Portraying the historical Buddha Shakyamuni, this bronze probably emerged from a Tibetan monastery, like most other Gupta period (c. 300-600) bronzes. Perhaps this bronze survived because it was taken to Tibet as a sacred relic or souvenir. The Buddha's slim and graceful body is revealed by his transparent monastic robes. His broken right hand displays the gesture of reassurance while the left hand holds the end of his robe.
Details
- Title: Buddha Shakyamuni
- Date: c. 550
- Medium: Bronze
- Dimensions: overall: 16 1/2 x 6 1/2 x 3 3/4 in. (41.91 x 16.51 x 9.5cm)
- Credit Line: The Norton Simon Foundation
- Accession Number: F.1972.01.S
- Copyright: © The Norton Simon Foundation
Object Information
- Leoshko, Janice, Asian Art: Selections from the Norton Simon Museum, fig. 11 pp. 14-15
- Lerner, Martin, The Connoisseur, fig. 5 p. 198
- Pal, Pratapaditya, Marg, fig. 10 pp. 61-62
- Knoke, Christine, Minerva, fig. 5 p. 27
- Asher, Frederick M., The Art of Eastern India, 300-800, 1980, plate 100 p. 59
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- Pal, Pratapaditya, American Collectors of Asian Art, 1986, fig. 10 pp. 125-126
- Ray, Nihar Ranjan, Karl Khandalavala, and Sadishiv Gorakshkar, Eastern Indian Bronzes, 1986, no. 23. pl. 23 p. 108
- Deva, Krishna, The Great Tradition: Indian Bronze Masterpieces, 1988, fig. 6 pp. 40, 45
- Pal, Pratapaditya, Art and Archaeology of Eastern India, 2001, fig. 1 pp. 97-100
- Pal, Pratapaditya, Asian Art at the Norton Simon Museum, Volume 1: Art from the Indian Subcontinent, 2003, no. 69 pp. 106-107
- Pal, Pratapaditya, Asian Art at the Norton Simon Museum, Volume 3: Art from Sri Lanka & Southeast Asia, 2004, fig. 6 p. 106
- Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, 2010, fig. 3, cat. 754 pp. 123, 335
- Melody Rod-ari, Journal of the History of Collections, 2015, fig. 5 p. 485
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