Temptation of Buddha by the Evil Forces of Mara
Unknown Artist
700s
Medium
ivory with gold and polychrome
Dimensions
13 × 8.9 cm
Classification
Ivory
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1971.18
About this artwork
Intimate shrines for personal meditation practices contained scenes from the life of the Buddha. In an episode just prior to his achievement of enlightenment, the Buddha sat in meditation and faced personifications of the final obstacles. In this exquisite rendering derived from the Greco-Roman realism of Gandharan art, demons attack him in an attempt to scare him off the path. Seductive women do their best to distract him. He remains placid and firm in his conviction that these beings have no i...