TIBET, 14TH CENTURY

The present figure of Buddha Shakyamuni calling the earth to witness to his enlightenment is finely cast, despite its small size, with a delicate face, well-articulated hands and feet, and a robust torso covered in a diaphanous sanghati draped over the shoulder with natural looking folds. The richly-gilded figure is unmistakably inspired by Malla-period images Nepalese of the historical Buddha, and the short neck indicates the work was likely modeled directly or indirectly after the principle image of Buddha at the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodhgaya, which was said to have a had a short neck.
The addorsed lions on either side of the stepped base, however, are distinctly Tibetan in style. The three inlaid stones between them represent the three jewels and three sources of refuge in Buddhist philosophy—the Buddha, the dharma, and the sangha—a symbol common to all Buddhist traditions.
Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 24537.