Buddha

Object Details

Label

With one hand raised in the gesture of protection and the other holding the folds of his monastic robe, the Buddha stands in majestic serenity upon a lotus pedestal. His cranial wisdom bump is covered with small round curls, while a small jewel, now missing, was inset into the round mark between his brows, another sign of his superhuman perfection. The tight flat folds of the lower ends of his robe are typical of eleventh-century work under the Pala-Sena rulers of eastern India.

Provenance

Reportedly 1968-1992

David R. Nalin purchased in East Pakistan (modern-day Bangladesh) [1]

From 1992

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of David Nalin [2]

Notes:

[1] David R. Nalin is an American physiologist who worked at the Cholera Research Hospital in Dhaka when it was part of Pakistan from 1967 until the Liberation War of 1971, and then again in 1972 after the creation

of Bangladesh. Nalin reported that he purchased the sculpture in May 1968, when he worked at the Cholera hospital, see tax form 8283, December 3, 1992, copy in object file. Nalin employed Peter Marks Works of Art to manage his collection. In 1989, Marks provided the Freer Gallery of Art with a "summary of acquisition, ownership, and history" relating to a sculpture now in the collection of the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra (NGA89.1365), copy in object file. In the document, Marks instructed that the contents of the document should "apply to any object in the [Nalin] collection." The summary reports that in 1969, Nalin shipped his collection from Dhaka to Chittagong then onto Karachi and finally onto New York. Nalin "assumed[d] that the customs agent[s] handled all clearances and declarations according to the laws and agreements in effect at the time."

In 1971, he loaned this sculpture and several others to the conservation laboratory at The Fogg Art Museum of Harvard University for scientific analysis. The sculpture was treated in 1976, see "Center for Conservation and Technical Studies: Record of Treatment, Standing Buddha, 28.1976," copy in object file.

[2] See deed of gift, July 21, 1992, copy in accession file.

Research Completed November 12, 2022

Collection

National Museum of Asian Art Collection

Exhibition History

A Collector's Passion: South Asian Selections from the Nalin Collection (June 12 to November 9, 2009)

Sculpture of South Asia and the Himalayas (May 4, 1988 to July 9, 2017)

Previous custodian or owner

Dr. David R. Nalin

Credit Line

Gift of Dr. David R. Nalin

11th century

Period

Pala-Sena dynasty

Accession Number

S1992.55

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Sculpture

Medium

Copper alloy

Dimensions

H x W x D: 48.4 x 14.3 x 13.3 cm (19 1/16 x 5 5/8 x 5 1/4 in)

Origin

Bangladesh

Related Online Resources

Google Cultural Institute

See more items in

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Topic

casting

metal

Buddhism

Buddha

lotus

Pala-Sena dynasty (750 - 1100)

Bangladesh

abhaya mudra

South Asian and Himalayan Art

Record ID

fsg_S1992.55

Metadata Usage (text)

Not determined

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye3df36609b-92ff-4d6a-8cec-f414f1ab5a3d