Repatriation of the "Eight Men Ferrying a Statue of the Buddha"

Repatraition of the Eight Men Ferrying a Statue of the Buddha
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Introduction
The 4th and 5th centuries B.C. were indeed a time of great intellectual ferment across the world. That was a time when great minds like Plato and Socrates, Confucius and Laozi ruled the world. It was the period of the Buddha in Asia, after whose death a Buddhism arose that eventually expanded far beyond its borders. The prince who would have been the Buddha, Siddhartha, was conceived into the ruling household of Kapilavastu, a tiny country in the Himalayan foothills. His birth was supernatural, and his birth was extraordinary, and sages foretold that he'd become a worldwide conqueror, either of the material realm or men's hearts. It's the latest conquest that resulted. Siddhartha, who gave up the delights of the palace to discover the ultimate meaning of life, initially chose the road of rigorous asceticism, only to reject it after 6 years as a pointless exercise. He then reclined in yogic contemplation beneath a bodhi tree till enlightenment came to him. He was dubbed the Buddha, or "Enlightened One," from then on. Eight men ferrying a statue of the Buddha is an art that came from the Mogao cave 323 in the Gansu Province. It is currently in the Harvard Art Museums. The art will be the center of discussion on this research regarding how it was acquired, its access, the beneficiaries, and its repatriation. The paper discusses about the repatriation process of the Buddha.
A Description of the Artwork
Stylistic Features
To understand the stylistic features of Chinese Artwork, it is critical to be familiar with the fact that fine art was an important part of Chinese culture. From the art in the discussion, it is clear that the art was painted with brushes which was the common Chinese painting culture. Nevertheless, there are also traces of ash, pigment, and ink in the painting. The painting also seems to have been done from a cave wall background, and the use of caves is associated with many of the ancient Chinese paintings.


Figure 1: Eight Men Ferrying a Statue of the Buddha
Regarding its identification, Eight men ferrying a statue of the Buddha is dated to have been done probably in the 7th Century. It was done on a section of a wall painting probably polychromy, on unfired clay. The dimensions of the painting are irregular and not symmetrical, a height of 50.8 centimeters by the width of 94 centimeters (20 by 37 inches). When framed, the dimensions are a height of 73.7 centimeters, a width of 114.3, and a depth of 3.5 centimeters (29 x 45 x 1 3/8 inches). The art uses black, grey, and brown colors. The background is mostly a mixture of grey and white, resulting from being painted on a caved wall.
The varying dimensions are a clear indication that the mural was done in an unproportionate cave. Caves have walls with variable dimensions, and the surface of walls is not always flat, making the mural very difficult to paint. The greyish color is an s result of it being painted on a cave wall, most of that color.
Technical Features
To understand the technical features of art, Eight men ferrying a statue of the Buddha, the analysis, the surface of the painting should be analyzed. The Chinese artists were very talented in terms of selecting the surface for their paintings. From the painting, it is clear that the environmental exposure was minimized. The conclusion to that statement can be explained by its deep colors and lack of fading.
The selection of the cave walls was particularly excellent, considering that caves were the only places with walls that did not get exposed to direct sunlight. The wall's lack of expansion and contraction protects the wall from cracking, water damage, or even peeling. Hence, the mural seems to be particularly strong and heavily embedded on the cave wall, making it clear and close to permanent on the cave wall. The paintings that were best used for cave murals were mostly made-up water-based inks ad pigments that were dark and permanent, as seen in the art Eight men ferrying a statue of the Buddha. The brush used in the mural is the same as that used in the calligraphy, but it's important to note that there are many types of brushes with different shapes and resilience used for such a mural.
The art seems to be religious considering that the image shows men ferrying a statue of Buddha. The art may have been a real aspect considering that the Chinese are not landlocked; hence, transportation by water is a high possibility. On the art, there seem to be fifteen men depicted to be concerned about the transportation of the statue of Buddha. The men in the art also seem religious according to the clothing that they are wearing. The transportation seems to be taking place on something like a small boat or a raft being rowed by one man. In general, the art perfectly represents Chinese religion and its significance in society during the 7th Century.
History of the Artwork
The 'Caves of the Thousand Buddhas' (Qianfodong), widely known as Mogao, are a beautiful Buddhist art goldmine. They are about 20 minutes drive from the town of Dunhuang in northern China, in the desert. By the 4th and 5th centuries, the region had developed into a bustling desert intersection on the Silk Road caravan roads linking China and the Westerners. Traders, monks, and other people stopped in the oasis village to replenish their supplies, pray for the road ahead, or express gratitude for their survival. According to records, the first caverns were excavated into the cliff approximately a mile down the Daquan River by 366 monks.
