Commemorative stele

This stele is carved at the centre with an image of Buddha flanked by two bodhisattvas. Names of sponsors are inscribed on both sides of the figural depictions. Such steles were presented as gifts to Buddhist temples as a mark of religious devotion and means of merit-making. In the Northern and Eastern Wei periods, the art of stone Buddhist sculptures flourished. Steles represent a unique format of Buddhist sculptural art developed in China.