Description

Large and beautiful Burmese dry lacquer seated buddha, black lacquer with gold gilt, decorated all over with inlaid mirrors and colored glass, compassionate expression.

A mudra in Buddhist statues is a gesture and body posture holding special meaning and commemorating a few of the important moments in the Buddha’s life. One of the most common and popular mudra found depicted in Buddha statues is the Bhumisparsha, translated as the “touching earth gesture”. The gesture represent the moment of Buddha’s awakening as he claims the earth as the witness to his enlightenment. Just before he realized, it is believed that the demon Mara tried to frighten him with armories of demons and monsters, including his daughter who tried to tempt the Buddha out of meditation from under the Bodhi tree. While the demon king Nara claimed the thrown of enlightenment for himself, his demon armory claimed witness to Nara’s claimed enlightenment. The earth witness mudra commemorates Buddha’s victory over the temptation of the demon king Mara.

19th century

Size: 37″ high x 26 1/2″ wide x 19″ deep.