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Description: | "Buddhist images (three) composition covered with silver, found buried under a pagoda built by King Alaungpaya, at Shive-bo. 1757" [Register]
Wooden silver-covered figure of buddha, style unknown. Missing one ear, other appears to be made of paper and glued to the side of the head.
Sitting in virasana position, a style of cross-legged sitting involving sitting straight with the right leg, sole exposed, is lying on top of the left.
Bhumisparsa mudra, or the ‘earth touching gesture’, is formed with all five fingers of the right hand extended to touch the ground. This gesture symbolizes the Buddha's enlightenment under the bodhi tree when he summoned the earth goddess, Sthavara, to bear witness to his attainment of enlightenment. The right hand, placed upon the right knee in earth-pressing mudra, and complemented by the left hand-which is held flat in the lap in the dhyana mudra of meditation, symbolizes the union of method and wisdom, samasara and nirvana, and also the realizations of the conventional and ultimate truths. It is in this posture that Shakyamuni overcame the obstructions of Mara while meditating on Truth.
Sitting on raised platform decorated with geometric pattern. Burma.
Accession number: NCM 1889-175 | Subjects: | metalwork religion (buddhism) BURMESE figures | Temporal: | 1757 | Source: | Nottingham City Museums and Galleries | Identifier: | http://media.culturegrid.org.uk/mediaLib... | Go to resource |
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