A Rare Bronze Figure of Buddha Shakyamuni

KASHMIR, CIRCA 9TH CENTURY

Details

A Rare Bronze Figure of Buddha Shakyamuni
Kashmir, circa 9th Century
Standing with his right hand raised in the calming gesture of abhaya mudra, wearing a diaphanous robe draped over both shoulders, gathered in concentric folds at his chest, and cascading down between his legs to the hemline with undulating sleeves, his left hand lowered clasping the tip of his robe, his face with a benign expression with bow-shaped mouth and silver inlaid almond-shaped eyes beneath incised arched brows, flanked by large ears with pendulous lobes, the hair arranged in tight curls and rising to a domed ushnisha, the feet replaced and nose restored
15 in. (39.4 cm.) high

Exhibited

Pasadena, Pacific Asia Museum, Visions of Enlightenment: Understanding the Art of Buddhism, 2002/03

Lot Essay

This bronze figure is unusual in the way it displays classic Kashmiri features; the rounded face with large almond-shaped eyes inlaid in silver, combined with the slightly exaggerated hand emphazising the fear-removing gesture (abhaya mudra) and tightly clinging robe with elegant linear treatment of the drapery.

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