Maitreya Buddha

CHINA; Tang dynasty

The Buddha sits with legs pendent on a rounded throne. The head is covered in snail-shell curls that build to a large usnisa. Curved brows meet to contribute to the long line of the nose. Wide eyes stare straight ahead and the small mouth is pursed. The thick neck displays the three lines of a great person, while the body is covered in a monastic robe worn over both shoulders and opened at the front. Diagonal folds across the upper body are succeeded by deep ripples over the arms and legs. The statue was initially painted, and some of the paint remains after over a thousand years.