The Discovery of Desecrated Chinese Buddhist Art

Professor Patricia Eichenbaum Karetzky, Archaeology Committee member and Chair of Asian Art at Bard College, discusses a large cache of fifth to sixth century Buddhist sculptures discovered in 2012 in Yecheng City, one of China’s important ancient capitals located within Hebei Province. Many, bearing dates and inscriptions, establish a chronological development of style, iconography, and religious practice. These finds attest that Buddhism is not a monolith faith, but rather one involving a multifaceted, complex belief system, conditioned by local history as well as traditions related to craftsmanship, materials, and patronage.