Provenance:
French Private Collection, acquired in the 1990s
Swiss Private Collection
Sakyamuni Buddha is shown seated in bhumisparsa mudra, the gesture associated with the moment of enlightenment, when he called the earth to witness his awakening. The figure sits cross-legged upon a lotus base, his right hand extending toward the ground while the left rests in his lap. The robe sweeps diagonally across the torso before falling in folds over the crossed legs. The lowered gaze, softly-modeled features, and elongated proportions are characteristic of Newar sculpture of the Kathmandu Valley.
Particular attention was devoted to the treatment of the robe. Its borders are engraved with scrolling floral ornament that follows the contours of the body, defining the figure without interrupting the smooth surfaces of the gilded bronze. Around the waist, a narrow band of pleats emerges beneath the robe before disappearing beneath the sash, introducing a subtle contrast between engraved decoration and broad, unadorned planes.
Rather than having been cast as a single piece, the sculpture was assembled from multiple separately-cast sections joined at the neck, arms, torso, and back. Several of these joins remain visible, while pins concealed within the figure secure the major components from within. This approach allowed the sculptor to create a large, fully-cast image while preserving crisp modeling and finely-engraved surface decoration, demonstrating the high level of technical accomplishment achieved by Newar bronze casters during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
