Buddha. Laos, XVI century.

Buddha. Laos, XVI century.
Bronze.
Green patina from excavation.
Fragmentary state, crack in the left hand.
Measurements: 17 x 10 x 7 cm; 19 cm with base.

Bronze sculpture from Laos. It represents Buddha seated in the posture of the lotus flower and performing a mudra that symbolizes that he takes the earth as a witness. The symmetry of his physiognomic features express serenity, the closed eyelids indicate meditation, the elongated earlobes symbolize nobility and wisdom. The bhumi spara mudra ('gesture of touching the Earth', being bhumi: 'the planet Earth'; and sparsha: 'to touch') represents the moment when Buddha solved the problem of ending suffering when he was under the Bodhi tree. Usually represented by the Buddha seated in the lotus position, as in this bronze. The right hand touches the ground with the fingertips; the left hand rests on the leg with the palm facing upward.