Buddha Shakyamuni

Object Details

Label: Metal images from western Tibet in the eleventh and twelfth-century are often freely inventive, as seen here in the Buddha’s elevated seated posture, atypically square head, and the playful swoop of the garment’s left sleeve.; The earth-touching gesture, in which the right hand reaches down to call the earth to witness the Buddha’s moment of enlightenment, identifies both the historical Buddha (Shakyamuni) and the cosmic Buddha Akshobhya, this sculpture more likely represents Akshobhya because the downward tilt of the left hand suggests that it was made to hold an upright thunderbolt scepter rather than the begging bowl that is characteristic of Shakyamuni.; Akshobyha (Sanskrti, Immovable or Unshakable) is unshakably present in the eastern heaven Abhirati to teach all its beings. In Abhirati (Sanskrit, Intense Delight), gods and humans easily visit each other’s realms by traversing ladders that connect heaven and earth.
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)

11th-12th century

On View: Sackler Gallery 26a: The Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room
See more items in: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Topic: inlay (process); metal; Buddhism; Tibet; Akshobhya Buddha; South Asian and Himalayan Art; Alice S. Kandell Collection; Shakyamuni Buddha

GUID (Link to Original Record): http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye309366b39-516e-4855-b957-620ad219d769