Standing Buddha

Description The head of this sculpture reveals distinguishing marks of the Buddha, according to Buddhist scriptures. His earlobes are elongated from the heavy earrings he wore as a prince. After renouncing his life of privilege and becoming an ascetic, he cut his long hair as a sign of humility and was left with short tight curls. Above those curls is a cranial protuberance ("ushnisha") that indicates his enlightened state. The resulting tranquility is shown through a serene smile and relaxed eyelids. Additional marks of the Buddha, seen here, include an aquiline nose, a prominent chin, and arched eyebrows. This Buddha would have stood erect with his hands, now missing, in a posture of either bestowing grace or allaying fears. The traces of black lacquer and gold paint allow us to imagine a magnificent image that gleamed in the light of a temple.

Conservation

Lifting lacquer was consolidated and stabilized.

Date	Description	Narrative
5/14/1993	Treatment	cleaned; loss compensation; other
7/10/1995	Examination	examined for condition
2/12/2019	Treatment	media consolidation

Exhibitions

• Unearthly Elegance: Buddhist Art from the Griswold Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1995.

Provenance Luang Ban, Bangkok; Alexander B. Griswold, Monkton, Maryland, April 17 1951; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1992. [1] Presented to the Breezewood Foundation, December 1962, inv. no. 154

Credit Bequest of A. B. Griswold, 1992