Lotus Buddha. Burma, Konbaung dynasty, 18th century.

Lotus Buddha. Burma, Konbaung dynasty, 18th century.
Bronze amulet.
Brown patina.
Some cracks.
Measurements: 16 x 8 x 6 cm.

Small bronze sculpture representing a Buddha performing the mudra of taking the earth as a witness. In his left hand he holds a medicine bowl. His headdress takes the form of a stylized lotus. The work is extremely fine and meticulously detailed. The symmetry of her physiognomic features expresses serenity, the closed eyelids indicate meditation, the elongated earlobes symbolize nobility and wisdom. The bhumi sparsa 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 depicted by the historical Buddha and akshobhia seated in the lotus position, as in this magnificent bronze. The right hand almost touches the ground with the fingertips; the left hand rests on the leg with the palm facing up.