Untitled

Unknown

mid-15th–16th century · Copper alloy with gilding · Asian Art

This imposing Buddha makes the abhaya mudra gesture with his right hand, conveying compassionate protection, while his left hand supports the sweeping fall of the monastic robe (uttarsanga). The icon’s monumentality is exceptional for the period. It provides a stylistic bridge between a great eighth-century late-Anuradhapura-style rock-cut Buddha at Avukana and the full-bodied figures with robes in stylized water-patterning folds of the successive Kandyan period.

Artist

Unknown

Date

mid-15th–16th century

Medium

Copper alloy with gilding

Culture

Sri Lanka. western regions

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Purchase, Louis V. Bell, Harris Brisbane Dick, Fletcher, and Rogers Funds and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest; The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Foundation Fund; Florence and Herbert Irving, Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Anne H. Bass Gifts, 2010