Laos, 18th century, Important Maravijaya Buddha in bronze with green patina and silver inlays

Laos 18th century Buddha Maravijaya in bumisparsha mudra position Bronze with dark green patina, silver inlays 43.7 x 19.7 cm Minor cast defects without impact Private collection The Buddha is depicted seated on a high, stepped pedestal in the sattvaparyanka position, his right leg resting on his left leg, his right hand placed on his knee in the bumisparsha mudra (taking the Earth as witness) position, his fingers pointing towards the ground and his left hand placed in his lap, palm facing the sky. The body has broad shoulders and a chest swollen with the breath of meditation. The awakened one is dressed in the sangathi and the uttarasangha pressed against the body, leaving the right shoulder uncovered, a piece of the cloth placed on the left shoulder extending towards the navel. The face with great interiority is characterized by wide-open eyes encrusted with silver and surmounted by perfectly rounded eyebrows. A long aquiline nose in the shape of an eagle's beak overhangs a mouth with thin lips sketching a broad smile, the neck presenting the folds of beauty. The skull is covered with a multitude of small spikes delimited by a wide border and surmounted at its summit by the ushnisha (cranial protuberance) from which springs a high rasmi in the shape of a stylized lotus bud. The pointed ears with long lobes distended by the weight of the ornaments that the Buddha once wore in his worldly life are curved outwards, the earlobe in the shape of a snail shell, a classic attribute of Lao statuary. The representation of our Buddha is part of the classic images of the canons of Buddhist statuary and refers to a particular episode in the life of the Awakened One. The latter being close to attaining Enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, Mara, the god of constantly unfulfilled desires seeks to distract the Blessed One and claims to claim the throne of Awakening for himself. Faced with Mara's repeated assaults, the Buddha remains impassive and by this symbolic gesture, calls the Earth to witness his will to attain complete Enlightenment. °° The digital processing of the image struggles to transcribe the intensity of the almost hypnotic gaze of the Buddha generated by the silver inlays. The expression of the face finds all its depth in this addition of material and is to be compared to the images of the tirthankaras of the Jain culture °°

Dimensions :
- Height : 43.7 cm cm
- Width : 19.7 cm cm