Maijishan North Niche 135
麦积山 北龛135 天水 · Niche 135 North Maijishan · Bei Niche 135
Northern Dynasties (Western Wei to Northern Zhou)·Northern Zhou Buddhist (Yuwen court patronage)·🇨🇳 Gansu, Tianshui, Maiji, Maijishan hill north face, niche 135 north cluster, China
About
About Maijishan North Niche 135
North-face niche cluster 30 m below the west colossus brow, comprising Niche 135 (Northern Zhou, c.560 CE) with the famed 1.2-m cross-legged Maitreya in half-lotus (pensive) with jewelled crown and Western Wei–Zhou floral scroll halo — the finest small masterwork on the north slope. The north face is shaded and colder, preserving original polychrome (cinnabar, azurite, malachite) and straw-earthen sculpture modelling lost on sun-blasted west cliff. Associated 6 contiguous niches illustrate the Northern Zhou sculptural reform toward slender proportions linking Western Wei to Sui.
Why it mattersFinest shaded north-slope polychrome preserving Western Wei–Zhou slender style and Maitreya pensive iconography.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Northern Zhou vs Western Wei attribution
- 02Maitreya iconography — Tusita vs earthly
Theories
- 01Shade preservation theory — polychromy study
- 02Court patron at Maijishan north privacy
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.560 CE (Northern Zhou, peak Western Wei–Zhou transition)
- Period
- Northern Dynasties (Western Wei to Northern Zhou)
- Culture
- Northern Zhou Buddhist (Yuwen court patronage)
- Builders
- Northern Zhou Maijishan atelier
- Purpose
- Shaded north face devotional niche with Maitreya contemplative — elite private patron
- Rediscovered
- Northern Zhou carving; Song overpainting partial
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.560 CE
Northern Zhou cross-legged Maitreya carving
c.1080 CE
Song overpainting of north face band
On the ground
Structures & features
34.3530° N · 106.0020° E · 1430 m · 2 mapped features
- North Niche 135 — Cross-Legged Maitreyaniche statue1.2-m Maitreya in pensive half-lotus with jewelled crown, Western Wei–Zhou slender style with floral halo34.3535° N · 106.0025° E
- North Niche 135 — Northern Zhou Halo Floral ScrollmuralFloral scroll halo in shallow relief with cinnabar and azurite pigment preserved34.3525° N · 106.0015° E
Gallery