Buddha; China, Ming dynasty, c. 1600.

Buddha; China, Ming dynasty, c. 1600.
Patinated bronze with traces of polychrome.
Attached thermoluminescence.
Presents losses in the polychrome.
Measurements: 92 x 75 x 62 cm.
This sculpture represents a seated Buddha, made in gilded and polychrome bronze, belongs to the cultural sphere of China, probably within the sculptural tradition developed between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, when Buddhist imagery reached a balance between spirituality and technical virtuosity. The figure is shown in the classical lotus position (padm?sana), with hands arranged in the mudr? of meditation (dhy?na mudr?), a gesture that symbolizes absolute concentration and the search for inner awakening.
The treatment of the forms reveals a refined plastic and symbolic sensitivity. The face, with its serene expression and lowered gaze, conveys a deep spiritual interiority, reinforced by the softness of the features and the harmony of the proportions. The carving of the hair, with regular curls and the characteristic ushnisha, symbol of enlightened wisdom, is combined with the careful arrangement of the folds of the mantle, which flow naturally and denote a refined observation of the human body, without losing the hieratic abstraction typical of Buddhist art.
The polychrome in red and gold tones, although worn by time, retains its symbolic intention: red as a manifestation of vital energy and gold as an emblem of spiritual perfection. These material and aesthetic qualities respond to the ideal of the Chinese sculptural school which, during the Ming and Qing dynasties, sought to endow the Buddha with a tangible and at the same time transcendent presence, making him an object of veneration and meditation.
The technical quality of the work, visible in the precision of the carving, the balanced proportion of the body and the mastery of volumetric modeling, reveals the mastery of the monastic and court workshops dedicated to the production of religious images. In them, sculpture was not only an artistic manifestation, but a tool for devotional and contemplative practice, intended to guide the believer towards the understanding of emptiness and enlightenment.