A gilt-copper alloy figure of Shakyamuni Buddha on a lion throne, Nepal, 18th century

Doris Wiener, New York, December 2009.

With his hands in the teaching gesture (dharmachakra mudra), the Buddha is seated in the adamantine meditation posture (vajraparyankasana) on a cushion supported by a lion throne (simhasana), with lotus petal tiers draped with a throne-cloth at the front. The Buddha and the cushion are cast in one, and the plinth is made up of gilt-copper repoussé sections with cast appliqué lions. The Buddha and plinth are modeled in a revivalist style referencing early Nepalese sculptural traditions, with the aquiline nose, protruding lower lip and the pedestal reminiscent of Licchavi and Transitional period works, such as an eleventh-century Nepalese Buddha seated on a cushion resting on a plain tiered plinth, illustrated in Ulrich von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, pl. 85B. The more elaborate style of the plinth of the Dharmachakra Buddha is typical of Nepalese work in the eighteenth century, such as an example in the British Museum dated Newari Samvat 859 (1748 CE), ibid., pl. 107C, and one in a private collection dated Newari Samvat 843 (1722 CE), ibid., pl. 107D.