Sarnath: Head of a Buddha
Sandstone
Sarnath: Head of a Buddha
INDIA, Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi
Sarnath and Mathura emerged as important sculptural centers during the Gupta period (circa 320–550). The modeling of the Buddha’s face in this sculpture is softer and more rounded than Mathura sculptures. The half-closed eyes and relaxed full-lipped mouth suggest that he is in meditation. The tightly curled hair, raised usnisa, extended earlobes and three lines on the neck depicted here are among the Thirty-Two Marks of Excellence seen on a Buddha. The Buddha’s bodily form is considered the perfect human being, exhibiting harmony, poise, and calm.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture N-Sr, page 972.
Cite this article:
Hsingyun, et al. "Sarnath: Head of a Buddha." Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture N-Sr, vol. 12, 2016, pp. 972.
Hsingyun, Youheng, Yann Lovelock, Yuan Chou, Susan Huntington, Gary Edson, and Robert Neather. 2016. "Sarnath: Head of a Buddha" In Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture N-Sr, 12:972.
Hsingyun, Youheng, Lovelock, Y., Chou, Y., Huntington, S., Edson, G., & Neather, R.. (2016). Sarnath: Head of a Buddha. In Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture N-Sr (Vol. 12, pp. 972).
@misc{Hsingyun2016,
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Lovelock, Yann and Chou, Yuan and Huntington, Susan and Edson, Gary and Neather, Robert,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture N-Sr},
pages = 972,
title = {{Sarnath: Head of a Buddha}},
volume = 12,
year = {2016}}
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Lovelock, Yann and Chou, Yuan and Huntington, Susan and Edson, Gary and Neather, Robert,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture N-Sr},
pages = 972,
title = {{Sarnath: Head of a Buddha}},
volume = 12,
year = {2016}}