Collections: Asian Art

Seated Buddha Torso. India, Andhra Pradesh, Ikshvaku period, late 3rd century. Pale green limestone, 16 3/4 x 15 in. (42.5 x 38.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc. 86.227.24

This figure's monastic garment, seated position, and hand gestures, and the two deer in the center of the throne, indicate that it represents the Buddha's first sermon, which he delivered in the deer park at Sarnath. The image is probably from Nagarjunakonda, a southern city that was one of the greatest art centers in ancient India. Its sculptors produced a large body of Buddhist imagery in a distinctive green limestone, mostly for the queens and princesses of the Ikshvaku dynasty, which ruled the region from the second to the fourth century.

This Buddha is seated in a half-lotus posture, the left hand on his lap forming the dhyana mudra (gesture of contemplation). The broken right hand must once have been raised with its palm out, making the abhaya mudra (gesture of reassurance). The wheel on the sole of the Buddha's foot refers to the wheel of the law, which he set in motion when he gave the first sermon. The seated lions that flank the deer on the front of the throne are associated with royal and heroic virtues. Despite the soft, voluminous effect created by the swelling forms of the Buddha's body and drapery, the image is actually quite flat, suggesting that it was made for display in a shallow niche.