Altarpiece with Buddha Enthroned
Unknown Artist
mid-1100s
Medium
bronze
Dimensions
h. 26.8 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1942.149
About this artwork
The crown and jewels of this Buddha indicate that he is a transcendent Buddha, not the historical Buddha who lived in the 5th century BCE. Small-scale bronze images of transcendent Buddhas were used in tantric practices as personal meditation images or in ritual settings. Tantric Buddhism was adopted as the state religion during the 12th century in the region of Angkor. A depiction of the tree that references the moment of the Buddha’s enlightenment is above the scalloped serpentine form of the ...