that donors might earn merit for themselves and their families. A seated Buddha with a halo occupies the center, hands joined in his lap, flanked by two standing attendants. Trees spread a scalloped canopy above them, and a small lion sits at each lower corner beneath the carved tile roof. It is 16.5 inches wide and as many high.

The lions keep watch at either side. Inside, nothing moves.