Head of Buddha
Unknown Artist
400s CE
Medium
sandstone
Dimensions
30.6 × 16.6 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
1963.504
About this artwork
The brows arch with tension and alertness, though the lids are half closed. Short curls cover his head and cranial protuberance, which during this period came to be interpreted as a mark of one who has reached enlightenment, his state of awareness having surpassed the boundaries of an ordinary human being. Sculptors working during the time when kings of the Gupta dynasty (c. 319–550 CE) ruled northern India achieved a balance between fleshy volumes and idealized linear features. This balance led...