Crowned Buddha Seated in a Niche
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
This Buddha figure makes the gesture of teaching. Buddhist law, known as dharma, is symbolized by a spoked wheel; when a teacher makes a wheel shape with his fingers and touches it with his other hand, he “turns the wheel of the law,” thereby dispersing the truth. This bejeweled figure might be read as the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni, who is said to wear a crown when he preaches in the heavens, or it could be Vairochana, a celestial Buddha who is often represented making the teaching gesture.
Caption
Crowned Buddha Seated in a Niche, 9th–10th century. Schist, 22 7/16 × 13 3/16 × 2 3/4 in., 87 lb. (57 × 33.5 × 7 cm, 39.46kg) mount (with object): 22 1/2 × 15 × 4 3/4 in. (57.2 × 38.1 × 12.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Frederic B. Pratt, 27.67. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 27.67_acetate_bw.jpg)
Collection
Collection
Title
Crowned Buddha Seated in a Niche
Date
9th–10th century
Period
Pala Period
Geography
Place made: Bihar, India
Medium
Schist
Classification
Dimensions
22 7/16 × 13 3/16 × 2 3/4 in., 87 lb. (57 × 33.5 × 7 cm, 39.46kg) mount (with object): 22 1/2 × 15 × 4 3/4 in. (57.2 × 38.1 × 12.1 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Frederic B. Pratt
Accession Number
27.67
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
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