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Preaching Buddha

8th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 237
This Buddha, with his legs folded in a full yogic posture and his hands gesturing preaching, invokes the first sermon at Sarnath. The complex treatment of the monastic robes, most notably their pleated ends, is evidence of an unidentified monastic workshop, probably located in Kashmir or the Swat Valley. The treatment of the hair curls is unconventional, as is the extreme stylization of the eyes and eyebrow. Silver inlay marks the eyes and auspicious forehead mark (urna).

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Preaching Buddha
  • Date: 8th century
  • Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir) or Pakistan
  • Medium: Bronze with silver inlay
  • Dimensions: H. 8 3/8 in. (21.3 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Samuel Eilenberg Collection, Ex Coll.: Columbia University, Purchase, Lita Annenberg Hazen Charitable Trust Gift, 1987
  • Object Number: 1987.218.3
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
Vajradharma Lokeshvara, Bronze with silver inlay, Pakistan (NW Frontier Province, probably Swat Valley)
Vajradharma Lokeshvara
Pakistan (NW Frontier Province, probably Swat Valley)
9th century
Vaikuntha Vishnu, Stone, India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Vaikuntha Vishnu
India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
last quarter of the 8th century
Seated Four Armed Jambhala, the Buddhist God of Wealth, Bronze with silver inlay, Indonesia (Java)
Seated Four Armed Jambhala, the Buddhist God of Wealth
Indonesia (Java)
second half of the 9th–early 10th century
Enthroned Buddha Granting Boons, Gilt brass with silver and copper inlay, Pakistan (Gilgit Kingdom)
Enthroned Buddha Granting Boons
Pakistan (Gilgit Kingdom)
dated by inscription to ca. 600
Amoghasiddhi, the Transcendent Buddha of the North, Silver and bronze with copper inlay and traces of gold foil, Western Tibet
Amoghasiddhi, the Transcendent Buddha of the North
Western Tibet
late 10th–early 11th century

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