Jambuphati as Buddha. Nyaung Yan period, Burma, 17th-18th century.

Jambuphati as Buddha on Mount Meru. Nyaung Yan period, Burma, 17th-18th century.
Bronze.
The relic was buried in a temple of the stupas.
It has some flaws.
Measurements: 18,5 cm x 9 cm x 4,5 cm.

Singular piece in theme, beautifully detailed, and rare for its size of reliquary. It represents Jambuphati assimilated to Buddha, with the throne in the shape of Mount Meru. According to legend, Jambuphati was a warlord who submitted to the Dharma after realizing the greatness of Buddha. He then decided to become a Buddhist monk. It is known that the first images of the crowned Buddha Jambuphati come from Pyu, where the Indian influence is strongly felt in the Buddhist arts during the eighteenth century. He has been depicted performing the mudra of taking the earth as a witness, seated in the lotus flower position. The Bhumisparsa mudra, or gesture of touching the earth, alludes to the moment in which Buddha solved the problem of ending suffering when he was under the tree in Bodhi-Gaya.