Unknown
Buddha Shakyamuni9th century

On view:

Resnick Pavilion, floor 1

Small bronze sculpture of a seated figure in cross-legged pose with hands folded in lap, covered in green and rust-brown patina

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: Buddha Shakyamuni
Place Made: Sri Lanka, Anuradhapura Period
Date Made: 9th century
Medium: Copper alloy
Dimensions: 5 x 4 1/4 x 2 1/4 in. (12.7 x 10.79 x 5.71 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Joan Palevsky and the Museum Acquisition Fund
Accession Number: M.76.46
Classification: Sculpture
Collecting Area: South and Southeast Asian Art
Curatorial Notes: This serene representation of Buddha Shakyamuni epitomizes early Sri Lanka Buddha images made in the refined style associated with the Anuradhapura Kingdom (437 BCE-1017 CE) located in the north central province of modern Sri Lanka. Inspired by southern Indian Buddha images imported into Sri Lanka, stone Buddha images were made in Anuradhapura by the 4th century and bronze images by the 6th century.

The Buddha displays several of the standard iconographic features. He has snail-curl hair, the cranial protuberance (ushnisha) emblematic of his omniscience, elongated earlobes symbolizing his renunciation of the material world, and heavily-lidded pensive eyes conveying his compassion for all sentient beings. Due to surface corrosion, it is uncertain if there was originally a sacred forehead marking (urna), but early Anuradhapura Buddha images generally do not have one. A now-damaged flame motif (ketumala), symbolic of the Buddha's knowledge (jñana), forms a finial on top of the head. He sits in the meditation posture (padma asana). His two hands in his lap are in the gesture of meditation (dhyana mudra). His robe is almost transparent, marked only by the hems. The outer robe is worn over his left shoulder only.
Selected Bibliography: 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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