Detail View: The AMICA Library: Crowned Buddha Shakyamuni

ASIA.1979.044

1998

Sculpture

Asian; Indian Sub-Continent; Pakistani; Kashmiri

Kashmiri or Pakistani

Crowned Buddha Shakyamuni

Full view

8th century

700

799

Brass with inlays of copper, silver, and zinc

Kashmir or northern Pakistan

H. 12 1/4 in. (31.1 cm)

Asia Society

New York, New York, USA

1979.044

Asia Society: The Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection

http://www.asiasociety.org

The thick, heavily pleated garments worn by this Buddha seated in the center of this elaborate work derive from sculptural traditions that predominated in northwest India during the 2nd to 4th centuries. The Buddha, his hands in the gesture of turning the wheel of the law (dharmachakra), or preaching (dharmachakramudra), is seated on a lotus that rises from a pond inhabited by serpent deities known as nagas. A stupa with a long staircase that leads to a Buddha seated before a niche is on either side, supported on a lotus flower rising from the central stalk. Layered to resemble a rocky mountain ledge, the base of the sculpture has images of a wheel, two guardians, and two deer; the deer help to identify the primary image as Shakyamuni, since their presence in Indian Buddhist art often refers to the Buddha's first sermon at the Deer Park in Sarnath.

On the right and left of the base are images of donors and their attendants, whose costume is reminiscent of Turkic dress, members of the Sahi group who ruled in Kashmir and other northern regions. A long Sanskrit inscription on the front of the base lists the donors as Sankarasena, a government official, and Princess Devashriya: 'This is the pious gift of the devout Sankarasena, the great lord of the elephant brigade, and of the pure-minded and pious Devashriya, made in the second day of Vaishakha in the year 3.' Although the numbers in this inscription are difficult to decipher, a recent study of inscriptions from Kashmir has shown that the sculpture could date to either 714/15 or 733/34.

The distinctive costume worn by the Buddha indicates that the sculpture depicts the consecration (abhisheka) of Shakyamuni as the king of the Tushita Pure Land, the abode of all the buddhas before their final rebirth on earth. The five-pointed crown, the three-pointed cape tied at the back with two strings, and the unusual floral decorations on the Buddha's shoulder have been identified as the primary elements in the iconography of this scene. The development of this iconography and its emphasis on Shakyamuni's consecration in the Tushita Pure Land have been linked to the rise of the Lokottaravadins, a subsect of the Mahasamghikas influential in the development of Mahayana Buddhism. Unlike earlier sects that defined the Buddha as a historical person who had achieved enlightenment, the Mahasamghikas speculated more broadly on the nature of the Buddha, defining him as a supermundane being (lokottara) of unlimited power and longevity. Relying on the Mahavastu, a text compiled from the 1st to 4th centuries, the Mahasamghikas developed a new interpretation of the path to buddhahood that stressed each person's inherent ability to become a buddha. According to this text, each potential buddha passes through ten stages known as bhumis during his spiritual career. In the last of these stages, the prospective buddha resides in the Tushita Pure Land to await his rebirth on earth.

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