KASHMIR OR WESTERN TIBET, 10TH-11TH CENTURY

The present figure of Buddha Shakyamuni stands in a slight tribhanga with his right hand forward-facing in the refuge-granting gesture and the left clutching the folds of his billowing sanghati. His lips appear pursed, matching the fullness of his pendant earlobes and large almond-shaped eyes. Traces of blue pigment remain on his curl-topped ushnisha and the remnants of cold gold indicate that it once covered his body. The brassy metal alloy, and manner of modeling the rounded face with wide, silver-inlaid eyes, is reminiscent of Kashmiri prototypes that began appearing at the turn of the eighth century. Moreover, the figure’s profile, upon which a straight line can be drawn from the forehead to the tip of the nose, is attributable to Kashmiri convention. As such, the proportions and rendering of the facial features closely resemble a standing Kashmiri buddha attributed by inscription to the first half of the eleventh century or earlier at the Cleveland Museum of Art (acc. no. 1966.3).
The present sculpture, with its graceful and restrained representation, differs from the early masterpieces of Kashmir which are defined by exaggerated features. As with many bronzes of this type, it is unclear whether the present sculpture was created in Kashmir or in the Kashmiri ateliers of Western Tibet, as the Kingdoms of Guge and Ladakh had close commercial ties with Kashmir during the period of the second dissemination known as the Tibetan Renaissance (c. 950-1200 CE).