An extraordinary archive—containing up to 50,000 papers, thousands of paintings, fabrics, and other artifacts—had been shut up in a chamber next to one of the caverns sometime in the late 11th Century. Its entry was hidden beneath a mural, and the treasure hoard remained secret for decades. Wang Yuanlu, a Daoist monk who'd already declared himself abbot and custodian of the ancient temples, found it in 1900. In 1879, the very first Western mission to Dunhuang arrived. More than two decades later, Romanian Marc Aurel Stein, a British archaeologist, and explorer discovered the caverns' significance.
Stein arrived at Dunhuang in 1907. He'd heard stories of the fortified cave as well as its treasures. The abbey sold Stein 7,000 entire manuscripts and 6,000 pieces, as well as many boxes containing paintings, tapestries, and other antiquities. The French adventurer Paul Pelliot was right on Stein's tail. "During the first 10 days, I assaulted approximately a thousand scrolls a day," Pelliot said in a letter. Other expeditions followed, bringing back a plethora of documents and artworks.
As a consequence, the Dunhuang texts and wall paintings are now dispersed throughout the world. The majority of the content is available in Beijing, London, Delhi, Cambridge, Paris, and Saint Petersburg. Based on the literary material discovered at Dunhuang, researchers have gained a greater understanding of the tremendous cross-fertilization of civilizations and faiths that happened between the third and fifteenth centuries. One of those artists is the Eight men ferrying a statue of the Buddha which later found its way to Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The provenance of the Artwork
The Legality of Acquisition
The Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington, D.C., have long drawn scholars and fans of Chinese art. These entities educated us to understand calligraphic paintbrush work, Ming furniture's elegant lines, and old porcelain's celadon glazes. But how did Chinese masterpieces find upon the Showroom? How did America become "the metropolis of Asian art," as a recent Wall Street Journal story declared? Part of the discernment can in different books of scholars who were dedicated in following the artifacts that were brought to the United Kingdom and the United States. The first book is “The China collectors” by Karl Meyer; it discusses on some of the Chinese artifacts that have been in the United Kindom and United States and how they were acquired.
The United States' relationship with China goes back to the early 18th Century when American ships began trading fur pelts and cereals (and eventually opium) for tea, textiles, and dishware. Boston had the "Great Chinese Exhibition" as early as 1845-1847, when Emily Dickinson, then 15, attended. One reviewer theorized that the guidebook's portrayal of the resignation, retreat, and emptiness at the core of Asian religious philosophy may have impacted the nation's foremost spiritual poet. Many early researchers of China's cultural and architectural history were taught and supported by Harvard University. Ernest Fenollosa, a 19th-century academic who converted to Buddhism and managed the Oriental division at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, authored an article on the Chinese written character that influenced Ezra Pound's translations into that language. Edward Waldo Forbes and Paul J. Sachs trained generations of famous artists and curators at the university's Fogg Museum, many of whom went on to work in China. The story contemplates that the legality of acquiring the art Eight men ferrying a statue of the Buddha was done out for educational and learning purposes.
Who has access to the Object?
Everyone visiting the Harvard Art Museum has access to Eight men ferrying a statue of the buddha art. Even though there is a small fee for all who visit the Museum, it is accessible. Adherence to the museum policies is important while visiting the facility. Besides, the art is also accessible for those who want to research it and ask questions on its history and dynamics.
Who Benefits if the Object is Returned Home?
Chinese art is becoming a desired liquid asset for super-wealthy collectors, who typically hide their masterpieces in tightly secured, climate-controlled vaults rather than displaying them. However, the media's focus on the brisk market for modern Chinese art ignores a more important story: the Chinese government's, state-run corporations', individual collectors', and, very likely, some criminal networks' efforts to bring Chinese treasures back home. The Communist Party's acceptance of culture and traditions as "a basis for China to compete on the world stage," as President Xi Jinping stated in October 2015, is one incentive for this effort. After seeing antiquities as remnants of feudal tyranny and bourgeois decadence for decades, the party now claims that art may "guide individuals to live a life conforming by the code of morals," helping to social stability. This is a sharp contrast to the Cultural Revolution (1966–76) when galleries were looted and numerous treasures were destroyed. The old design is once again prestigious; new purchasers seek canonical Artwork for the social standing it offers, not merely the possible profit.
The party's new attitude on culture comes at a time when patriotism is on the rise. From the Second Opium War of the 1840s and 1850s through the creation of the People's Republic in 1949, China actively advocates attempts to return works plundered during its self-described "century of humiliation." The demolition of the majestic Old Summer Palace by French and British forces surrounding Beijing at the close of the Opium War in 1860 was perhaps the most infamous outrage of the time. The attackers set fire to or destroyed up to 200 structures, looting the almost thousand-acre site of artworks, silk robes, jewels, and even Pekingese dogs, which were unknown in Europe.
But the question is, who benefits when the art Eight ...