Buried Buddhas on show

The Royal Academy will be hoping for a case of Zen And The Art Of Successful Show Attendance when it introduces its new display, Return Of The Buddha.

Thirty-five re-assembled sculptures (including head of Buddha, right) will be on show - a small proportion of the extraordinary treasury of some 400 Chinese stone sculptures of the Buddha discovered just six years ago in Eastern China at the Longxing temple site in Qingzhou, Shadong province. In what proved to be one of the most significant archaeological finds in recent years, the statues were unearthed from a pit where they had remained hidden for 900 years. With evidence suggesting that the statues were interred as part of a ritual, they now offer remarkable insights into the nature and tradition of Chinese Buddhist art.

The sculptures are divided into two groups, with earlier pieces retaining Chinese features such as elaborately carved dragons, while later figures bear the grace and voluptuousness associated with the Indian sub-continent.

Carved from limestone, the pieces on display all date from the period of the Northern dynasties, many still bearing the original blue, red, green and ochre paint with a number of the sculptures also retaining the gold applied to the face and body of the Buddha to indicate his sun-like radiance. The delicate features and expressions evoke compassion, daring you to rub their tummies out of Feng Shui badness.

Return Of The Buddha, from Fri 26 Apr, Royal Academy of Arts , Piccadilly,W1 (020-7300 8000).