Cleveland Museum of Art

Altarpiece with Buddha Enthroned

Date

mid-1100s

Medium

bronze

Culture

Cambodia, found in Vietnam, near Ho Chi Minh City, Reign of Suryavarman II, Angkor Wat Period, 1st half 12th Century

Department

Indian and Southeast Asian Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The crown and jewels of this Buddha indicate that he is a transcendent Buddha, not the historical Buddha who lived in the 5th century BCE. Small-scale bronze images of transcendent Buddhas were used in tantric practices as personal meditation images or in ritual settings. Tantric Buddhism was adopted as the state religion during the 12th century in the region of Angkor. A depiction of the tree that references the moment of the Buddha’s enlightenment is above the scalloped serpentine form of the niche under which he sits enthroned on an altar. An object interpreted as a lotus bud rests on the hands in his lap as he sits in a posture of meditation.

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