Description
This sumptuous bodhisattva is the future Buddha Maitreya, recognizable by the small pot resting on the lotus stem and by the stupa nearly hidden in his elaborate headdress. (Solid, dome-shaped structures, called stupas, sometimes hold relics of the Buddha Shakyamuni. It can be imagined that Maitreya is honoring Shakyamuni by placing his relics on his head.) Originally the sculpture flanked a statue of Shakyamuni, with the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara on the other side. An inscription on the base names the elderly monk Sadhurakshita, donor of this image to a monastery.
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