Maitreya Bodhisattva
Bronze
Maitreya Bodhisattva
INDONESIA; Srivijaya Empire
Dated to the Srivijaya Empire (circa 7th–13th century), the statue is recognized as Maitreya due to the presence of the stupa often found on the Bodhisattva’s headdress. However, other scholars believe the statue could be of Manjusri, the Bodhisattva of great wisdom, since a sutra scroll is held in the left hand.
Besides having hair tied into a tall headdress, long locks also cascade onto the shoulders. The upper body is unadorned apart from a pair of floral armlets, indistinct bracelets and simple earrings. The pleated belt is also quite simple and secures the lower garment, which is smooth and has no folds. The right foot is slightly advanced, with the weight on the left leg.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture G-M, page 661.
Cite this article:
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 G-M},
pages = 661,
title = {{Maitreya Bodhisattva}},
volume = 11,
year = {2016}}