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Photography by Gavin Ashworth Photography. The Rubin Museum of Art. 2013.
Buddha Shakyamuni
Photography by Gavin Ashworth Photography. The Rubin Museum of Art. 2013.
Photography by Gavin Ashworth Photography. The Rubin Museum of Art. 2013.

Buddha Shakyamuni

OriginTibet
Date14th century
Dimensions17 3/4 × 15 5/8 × 10 1/2 in.
MediumGilt copper alloy
Classification(s)
Credit LineRubin Museum of Art
Object numberC2001.10.2
Himalayan Art Resources Number65025
Project Himalayan Arthttps://rubinmuseum.org/projecthimalayanart/essays/mahabodhi-temple-model/
DescriptionThis sculptural representation of the Buddha shows him wearing a crown and monk’s robes, a convention that became known as Vajrasana Buddha. It refers to a famous image of the Buddha in Vajrasana (present-day Bodhgaya), India, that commemorated the Buddha’s enlightenment. Although in Tibet this type of Buddha’s image was also associated with the principal image at the main temple in Lhasa, images of the crowned Buddha were popular and well known in all of Asia, including the Himalayas and were among some of the earliest to come to Tibet.