Quick Answer: What Is a Buddhist Halo?
A Buddhist halo is a visible form of radiance around a figure. In Chinese Buddhist art it can frame the head, surround the body or enclose an entire group.[1][3][5]
- Head halo (头光, tóuguāng): Often a circle or disc immediately behind the head.[1][2]
- Body halo (身光, shēnguāng): A field of radiance around the body. An almond-shaped surround is often called a mandorla.[1][2]
- Identification: A halo is one clue. The pose, attendants and inscription may give stronger evidence about the figure’s name.[1][3][5]
Begin by tracing the outline and noting which part of the image it encloses.
A ring near the head and a band of flames around the body can belong to the same sculpture. Reading them separately reveals choices that are easy to miss when both are simply called a halo.
Head Halo, Body Halo and Mandorla
An art label may call the head circle a nimbus. The term mandorla usually describes a larger surround, especially one with a pointed, almond-like outline. A backplate in a sculpture can carry both forms. Chinese writing on sculpture uses backing (背光, bèiguāng) for the radiance motif behind the figure, including its head and body areas.[1][2]
Three Ways Artists Showed Radiance
A Circle and Flames in Carved Stone
A Northern Wei stele dated 500 at the Cleveland Museum of Art has a foliate circle behind the head of Maitreya. Farther out, flame forms survive in the damaged mandorla. The rear inscription records a monk’s commission for family members and religious teachers. The carved light and the inscription tell us different things about the same object.[3]
A Flaming Body Halo in Paint
A sixth- or seventh-century painted wooden panel from the Khotan kingdom shows a seated Buddha in meditation inside a flaming outline. The Met’s title names both the head halo and the body mandorla. The hands rest in the gesture of meditation. Compare them with other Buddhist hand gestures.[4]
One Light Enclosing Several Figures
A Southern Song silk scroll at Cleveland encloses Amitabha and two attendants in one circle of light. Here the enclosure connects the three figures visually. The attendants and inscriptions invoking Amitabha help identify the assembly.[5]
How to Read an Incomplete Halo
In a fifth-century bronze of the newborn Buddha at Cleveland, a projection behind the head indicates that a halo was originally attached. Only the attachment survives on the bronze. For other sculptures, look for breaks or attachments and check the object description before interpreting an apparently bare outline. The subject of this bronze also appears in images of Buddha’s Birthday.[6]
FAQs About Buddhist Halos
Do only Buddhas have halos?
Bodhisattvas and other Buddhist sacred figures can also be shown with halos. In a group scene, note who shares the same field of light and what other attributes the figures have.
Is every full-body halo almond-shaped?
Artists use a range of outlines. A mandorla often tapers to a point, while the radiance in a group scene can take the form of a large circle.
What do the flames mean?
They are one way of giving visible form to radiance. Different Buddhas can share the motif, so look at the whole image before proposing a name.
Источники
[1] The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Arts of Korea: A Resource for Educators
[2] Tang Na. Research on the Prototype of Sculpture Art in Chinese Buddhism
[3] Cleveland Museum of Art. Stele with Maitreya and Attendants
[4] The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Buddha with a Halo and Flaming Body Mandorla
[5] Cleveland Museum of Art. Buddha Amitabha with Two Attending Bodhisattvas
[6] Cleveland Museum of Art. The New-born Buddha