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Description: | "Images (five), white marble. Two partly gilt, from temples on Mandalay hills Upper Burma". [Register]
Metal buddha seated in the virasana position - a style of cross-legged sitting involving sitting straight with the right leg, sole exposed, is lying on top of the left - on top of a triangular base.
Hands and feet mirror local style. Local style was a sculpture style developed at the end of the Pagan period when Burma was distanced from India due to India’s separation from Buddhism. The sculpture is characterized by having a head bigger in relation to the size of the face, a broad and wide face, less prominent if present at all curls, eyes that are almost completely closed, a bow-shaped mouth, head that drops forward on a short neck, ears that touch the torso, slab-like feet and fingers that are all one uniform length. This style was further developed during the Ava Period.
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.
Wearing monks robes painted in gold, presence of wisdom bump.
Accession number: NCM 1889-153 | Subjects: | religion (buddhism) BURMESE figures | Temporal: | 1850-1889? | Source: | Nottingham City Museums and Galleries | Identifier: | http://media.culturegrid.org.uk/mediaLib... | Go to resource |
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