- Title
- The Infant Buddha Shakyamuni
- Date Made
- circa 800
- Medium
- Brass inlaid with silver and copper
- Dimensions
- 5 3/4 x 2 x 1 3/4 in. (14.6 x 5.08 x 4.44 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.87.233
- Collecting Area
- South and Southeast Asian Art
- Curatorial Notes
This is a rare, if not unique, image of the infant Buddha Shakyamuni from South Asia. Comparable images from East Asia are widely worshipped on the Buddha’s birthday (Buddha Jayanti), which is usually observed in May.
The Buddha is depicted here as an adolescent rather than as an actual infant. Standing on a lotus base, he is depicted with his adult iconographic features of snail-curl hair and elongated earlobes. His right hand is held in the gesture of reassurance (abhaya mudra). His sacred forehead marking (urna) was once inlaid with a gemstone.
The inscription on the base is written in the Sarada script of Kashmir. It reads, This is the pious gift of Shrideva, who is [?]. (Translation by Gouriswar Bhattacharya.)
- Selected Bibliography
- 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.
