Buddha Offering Protection

Sri Lanka. western regions

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 242

This imposing Buddha makes the abhaya mudra gesture with his right hand, conveying compassionate protection, while his left hand supports the sweeping fall of the monastic robe (uttarsanga). The icon’s monumentality is exceptional for the period. It provides a stylistic bridge between a great eighth-century late-Anuradhapura-style rock-cut Buddha at Avukana and the full-bodied figures with robes in stylized water-patterning folds of the successive Kandyan period.

Buddha Offering Protection, Copper alloy with gilding, Sri Lanka. western regions

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Buddha Offering Protection, Copper alloy with gilding, Sri Lanka. western regions
Buddha Offering Protection, Copper alloy with gilding, Sri Lanka. western regions
Buddha Offering Protection, Copper alloy with gilding, Sri Lanka. western regions

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