Buddha Shakyamuni

Object Details

• Label

  The historical Buddha Shakyamuni (sage of the Lion Clan) lived and taught in northern India from approximately 480 – 400 bce. Seated Shakyamuni images are characteristically represented with the left hand holding a begging bowl and the right hand lowered in the earth-touching gesture that signifies the moment of enlightenment.

  This Buddha has a long torso and a slender face with high, arched brows and sinuously curved eyes; the folds of his heavy garment are unusual and the small begging bowl in his left hand appears to be original.

  Inscribed in Chinese, Tibetan, Manchu and Mongolian, the image is dated to the Qianlong period (1735-96). It was probably crafted at Dolonnor or Beijing (the two great workshops of Buddhist imagery at this time in China); the four languages of the inscription further suggest an imperial workshop. The inscription has not yet been satisfactorily translated but it may identify the Budddha as Bhadashri, one of the thirty-five Buddhas of Compassion.

• 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)

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

• Origin

  Mongolia

• 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

  1790s, 1730s

• Place

  Mongolia

• Topic

  South Asian and Himalayan Art, Art, Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911), Shakyamuni Buddha, Qianlong reign (1736 - 1796), Metal-work

• Culture

  Buddhists, Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Object Type

  Sculpture

• On View

  Yes