Buddha Meditating Under the Bodhi Tree
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Object Label
This image of Shakyamuni depicts him meditating. Above him are the heart-shape leaves of the bodhi tree, a reference to the site where he gained enlightenment, at Bodh Gaya in northern India. This sculpture is made of granite, typically used by carvers in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. By the time it was made, there were few Buddhists in South India, and monasteries in the area relied on patronage from Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Foreign influence is evident in the flame on the Buddha’s cranial bump (ushnisha), a trait not typically found on Indian Buddhas.
Caption
Buddha Meditating Under the Bodhi Tree, ca. 900 C.E.. Granite, 69 1/2 x 31 1/2 x 18 1/2 in., 2357 lb. (176.5 x 80 x 47 cm, 1069.13kg). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Alice Boney, 84.132. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 84.132_SL1.jpg)
Collection
Collection
Title
Buddha Meditating Under the Bodhi Tree
Date
ca. 900 C.E.
Geography
Place made: Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, India
Medium
Granite
Classification
Dimensions
69 1/2 x 31 1/2 x 18 1/2 in., 2357 lb. (176.5 x 80 x 47 cm, 1069.13kg)
Credit Line
Gift of Alice Boney
Accession Number
84.132
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
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