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SOUTH ASIAN OBJECTS FROM THE COLLECTION
INDIA
Sculpture from the Kushan Period
Sculpture from North India, 5th-7th Centuries
Jain sculpture
Sculpture of the Pala Period
Stone Sculpture from Hindu Temples
Sculptures from South India, 8th-9th Centuries
Bronze Sculpture of the Chola Period
Art for the Mughal and Rajput Courts
Hindu Temple Hangings
Buddhist Painting from India, Nepal, and Tibet
NEPAL
Buddhist Painting from India, Nepal, and Tibet
Sculpture from Nepal
PAKISTAN
Sculpture from the Kushan Period
SRI LANKA
Two Bodhisattvas from Sri Lanka
Buddha
India, probably Bihar; late 6th century
Copper alloy
H. 27 in. (68.6 cm)
Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection of Asian Art
1979.008
In this rare and important bronze image from eastern India, the Buddha raises his right hand in the gesture of reassurance (abhaya mudra) and holds a piece of unattached cloth in his left hand. This cloth reflects a misunderstanding of an earlier tradition in which the Buddha holds the ends of his robes in his left hand. As in most representations, the Buddha wears the traditional garments of a monk. These consist of two large rectangular pieces of cloth, one wrapped around his waist and the other draped over his shoulders; the two layers can be seen where the hemlines fall at different levels. The stylization of the folds of this Buddha's nearly transparent robe follows conventions established in Mathura (north-central India) in the last quarter of the 5th century.
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