Unknown
Buddha Shakyamuni or the Jina Buddha Vairochanacirca 725-750

On view:

Resnick Pavilion, floor 1

Bronze sculpture of a seated figure in cross-legged pose with hands raised in a finger-circle gesture, atop an openwork pedestal with lion figures and a smaller seated figure

Gilt bronze sculpture of a seated Buddha in lotus position with both hands raised in a teaching gesture, wearing robes with finely cast linear folds, ushnisha atop the head. Figure rests on a rectangular throne with openwork pierced panels depicting small attendant figures and animals.

Bronze sculpture of a seated Buddha in lotus position with ushnisha and elongated earlobes, right hand raised in abhaya mudra, wearing finely cast draped robes; raised on a rectangular throne with openwork relief carvings of figures and lions below a beaded cornice.

Bronze sculpture of a seated figure in vajrasana pose with hands raised in a vitarka mudra gesture, wearing a draped robe with finely cast linear folds and an ushnisha atop the head. The figure sits atop an openwork rectangular throne base featuring smaller cast figures, including a central multi-armed deity flanked by attendants and animal-headed figures.

Gilt bronze Buddhist figure, close-up of head and upper torso, with ushnisha of raised circular curls, elongated earlobes, and finely cast facial features in three-quarter view against a dark background.

Gilt bronze throne base with openwork decoration: a cross-legged figure with upraised arms flanked by two vyala (leonine creatures) with bird heads, framed by pilasters with lion figures at corners, beaded molding above.

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: Buddha Shakyamuni or the Jina Buddha Vairochana
Place Made: India, Jammu and Kashmir, Kashmir region
Date Made: circa 725-750
Medium: Brass inlaid with silver
Dimensions: 16 x 8 1/2 x 3 5/8 in. (40.64 x 21.59 x 9.2 cm)
Credit Line: From the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Museum Associates Purchase
Accession Number: M.69.13.5
Classification: Sculpture
Collecting Area: South and Southeast Asian Art
Curatorial Notes: The historical Buddha Shakyamuni, traditionally dated to 563–483 BCE, or the transcendent Jina Buddha Vairochana in Akanishta Heaven, is represented in this elegant Kashmiri image. Both Buddhas hold their hands in the gesture of Turning the Wheel of the Law (dharmachakra mudra) and both sit with their feet being crossed in meditation (dhyana asana). The Buddha has the cranial protuberance (ushnisha) emblematic of his omniscience, the circular forehead marking (urna) indicating his enlightenment, and elongated earlobes symbolizing his renunciation of the material world. He wears a pleated robe over one shoulder. A small lug at the base of his neck indicates that he once had a separately cast nimbus. He sits on a lion throne associated with royal imagery that emphasizes his spiritual sovereignty. A demigod (yaksha) supports the throne in the front. He is flanked by two rearing griffins. The back corners of the throne each have a column rising out of a pot with a flaring capital. A pierced foliate panel supports the middle of the throne in the rear.
Selected Bibliography: The Art Museum. London: Phaidon Press, 2011.
Little, Stephen, Tushara Bindu Gude, Karina Romero Blanco, Silvia Seligson, Marco Antonio Karam. Las Huellas de Buda. Ciudad de México : Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, 2018.
Little, Stephen, and Tushara Bindu Gude. Realms of the Dharma: Buddhist Art across Asia. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2025.

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