佛像鉴定鉴赏收藏

尺寸：8.2 x 6.1 cm
年代：11-12世纪
质地：石雕(stone)
风格：东北印度 帕拉
来源：克利夫兰艺术博物馆
参阅：外部链接
鉴赏：
Buddha Calling the Earth to Witness
1000-1100s
Northern India, Bihar, 11th-12th century

Description
The central image depicts the moment when the historical Buddha Shakyamuni reached enlightenment. He is seated under the Bodhi tree and gestures to the earth to witness his defeat of the demons and seductresses who seem to dissipate in the arched carving above him, not touching his enthroned figure.

Immediately surrounding the central icon are diminutive images of the Buddha during the seven days after enlightenment. Around the periphery of the plaque are depictions of seven other key events from his life story: birth, first sermon, and subjugation of the mad elephant on the viewer’s left side; reception of the monkey’s gift of honey, miracle at Shravasti, descent from the Heaven of the Thirty-three Gods on the right; and, at the apex, his death, or parinirvana.

A prayer inscribed in the Newari language on the back indicates that this object was made for a pilgrim from Nepal to a sacred site in India. Similar plaques have been found with inscriptions in a variety of languages, which suggests that Buddhists traveled from many countries to northeastern India and brought these souvenir tokens back with them. Hide Inscriptions

Inscription
Inscription on back in Newari script of the 12th Century. Translation by P. Pal: at the top: Om muni muni mahamuni Shakyamunya svaha (Hail to the sage, the sage, the great sage Shakya) below: Buddhist formula: Ye dharma hetu prabhava hetu tesam tathagata hya vadat Of all dispositions proceeding from a cause, the Tathagata has explained the cause (and he has explained their cessation also. This is a doctrine of the great Sramana.)

Provenance
purchased from a Belgian collection

Exhibition history
Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 245); July 2, 2014
Year in Review: 1965. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (October 27-November 14, 1965).
Sacred India. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 5, 1985-January 5, 1986).