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Description: | "Buddhist images (twenty four) bronze, found buried under a pagoda erected by King Alanngpra(?)." [Register]
Metal Buddha figurine, 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. Right hand is in 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.
Style mirrors that of Pagan period, though instead of visible curls the figure wears a highly-ornate crown of the Jambupati style. Jambupati is the sculpture carving of Buddha with a crown usually accompanied by elaborate openwork appendages on both sides of the crown. This style depicts the story of an ambitious king of that name whom the Buddha humbled and converted by appearing in the unmatchable splendour of the Universal Monarch. The top finial of the crown has broken off and has been tied to one of the crown's openwork appendages. Burma.
Accession number: NCM 1889-191 | Subjects: | metalwork religion (buddhism) BURMESE figures | Temporal: | 1800-1889? | Source: | Nottingham City Museums and Galleries | Identifier: | http://media.culturegrid.org.uk/mediaLib... | Go to resource |
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