Kanakamuni Buddha

Object Details

• Label

  Kanakamuni is the fifth of the Seven Buddhas and second in the line of the thousand buddhas. This Kanakamuni Buddha possibly belonged to a larger group of sculptures representing the “Seven Buddhas of the Past,” a popular set in Indian, central Asian and Chinese Buddhist art.

  A gilded and hollow-cast altar sculpture of significant size, the Buddha is naturally proportioned and balanced. The cranial protrusion (ushnisha) terminating in a flame as well as the painted blue hair and eyebrows are typical of central Tibetan Buddhas. The urna, the midbrow hair tuft, is an inlaid turquoise stone. The Buddha’s right hand is lifted in the “discernment gesture” (vitarka mudra) while his left hand rests in his lap. Both hands are marked with the wheel, or chakra, (one of the 32 marks, or lakshanas, of an enlightened being). He sits upon a lotus pedestal. The loose drapery folds, hem shapes, and the groove-like creases, suggest Chinese Buddhist works, particularly those of the Ming Dynasty. The robe is decorated with bands of half-rosettes inside alternating triangles that represent the patched garment of a renunciant.

• Collection

  Arthur M. Sackler Collection

• Exhibition History

  The Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room (March 12, 2022 - ongoing)

  Encountering the Buddha: Art and Practice Across Asia (October 14, 2017 to February 6, 2022)

  Doorway to an Enlightened World: The Tibetan Shrine from the Alice S. Kandell Collection (March 19 to November 27, 2016)

  The Tibetan Shrine from the Alice S. Kandell Collection (March 13, 2010 to November 27, 2016)

• Origin

  Lhasa or Shigatse, Central, Tibet

• Credit Line

  The Alice S. Kandell Collection

• Type

  Sculpture

• On View

  Sackler Gallery 26a: The Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1700s, 1790s

• Name

  buddha

• Place

  Shigatse, Central, Lhasa, Tibet

• Topic

  Gilding, South Asian and Himalayan Art, Repoussé, Art, Inlay (process), Sculpture, Alice S. Kandell Collection, Incising, Painting (image-making), Metal-work

• Culture

  Buddhists, Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Object Type

  Sculpture

• On View

  Yes