Stele with Buddha Sakyamuni and two bodhisattvas, Sui dynasty, 581 - 618 CE. Stone, height 190 cm, width 100 cm. Henan Museum, Zhengzhou, Henan Province. © The Israel Museum.

Detail: upper part of the stele. Stele with Buddha Sakyamuni and two bodhisattvas, Sui dynasty, 581 - 618 CE. Stone, height 190 cm, width 100 cm. Henan Museum, Zhengzhou, Henan Province. © The Israel Museum.

 Detail: Buddha. Stele with Buddha Sakyamuni and two bodhisattvas, Sui ynasty, 581 - 618 CE. Stone, height 190 cm, width 100 cm. Henan Museum, Zhengzhou, Henan Province. © The Israel Museum.

The seated figure of Buddha Sakyamuni is carved in smooth lines, which contrast with the elaborate halo framing his head. His unadorned long-sleeved robe falls in elaborate pleats over the simple plinth.

Buddha is flanked by his two main disciples, Ananda and Kasyapa, which are depicted on a far smaller scale. The upper part of the stele is carved with lotus flowers, whose petals droop down in a bell shape. Small meditating Buddhas are seated on some of the lotus flowers.

An inscription on the back notes that more than sixty donors, headed by Xun Gouchou, commissioned the stele and dedicated it in the second month of the second year of Kaihuang (582 CE) in the Sui dynasty.