Niche 19, Qianfo zhai (千佛寨)

This niche is located in Qianfo zhai 千佛寨, Anyue xian 安岳縣, Sichuan sheng 四川省. The dating of this niche is uncertain. It contains one buddha and two bodhisattva images. The heads of both bodhisattvas are damaged. According to the style of the garments, the one on the right is plausibly Kṣitigarbha. This triad might be the Sahā Triad (Ch. Suopo sansheng 娑婆三聖) including Śākyamuni buddha, Avalokiteśvara (Ch. Guanyin 觀音) and Kṣitigarbha (Ch. Dizang 地藏). The triad might also be Amitabhā together with Avalokiteśvara and Kṣitigarbha. There is also a small unidentified image to the right of the rightmost bodhisattva. An inscription is written in three columns on the right edge of the niche (Inscription E). Apart from the characters 袁海清章 in the middle column, the others are unreadable. Another inscription is written on the left edge of the niche (Inscription F). It seems there is more than one layer of writing, but only the characters marking a date in the twenty-fourth year of the Daoguang era (道光二十四年, 1844 CE) in the leftmost column are recognizable. The photographs show: An overview of the complex from the left angle [1]. A diagram indicating the location of niches and the inscriptions (created by Sau Ling Wendy Yu) [2]. The inscription on the left side of Niche 19 (Inscription F) [3] [4]. The inscription on the left side of Niche 18 (Inscription E) [5]. Metadata created by: Sau Ling Wendy Yu.Non UBCUnreviewedAuthor Affiliations: Ghent UniversityFacult