Shakyamuni Buddha Statue – Buddhist Figure with Filigree

Shakyamuni is the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, who lived in northern India in the 5th century BCE and founded the Buddhist teaching.

The statue depicts Shakyamuni Buddha seated in padma asana on a double lotus pedestal. His right hand touches the earth in bhumisparsha mudra, while the left hand holds an alms bowl. Behind the figure rises a drop-shaped Aureole framing the head of the Buddha. 

Robe, pedestal and Aureole are decorated with filigree. Spirals formed from thin metal wires, filled with small arched elements, are combined into a continuous pattern. Set colored stones are arranged in floral forms and integrated into the filigree. The ornamentation is executed all around; the reverse of the figure is fully worked as well, allowing the statue to be presented as a freestanding object.

The statue follows the image traditions of Vajrayana art in the Kathmandu Valley, in which ritual identity, gesture, and ornament are brought together into a carefully balanced iconographic unity.

Buddha Shakyamuni

Copper statue, traditional lost-wax cast, decorated with filigree, gold- and silver-plated, set with colored stones. The figure is patinated. The face is set in gold. Handcrafted in Nepal.

• Height: 9" / 22 cm
• Width: 5.5" / 14 cm
• Depth: 4.5" / 11 cm
• Weight: 1,236 g

NOTE
The face painting is a cold gold application and water-soluble.