seated in vajraparyankasana on a waisted lotus pedestal with beaded edges, both arms raised before the chest with hands held in dharmachakra mudra, cloaked in a loose sangati falling across one arm leaving the chest bare, the robes skilfully chased and incised at the hems with floral scrolls, cascading onto the base in neat pleats, the serene face with a gentle smile and downcast eyes below an urna, the long ears suspending pendulous earrings, the tightly curled hair depicted through an array of small bossed whorls piling high upon a domed ushnisha below a cintamani jewel finial

Collection of Axel Benzler (1891-1976), Sweden, acquired from Russia prior to 1929.

This powerful and highly expressive sculpture depicts the Shakyamuni Buddha with his hands in dharmachakra mudra, the gesture of turning the Buddhist Wheel of Law and expounding the dharma, a posture referring to the Buddha’s first sermon delivered in the deer park in Sarnath. The crisp gilt-repoussé modelling encapsulates the eighteenth century Imperial Chinese style, but the facial features are distinctly Tibetan.