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Dipamkara Buddha
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Dipamkara Buddha
NEPAL; Dated 1801; Commissioned by a Cotton Merchant; Gilt bronze; H: 23.5 cm; Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, California, USA
Dipamkara Buddha stands at the center of this composition with the right hand held in abhaya (fearlessness) mudra. The Buddha wears a bejeweled crown, earrings, and a collar necklace. A cloth with floral patterns is draped diagonally over the left shoulder with a floral robe underneath. The double lotus pedestal supports a foliated hollow aureole that connects to a petal-shaped nimbus. Two identical figures are standing on either side of Dipamkara. They depict disciples who stand on single lotus pedestals and hold an alms bowl in one hand and most likely a monk's staff in the empty hand. The figures were created in separate parts by the lost-wax method and then assembled.
The inscription in Newar script at the bottom of each piece states a cotton merchant who was doing business in Tibet commissioned these statues. They were created to celebrate Sakyamuni Buddha's birthday in 1801. |
