ABS 303
Code: ABS 303
Country: India (north-east)
Style: Greater Bengal Region
Date: 600 - 700
Dimensions in cm WxHxD: 19.3 x 61 x 13
Materials: Gilt bronze
Standing Buddha Shakyamuni
Standing tall on a small lotus base in a slightly bent posture, the Buddha radiates majesty. A clinging transparent garment covers the broad-shouldered slender figure, with only the ends and loose parts delicately pleated. The right hand extended downward in the generosity gesture has webbed fingers, one of the marks of a “Great being.” The fine facial features, half-closed eyes with large lids, arched nose, thick curls of the cranial protuberance (ushnisha), and the “wet” treatment of the garment bear witness to the Gupta style heritage. Meanwhile, the full-lipped mouth, distended earlobes, and bare right shoulder indicate a distinct Bengali influence and foretell the emerging Pala aesthetics.
Gilt bronze images are rare in North-Eastern India. This image allegedly came from Tibet and was exported as a result of the Chinese annexation of Tibet and the destruction of thousands of monasteries.
A Buddha is an “Enlightened One”, awakened to the true nature of existence. He has transcended is human condition and is “no longer a man, nor a god”. He has reached nirvana – “the extinction” of desire and karma – and he is free from samsara, the endless cycle of existence and suffering. A Buddha generally appears as a renunciant, devoid of ornaments.
Standing tall on a small lotus base in a slightly bent posture, the Buddha radiates majesty. A clinging transparent garment covers the broad-shouldered slender figure, with only the ends and loose parts delicately pleated. The right hand extended downward in the generosity gesture has webbed fingers, one of the marks of a “Great being.” The fine facial features, half-closed eyes with large lids, arched nose, thick curls of the cranial protuberance (ushnisha), and the “wet” treatment of the garment bear witness to the Gupta style heritage. Meanwhile, the full-lipped mouth, distended earlobes, and bare right shoulder indicate a distinct Bengali influence and foretell the emerging Pala aesthetics.
Gilt bronze images are rare in North-Eastern India. This image allegedly came from Tibet and was exported as a result of the Chinese annexation of Tibet and the destruction of thousands of monasteries.
A Buddha is an “Enlightened One”, awakened to the true nature of existence. He has transcended is human condition and is “no longer a man, nor a god”. He has reached nirvana – “the extinction” of desire and karma – and he is free from samsara, the endless cycle of existence and suffering. A Buddha generally appears as a renunciant, devoid of ornaments.