Buddha 7 (70 x 90 cm, 2013)

This beautiful head of the Buddha was once part of a large-scale narrative panel modelled in high relief. It formed part of a life-size figure, probably of Gautama the Buddha as a young man. The statue is now at the Victoria & Albert museum in London.

The head displays several of the characteristic auspicious marks (‘laksanas’) of the Buddha. These include the prominent hair-knot, which here has been treated in a Graeco-Roman style unlike contemporary Indian styles. Another of the marks is the forehead mark. The elongated earlobes are an allusion to the Buddha’s former princely status when he wore pendant earrings.

Price: € 960