Standing Buddha Offering Protection

late 5th century

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 236

This Buddha image embodies the qualities of radiant inner calm and stillness, the products of supreme wisdom. The figure once raised his right hand (now missing) in the characteristic abhaya-mudra, a gesture dispelling fear and imparting reassurance. The Buddha is robed in the simple, uncut cloth of a monk, and his religiosity is further conveyed by a large halo and auspicious markings (lakshanas), both natural and supernatural, denoting Buddhahood (the state of perfect enlightenment), As the summation of stylistic development in a period of Buddhist expansion, this representation became the benchmark for the Buddha image throughout Asia.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

References

Title: Standing Buddha Offering Protection
Period: Gupta period (4th–6th century)
Date: late 5th century
Culture: India (Uttar Pradesh, Mathura)
Medium: Red sandstone
Dimensions: H. 33 11/16 in. (85.5 cm); W. 16 3/4 in. (42.5 cm); D. 6 1/2 in. (16.5 cm)
Classification: Sculpture
Credit Line: Purchase, Enid A. Haupt Gift, 1979
Object Number: 1979.6
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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