A Bronze Figure of Buddha Shakyamuni

EASTERN INDIA, PALA PERIOD, 11TH/12TH CENTURY

Details

A Bronze Figure of Buddha Shakyamuni
Eastern India, Pala Period, 11th/12th Century
Seated in dhyanasana on a double-lotus base with hands in dhyana and bhumisparsa mudras, clad in a tightly draped sanghati with borders outlined in copper, his hands and feet with applied silver chakras, his face with a gentle smile in a contemplative expression with eyes and urna inlaid in silver and lips inlaid in copper, his hair and ushnisha arranged in circular rows surmounted by a bud-shaped cintamani, base sealed
11½ in (28.3 cm.) high

Lot Essay

This heavily cast bronze is characteristic for mature Pala style, with a crisply modeled double-lotus base and well-rounded beaded rims. Compare a larger Nalanda stone sculpture in the Museum fr Indische Kunst, Berlin, that is very closely related in modeling and individual aspects, cf. R. Ghose, In the Footsteps of the Buddha, An Iconic Journey from India to China, The University of Hong Kong, 1998, cat. no. 26, dated 10th/11th century.

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