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Seated Buddha
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Seated Buddha
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Seated Buddha
CHINA; Northern Wei dynasty (386–534), dated 476; Sandstone; H: 73 cm; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
This sculpture shows influence from the Gandharan style. The Buddha's curled hair builds into a usnisa. The elongated earlobes reach the shoulders. The figure wears a monastic robe that falls in numerous rhythmic folds to where he sits cross-legged with hands in the dhyana (meditation) mudra. A flame-patterned mandorla frames a circular nimbus and an aureole, both of which are bordered with reliefs of miniature Buddhas.
Seven Buddhas of the past are engraved in arched niches at the back of the sculpture. An inscription at the base states that the sculpture was made in 476 as an offering to the Buddha for the benefit of all sentient beings. |
