A dark bronze sculpture of a man sitting cross-legged on a pedestal.
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

The bronze sculpture is of a man sitting on a pedestal facing the viewer. The bronze is dark in color with hints of red. The bottom of the pedestal is detailed with large petals. The man is wearing a robe that drapes over his whole body. His legs are crossed and his feet are on top of the opposite knees. The man’s right arm is down by his side with his palm pointing down and facing the viewer. His left arm is bent up and there is a small round object held in his left hand. His earlobes are long and his hair is put up in a small bun on top of his head.

Gallery Text

Merchants trading in Silk Road goods, South and Central Asian Buddhist proselytizers, and pilgrims who had traveled to India to study Buddhism at its source brought countless paintings, scriptures, and small bronze sculptures to China and Tibet. These later served as the inspirations for works commissioned by local patrons. Few early Chinese and Tibetan bronze sculptures, and even fewer Indian prototypes, survive, as later generations melted them down to make coins, weapons, or new icons. The fine statues on display here may have been objects of devotion that were set in portable shrines, like the Korean example in the case to the right, for worship in lay people’s homes.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1989.57
Title
Seated Buddha with Right Hand in Varada Mudra and Left Hand Holding a Covered Jar
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
sculpture
Date
9th century
Places
Creation Place: South Asia, Pakistan
Culture
Pakistani
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/200414

Location

Location
Level 2, Room 2740, Buddhist Art, The Efflorescence of East Asian and Buddhist Art
View this object's location on our interactive map

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Bronze; style of the Swat Valley, Pakistan
Dimensions
H. 8.8 x W. 6.4 x D. 4.1 cm (3 7/16 x 2 1/2 x 1 5/8 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Mr. and Mrs. John D. MacDonald, Cambridge, MA (by 1989), sold; to [Christie's East, New York, 7 June 1989, sale number 6837, lot 312] sold; to Harvard University Art Museums, 1989.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Ernest B. and Helen Pratt Dane Fund for Asian Art
Accession Year
1989
Object Number
1989.57
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Exhibition History

  • Re-View: S228-230 Arts of Asia, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 05/31/2008 - 06/01/2013
  • 32Q: 2740 Buddhist II, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 12/02/2024 - 01/01/2050
  • 32Q: 1610 Buddhist Art I, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 06/18/2024

Subjects and Contexts

  • Google Art Project

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu