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Buddha Expounding the Dharma

late 8th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 242
The quintessential icon of early Buddhist Sri Lanka is the Buddha gesturing vitarka-mudra, imparting his dharma to all. Seated in a meditative yogic posture, he wears the monk’s uttarasanga, an untailored length of cloth drawn tautly around the body, with his right shoulder exposed in the southern manner of Buddhism. His hair is expressed in short, tight curls to evoke his renunciation of the material world, when he cut off his hair and gave away his princely adornments. The eye sockets were inlaid with precious stones or rock crystal to add a heightened level of realism. The flame-shaped head protuberance (ushniha) is one of the principal auspicious markings (lakshanas) of Buddhahood.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Buddha Expounding the Dharma
  • Period: late Anuradhapura period (750–850)
  • Date: late 8th century
  • Culture: Sri Lanka (Anuradhapura)
  • Medium: Copper alloy
  • Dimensions: H. 10 1/2 in. (26.7 cm); W. 11 in. (7.9 cm); D. 4 1/2 in. (11.4 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, The Vincent Astor Foundation Gift, Acquisitions and 2008 Benefit Funds, and John Stewart Kennedy Fund, by exchange, 2009
  • Object Number: 2009.60
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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Jambhala, God of Riches, Copper alloy, Sri Lanka, Anuradhapura
Jambhala, God of Riches
Sri Lanka, Anuradhapura
9th–10th century
Buddha Offering Protection, Copper alloy with gilding, Sri Lanka, central plateau
Buddha Offering Protection
Sri Lanka, central plateau
10th century
Bodhisattva, probably Avalokiteshvara, Bronze with high tin content, Sri Lanka
Bodhisattva, probably Avalokiteshvara
Sri Lanka
ca. 8th century
Avalokiteshvara, The Bodhisattva of Infinite Compassion, Bronze, Sri Lanka
Avalokiteshvara, The Bodhisattva of Infinite Compassion
Sri Lanka
ca. 9th century
Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Infinite Compassion, Bronze, Sri Lanka
Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Infinite Compassion
Sri Lanka
ca. late 7th–first half of the 8th century

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